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Police pay in Arkansas
Entry pay in Arkansas runs from $37,814 to $67,675 a year. Verified at 17 agencies, each figure taken from that employer's own published document and dated on its page.
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.
The middle Arkansas agency starts officers on $51,491, below the national middle of $66,706 — 48th of the 50 states we can rank.
How Arkansas compares
Every figure below is a starting salary — what an agency pays an officer in their first year, before overtime. Each one is the middle agency of its group: half pay more, half pay less.
| Agencies compared | Middle AR agency | Middle US agency | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| All agencies | $51,491 | $66,706 | −23% |
| City departments | $51,501 | $68,140 | −24% |
The best-paid agency in Arkansas starts officers on 1.8 times what the lowest-paid one does — $67,675 against $37,814. Overall, Arkansas ranks 48th of the 50 states we can rank.
By level
Municipal13 agencies
Lowest$37,814
Middle$51,501
Highest$61,363
Across 13 city departments in Arkansas.
Sheriff2 agencies
Pulaski County Sheriff's Office$50,211
Faulkner County Sheriff's Office$48,357
Only two verified here, so we name them rather than give a middle figure.
State2 agencies
Arkansas State Police$67,675
Arkansas Game and Fish Commission — Enforcement Division$50,000
Only two verified here, so we name them rather than give a middle figure.
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Every Arkansas agency we have verified
| # | Agency | Level | Entry pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arkansas State Police | State | $67,675 |
| 2 | Rogers Police Department | Municipal | $61,363 |
| 3 | Little Rock Police Department | Municipal | $57,928 |
| 4 | Fayetteville Police Department | Municipal | $57,699 |
| 5 | Bentonville Police Department | Municipal | $55,950 |
| 6 | North Little Rock Police Department | Municipal | $55,068 |
| 7 | Farmington Police Department | Municipal | $54,251 |
| 8 | Jonesboro Police Department | Municipal | $51,501 |
| 9 | Lowell Police Department | Municipal | $51,491 |
| 10 | Benton Police Department | Municipal | $51,000 |
| 11 | Conway Police Department | Municipal | $50,924 |
| 12 | Pulaski County Sheriff's Office | County | $50,211 |
| 13 | Fort Smith Police Department | Municipal | $50,003 |
| 14 | Arkansas Game and Fish Commission — Enforcement Division | State | $50,000 |
| 15 | Faulkner County Sheriff's Office | County | $48,357 |
| 16 | Bryant Police Department | Municipal | $47,440 |
| 17 | Searcy Police Department | Municipal | $37,814 |
Across the state line
What the middle agency starts on in the states Arkansas borders.
Also: Every agency we have verified The statistics Municipal departments Sheriff's offices
Figures checked between 8 August 2026 and 25 September 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 the figure shown. Where an agency publishes both an academy rate and a post-academy rate, the post-academy rate is used. A missing agency has not been checked, not found to pay less.
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