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Williston 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.
Williston Police Department starts at $65,520 a year — about $31.50 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $1,165 below the median of the 2,288 agencies on this list, and $2,620 below the median for municipal agencies.
Cost of livingPrices in North Dakota run about 11% below the national average, so this goes about as far as $73,652 would somewhere at average prices — $8,132 more than the headline figure. Most of that is rent, at 71 against a national average of 100, 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.
How big the department isWilliston Police Department reported 64 sworn officers and 13 civilian staff to the FBI for 2025. That is 2.2 officers per 1,000 residents, over a population of 28,724.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 Williston says about itself
Our mission is to provide the highest quality of service that promotes and maintains a safe environment in partnership with the community. Our Patrol Division is dedicated to ensuring the safety and security of our community: the division is overseen by a Patrol Captain and two Patrol Lieutenants who manage a team of eight Sergeants, and each shift is staffed with two Sergeants, with two shifts operating daily, the day shift from 6:00 AM to 6:00 PM and the night shift from 6:00 PM to 6:00 AM. Our Sergeants lead and support our Road Patrol Officers, who are the backbone of our efforts to maintain safe streets.
What Williston does
Williston Patrol Officers enforce laws, prevent crime, control traffic, issue citations, conduct investigations, make arrests and support crime-prevention programs. The department sponsors zero-experience candidates through the North Dakota Law Enforcement Academy
Shifts at Williston
Two shifts operating daily: the day shift from 6:00 AM to 6:00 PM, and the night shift from 6:00 PM to 6:00 AM. Each shift is staffed with two Sergeants.
Two twelves and nothing in between - the whole clock split in half, with two sergeants on each. Which half you hold is the single biggest fact about your year.
Where the figure comes from
Checked 8 August 2026. City of Williston official 2026 Patrol Offi — open the source document
Opened 8 January 2026; continuous. The City explicitly publishes Police Recruit academy pay of $55,692 and Police Officer pay of $65,520 upon academy completion and becoming ND POST licensed. The sworn/post-academy $65,520 rate is used; recruitment bonus excluded
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 Williston 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. Williston starts at $65,520, so $2,620 below the municipal middle.
How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a Williston Police Department officer make?
Williston Police Department starts a new officer on $65,520 a year, about $31.50 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 Williston official 2026 Patrol Offi.
Is that good pay for a police officer in North Dakota?
It ranks #6 of 12 agencies we have verified in North Dakota — 6 pay less, 5 pay more in the state — and #1,219 of 2,288 nationally. Against the national median it is $1,165 below, and against other municipal agencies $2,620 below.
What shifts do Williston Police Department officers work?
Two shifts operating daily: the day shift from 6:00 AM to 6:00 PM, and the night shift from 6:00 PM to 6:00 AM. Each shift is staffed with two Sergeants. That is the agency's own published wording; the pattern is drawn on this page.
Compare with another department
Put Williston 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 ND
| # | Agency | Level | Sworn # | Entry pay | Vs Williston | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | McKenzie County Sheriff's Office | County | 39 | $75,785 | +$10,265 | #643 |
| 2 | North Dakota Highway Patrol | State | 165 | $73,332 | +$7,812 | #743 |
| 3 | Grand Forks Police Department | Municipal | 91 | $69,326 | +$3,806 | #971 |
| 4 | Fargo Police Department | Municipal | 185 | $68,494 | +$2,974 | #1,019 |
| 5 | North Dakota Game and Fish Department — Enforcement Division | State | — | $65,808 | +$288 | #1,200 |
| 7 | West Fargo Police Department | Municipal | 83 | $64,376 | −$1,144 | #1,295 |
| 8 | Bismarck Police Department | Municipal | 128 | $63,123 | −$2,397 | #1,375 |
| 9 | Richland County Sheriff's Office | County | 18 | $62,213 | −$3,307 | #1,437 |
| 10 | Mountrail County Sheriff's Office | County | 11 | $62,100 | −$3,420 | #1,441 |
| 11 | Dickinson Police Department | Municipal | 44 | $60,345 | −$5,175 | #1,544 |
| 12 | Burleigh County Sheriff's Office | County | 56 | $56,576 | −$8,944 | #1,771 |
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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