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Whitewater 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.
Whitewater Police Department starts at $65,220 a year — about $31.36 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $1,465 below the median of the 2,288 agencies on this list, and $2,920 below the median for municipal agencies.
Cost of livingPrices in Wisconsin run about 6% below the national average, so this goes about as far as $69,313 would somewhere at average prices — $4,093 more than the headline figure. Most of that is rent, at 79 against a national average of 100, where goods are 94. 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 isWhitewater Police Department reported 26 sworn officers and 11 civilian staff to the FBI for 2025. That is 1.6 officers per 1,000 residents, over a population of 16,072.A rate is only meaningful for a city department, where the population served is the city’s own. 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.
What Whitewater says about itself
The Whitewater Police Department will maintain a commitment to serving the varied needs of our community, both in times of crisis and in peace. We understand that dedicated service is far larger than self and encompasses duty to the city, state, and nation at different times. Justice is at the heart of our law enforcement mission, and it is based on impartial and empathetic treatment of all people: we will treat all people in a courteous and understanding manner regardless of race, gender, lifestyle, religion, or circumstance, show concern and empathy for the victims of crime, and treat violators of the law with fairness and dignity.
What Whitewater does
Whitewater Police Department says it strives to be a leader in policing and a model of character, honor, service and excellence. Its mission emphasizes innovative problem solving, defending public safety, maintaining order and protecting and serving a diverse community with integrity, dignity and respect. Its values include service, leadership, justice, compassion, partnership and pride
Where the figure comes from
Checked 8 August 2026. City of Whitewater official — open the source document
Opened 10 March 2026; posting explicitly identifies this as an entry-level sworn position; official annual minimum $65,219.84
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 Whitewater 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. Whitewater starts at $65,220, so $2,920 below the municipal middle.
How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a Whitewater Police Department officer make?
Whitewater Police Department starts a new officer on $65,220 a year, about $31.36 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 City of Whitewater official.
Is that good pay for a police officer in Wisconsin?
It ranks #55 of 81 agencies we have verified in Wisconsin — 26 pay less, 54 pay more in the state — and #1,242 of 2,288 nationally. Against the national median it is $1,465 below, and against other municipal agencies $2,920 below.
Compare with another department
Put Whitewater 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 WI
| # | Agency | Level | Sworn # | Entry pay | Vs Whitewater | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Menomonee Falls Police Department | Municipal | 59 | $82,618 | +$17,398 | #414 |
| 2 | Fitchburg Police Department | Municipal | 50 | $78,790 | +$13,571 | #527 |
| 3 | Brookfield Police Department | Municipal | 80 | $78,666 | +$13,446 | #533 |
| 4 | Cedarburg Police Department | Municipal | 24 | $77,561 | +$12,341 | #571 |
| 5 | Stoughton Police Department | Municipal | 23 | $76,378 | +$11,158 | #607 |
| 6 | Waukesha County Sheriff's Office | County | 158 | $76,128 | +$10,908 | #614 |
| 7 | River Falls Police Department | Municipal | 27 | $75,525 | +$10,305 | #647 |
| 8 | Wisconsin State Patrol | State | 445 | $75,462 | +$10,243 | #650 |
| 9 | Grafton Police Department | Municipal | 22 | $75,102 | +$9,882 | #672 |
| 10 | Dodge County Sheriff's Office | County | 64 | $75,088 | +$9,868 | #673 |
| 11 | St. Croix County Sheriff's Office | County | 98 | $74,695 | +$9,476 | #688 |
| 12 | Kenosha Police Department | Municipal | 231 | $74,640 | +$9,420 | #692 |
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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