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Police pay in California
Entry pay in California runs from $42,924 to $163,619 a year. Verified at 279 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 California agency starts officers on $97,088, above the national middle of $66,706 — 1st of the 50 states we can rank.
How California 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 CA agency | Middle US agency | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| All agencies | $97,088 | $66,706 | +46% |
| City departments | $100,992 | $68,140 | +48% |
| Sheriff's offices | $82,080 | $63,565 | +29% |
| State agencies | $76,068 | $65,400 | +16% |
The best-paid agency in California starts officers on 3.8 times what the lowest-paid one does — $163,619 against $42,924. Overall, California ranks 1st of the 50 states we can rank.
By level
Municipal195 agencies
Lowest$66,233
Middle$100,992
Highest$163,619
Across 195 city departments in California.
Sheriff54 agencies
Lowest$42,924
Middle$82,080
Highest$132,263
Across 54 sheriff's offices in California.
State20 agencies
Lowest$66,756
Middle$76,068
Highest$110,916
Across 20 state agencies in California.
Special jurisdiction10 agencies
Lowest$70,429
Middle$92,185
Highest$107,954
Across 10 special jurisdiction agencies in California.
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Every California agency we have verified
Across the state line
What the middle agency starts on in the states California borders.
Also for California: What California agencies say about off-duty work Taken from each agency's own published policy.
Also: Every agency we have verified The statistics Municipal departments Sheriff's offices
Figures checked between 8 August 2026 and 21 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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