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Yuma 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.

Yuma Police Department starts at $65,229 a year — about $31.36 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $3,161 below the median of the 1,681 agencies on this list, and $6,035 below the median for municipal agencies.

Cost of livingPrices in Yuma, AZ run about 7% below the national average, so this goes about as far as $70,361 would somewhere at average prices — $5,132 more than the headline figure. Most of that is rent, at 74 against a national average of 100, where goods are 96. Based on price levels for this metropolitan 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 isYuma Police Department reported 145 sworn officers and 110 civilian staff to the FBI for 2025. That is 1.4 officers per 1,000 residents, over a population of 105,175.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 Yuma says about itself

The mission of the Yuma Police Department is to enhance the quality of life in the City of Yuma by providing all people with responsive and professional police service with compassion and concern.

What Yuma does

Yuma Police Department recruits non-certified candidates for sworn municipal service and emphasizes communication, compassion, integrity, judgment and public service. Selected candidates attend AZPOST academy training and then work under field training officers before independent assignment

Where the figure comes from

Checked 8 August 2026. City of Yuma official 2026 Police Officer (Non-Certified) — open the source document
Opened 16 January 2026; official minimum $31.36/hour = $65,228.80 annually. Selected candidates attend an AZPOST law enforcement academy and then field training. Incentives, overtime and lateral placement are 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.

How this level compares

Where Yuma sits is partly about the agency and partly about which level of policing it belongs to. The three levels do not pay the same.

LevelLowestMedianHighestAgencies
Municipal$35,006$71,287$163,6191046
County$36,492$65,374$132,263416
Special jurisdiction$31,200$60,195$107,95469
State$33,994$64,998$102,692143
Federal$70,477$73,502$86,5305
Territory$16,640$28,236$43,3549
What this shows

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. Yuma starts at $65,229, so $6,058 below the municipal middle.

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How it ranks

Nationally #1,007of 1,681 agencies Top 60% of everything we have verified
In AZ #17of 26 agencies 9 pay less, 16 pay more
Hourly to start $31on a 2,080-hour year Base pay only, before overtime or any differential

Common questions

How much does a Yuma Police Department officer make?

Yuma Police Department starts a new officer on $65,229 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 Yuma official 2026 Police Officer (Non-Certified).

Is that good pay for a police officer in Arizona?

It ranks #17 of 26 agencies we have verified in Arizona — 9 pay less, 16 pay more in the state — and #1,007 of 1,681 nationally. Against the national median it is $3,161 below, and against other municipal agencies $6,035 below.

Compare with another department

Put Yuma 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.

Compare Yuma

The agencies either side of it

Other agencies in AZ

Go
#AgencyLevelSworn #Entry payVs YumaNational
1Goodyear Police DepartmentMunicipal174$77,147+$11,918#475
2Phoenix Police DepartmentMunicipal2,490 / 2,500$75,847+$10,618#526
3Queen Creek Police DepartmentMunicipal132$74,693+$9,464#569
4Chandler Police DepartmentMunicipal348$74,610+$9,381#573
5Mesa Police DepartmentMunicipal885$73,972+$8,743#596
6Casa Grande Police DepartmentMunicipal82$72,860+$7,631#632
7El Mirage Police DepartmentMunicipal53$71,573+$6,344#693
8Maricopa Police DepartmentMunicipal89$71,074+$5,845#719
9Flagstaff Police DepartmentMunicipal107 / 119$68,203+$2,974#850
10Navajo County Sheriff's OfficeCounty59$67,496+$2,267#892
11Bullhead City Police DepartmentMunicipal66$67,038+$1,810#914
12Show Low Police DepartmentMunicipal34$66,581+$1,352#943

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