Home › Police pay › West Virginia › West Virginia State Police
West Virginia State Police 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 Virginia State Police starts at $45,784 a year — about $22.01 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $22,606 below the median of the 1,681 agencies on this list, and $19,214 below the median for state agencies.
Cost of livingPrices in West Virginia run about 11% below the national average, so this goes about as far as $51,157 would somewhere at average prices — $5,373 more than the headline figure. Most of that is rent, at 54 against a national average of 100, where goods are 97. 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.
How big the department isWest Virginia State Police reported 440 sworn officers to the FBI for 2025.No rate is shown: this agency does not police a single population the FBI publishes a figure for. Reporting to the FBI is voluntary, so a count can reflect a partial return as easily as a small agency, and the FBI asks that agencies not be compared on staffing. Source: FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, Full-time Law Enforcement Employees, 2025.
About West Virginia State
The West Virginia State Police, formed in 1919, polices the state's rural and unincorporated areas through seven uniformed field troops divided into 20 districts and 57 detachments, with the Bureau of Criminal Investigations providing undercover and criminal investigators statewide. It is also the only agency to run a law-enforcement academy in West Virginia, training county and local officers as well as its own.
Where the figure comes from
Checked 8 August 2026. State of West Virginia official jobs portal — Public Safety Jobs in West Virginia — open the source document
$45,784. Current State jobs information verified 8 August 2026
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.
How this level compares
Where West Virginia State 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 | $35,006 | $71,287 | $163,619 | 1046 |
| County | $36,492 | $65,374 | $132,263 | 416 |
| Special jurisdiction | $31,200 | $60,195 | $107,954 | 69 |
| State | $33,994 | $64,998 | $102,692 | 143 |
| 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 $2,200 more than the middle municipal agency and about $8,100 more than the middle county agency and about $13,300 more than the middle special jurisdiction agency and about $8,500 more than the middle state agency and about $45,300 more than the middle territory agency. West Virginia State starts at $45,784, so $19,214 below the state middle.
BlueShifts. Plan Your Year. Own Your Time.
The shift calendar built for your rotation, off-duty work, and life on and off the clock.
Save your shift schedule once and BlueShifts fills the rest of the year in.
How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a West Virginia State Police officer make?
West Virginia State Police starts a new officer on $45,784 a year, about $22.01 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 State of West Virginia official jobs portal — Public Safety Jobs in West Virginia.
Is that good pay for a police officer in West Virginia?
It ranks #9 of 10 agencies we have verified in West Virginia — 1 pay less, 8 pay more in the state — and #1,617 of 1,681 nationally. Against the national median it is $22,606 below, and against other state agencies $19,214 below.
Compare with another department
Put West Virginia State Police 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 WV
| # | Agency | Level | Sworn # | Entry pay | Vs West | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Berkeley County Sheriff's Office | County | 64 | $59,187 | +$13,403 | #1,280 |
| 2 | Morgantown Police Department | Municipal | 57 | $58,157 | +$12,373 | #1,312 |
| 3 | Huntington Police Department | Municipal | 95 | $57,787 | +$12,003 | #1,340 |
| 4 | Charleston Police Department | Municipal | 152 | $57,485 | +$11,701 | #1,361 |
| 5 | Kanawha County Sheriff's Office | County | 95 | $57,054 | +$11,270 | #1,367 |
| 6 | Martinsburg Police Department | Municipal | 34 | $55,710 | +$9,926 | #1,404 |
| 7 | Jefferson County Sheriff's Office | County | 34 | $55,125 | +$9,341 | #1,424 |
| 8 | Fairmont Police Department | Municipal | 33 | $53,597 | +$7,813 | #1,484 |
| 10 | West Virginia Division of Natural Resources — Natural Resources Police | State | — | $33,994 | −$11,790 | #1,673 |
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.
Scan to install
