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Police pay in Kentucky
Entry pay in Kentucky runs from $39,520 to $71,000 a year. Verified at 15 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 Kentucky agency starts officers on $62,254, below the national middle of $66,706 — 32nd of the 50 states we can rank.
How Kentucky 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 KY agency | Middle US agency | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| All agencies | $62,254 | $66,706 | −7% |
| City departments | $62,254 | $68,140 | −9% |
The best-paid agency in Kentucky starts officers on 1.8 times what the lowest-paid one does — $71,000 against $39,520. Overall, Kentucky ranks 32nd of the 50 states we can rank.
By level
Municipal11 agencies
Lowest$51,239
Middle$62,254
Highest$66,760
Across 11 city departments in Kentucky.
Sheriff1 agency
Shelby County Sheriff's Office$39,520
Only one verified here, so we name it rather than give a middle figure.
State2 agencies
Kentucky State Police$71,000
Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources — Law Enforcement Division$47,794
Only two verified here, so we name them rather than give a middle figure.
Special jurisdiction1 agency
University of Kentucky Police Department$63,200
Only one verified here, so we name it rather than give a middle figure.
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Every Kentucky agency we have verified
| # | Agency | Level | Entry pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kentucky State Police | State | $71,000 |
| 2 | Louisville Metro Police Department | Municipal | $66,760 |
| 3 | Paducah Police Department | Municipal | $65,146 |
| 4 | Lexington Police Department | Municipal | $64,424 |
| 5 | Richmond Police Department | Municipal | $63,988 |
| 6 | Bowling Green Police Department | Municipal | $63,839 |
| 7 | University of Kentucky Police Department | Special jurisdiction | $63,200 |
| 8 | Owensboro Police Department | Municipal | $62,254 |
| 9 | Kenton County Police Department | Municipal | $57,699 |
| 10 | Elizabethtown Police Department | Municipal | $57,200 |
| 11 | Georgetown Police Department | Municipal | $55,345 |
| 12 | Henderson Police Department | Municipal | $51,778 |
| 13 | Hopkinsville Police Department | Municipal | $51,239 |
| 14 | Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources — Law Enforcement Division | State | $47,794 |
| 15 | Shelby County Sheriff's Office | County | $39,520 |
Across the state line
What the middle agency starts on in the states Kentucky 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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