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West Valley City Police Department entry pay
What this agency pays a new officer to start, and how that compares with the rest of the country.
Entry pay onlyEvery salary here is what an officer is paid on day one, out of the academy — base pay on a 40-hour week, with no overtime, shift differential, specialty or education pay counted. Nobody stays on it.
West Valley City Police Department starts at $73,045 a year — about $35.12 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $6,360 above the median of the 2,288 agencies on this list, and $4,905 above the median for municipal agencies.
Cost of livingPrices in Utah run about 1% below the national average, so this goes about as far as $73,884 would somewhere at average prices — $839 more than the headline figure. That average hides a wide spread: utilities at 79, where goods are 96. Based on state-wide price levels, because this agency is not tied to a single metro area, from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, 2024. The salary above is what the employer publishes; this line is our arithmetic on it, and nothing on this site is ranked on it.
What West Valley City says about itself
The mission of the West Valley City Police Department is to work in partnership with the community to protect life and property, solve neighborhood problems, and enhance the quality of life in our City.
What West Valley City does
West Valley City Police Department is the state's second-largest municipal force with over 190 sworn officers, serving Utah's second-largest city, and keeps an in-house resident therapist that sworn members are required to see twice a year
Where the figure comes from
Checked 21 August 2026. West Valley City official Police Department Pay and Benefits page — open the source document
$73,045 a year. The city's own page states "Step 1 day shift starting at $35.12/hour ($73,045/year)" — the city's own annualisation, used here in preference to a 2,080-hour calculation ($73,049.60). STEP 1 IS THE ENTRY STEP AND PRIOR SERVICE IS HANDLED SEPARATELY: the same page gives 1-for-1 service credit for previous law enforcement experience up to 10 years, and the department runs a distinct Lateral Officer Hiring Incentive on its own page — so Step 1 is the no-prior-service rate. No prior service is required; Utah POST certification does not disqualify. Day shift is the base: afternoons carry +2.5% and graveyards +5%, excluded here. ALSO EXCLUDED, being incentives rather than base pay: $10,000 toward a home in the city, $165/month residency payment, $1,200/year uniform allowance. Police Officer 1st Class ($45.30-$51.88/hour) is a promoted grade needing 8 years' experience and is NOT an entry figure. || RECHECK FLAG 21 Aug 2026: West Valley City also publishes a standalone **POLICE DEPARTMENT PAY SCALE FY 2025/2026, effective 21 June 2025** at wvc-ut.gov/DocumentCenter/View/16163 — indexed, but the URL returns 404 to the fetcher. Its indexed text shows the Police Officer grade printed as three rows (DAYS / AFTERNOONS 2.50% / GRAVEYARDS 5.00%) with annuals $69,567, $71,306 and $73,045 appearing alongside hourly $33.45, $34.28 and $35.12. **$73,045 and $35.12 are the pair the city's own Pay and Benefits page calls “Step 1 day shift”, so the row stands — but the presence of a lower $69,567/$33.45 pair in the same block is unexplained and should be resolved by opening the pay scale itself.** If $33.45 turns out to be the day-shift Step 1, this figure is high by $3,478.
Entry-level base salary only. Overtime, bonuses, education incentives, shift
differentials, locality pay and lateral rates are excluded, so most officers earn more
than this.
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How this level compares
Where West Valley City sits is partly about the agency and partly about which level of policing it belongs to. The three levels do not pay the same.
| Level | Lowest | Median | Highest | Agencies |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Municipal | $33,280 | $68,140 | $163,619 | 1549 |
| County | $35,000 | $63,565 | $132,263 | 516 |
| Special jurisdiction | $31,200 | $60,204 | $107,954 | 71 |
| State | $33,994 | $65,166 | $110,916 | 145 |
| Federal | $70,477 | $73,502 | $86,530 | 5 |
| Territory | $16,640 | $28,236 | $43,354 | 9 |
Federal agencies pay the most to start
The middle federal agency starts at $73,502 — about $5,400 more than the middle municipal agency and about $9,900 more than the middle county agency and about $13,300 more than the middle special jurisdiction agency and about $8,300 more than the middle state agency and about $45,300 more than the middle territory agency. West Valley City starts at $73,045, so $4,905 above the municipal middle.
How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a West Valley City Police Department officer make?
West Valley City Police Department starts a new officer on $73,045 a year, about $35.12 an hour on a 2,080-hour year. That is base salary before overtime, bonuses, education incentives, shift differentials and locality pay, so most serving officers earn more. The figure comes from West Valley City official Police Department Pay and Benefits page.
Is that good pay for a police officer in Utah?
It ranks #6 of 31 agencies we have verified in Utah — 25 pay less, 5 pay more in the state — and #757 of 2,288 nationally. Against the national median it is $6,360 above, and against other municipal agencies $4,905 above.
Compare with another department
Put West Valley City Police Department side by side with any other agency on the site — the two salaries, what each is worth once local prices are counted, and which comes out ahead.
The agencies either side of it
Other agencies in UT
| # | Agency | Level | Sworn # | Entry pay | Vs West | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Salt Lake City Police Department | Municipal | 589 | $76,315 | +$3,270 | #612 |
| 2 | Santa Clara Police Department | Municipal | — | $75,982 | +$2,937 | #629 |
| 3 | Taylorsville Police Department | Municipal | — | $75,941 | +$2,896 | #634 |
| 4 | Utah Highway Patrol | State | 536 | $75,878 | +$2,833 | #636 |
| 5 | Sandy Police Department | Municipal | 115 | $73,112 | +$67 | #753 |
| 7 | Cottonwood Heights Police Department | Municipal | 43 | $69,763 | −$3,282 | #958 |
| 8 | Murray City Police Department | Municipal | 82 | $68,890 | −$4,155 | #1,000 |
| 9 | Unified Police Department of Greater Salt Lake | Municipal | — | $68,099 | −$4,946 | #1,050 |
| 10 | South Salt Lake Police Department | Municipal | 71 | $66,997 | −$6,048 | #1,120 |
| 11 | Orem Police Department | Municipal | 94 | $66,768 | −$6,277 | #1,137 |
| 12 | Moab Police Department | Municipal | 19 | $66,747 | −$6,298 | #1,143 |
| 13 | South Jordan Police Department | Municipal | 69 | $66,435 | −$6,610 | #1,164 |
Base pay is only part of the year
Whatever the figure above, the rotation is what decides your year — which weekends you lose, when the changeovers land, what you can plan around. Save yours once and BlueShifts shows it a year ahead, with the off-duty jobs you take and what each one paid.
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