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Police pay in North Carolina
Entry pay in North Carolina runs from $45,469 to $67,363 a year. Verified at 40 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 North Carolina agency starts officers on $54,610, below the national middle of $68,390 — 45th of the 50 states we can rank.
How North Carolina 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 NC agency | Middle US agency | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| All agencies | $54,610 | $68,390 | −20% |
| City departments | $54,899 | $71,302 | −23% |
| Sheriff's offices | $54,516 | $65,374 | −17% |
| State agencies | $53,477 | $65,166 | −18% |
The best-paid agency in North Carolina starts officers on 1.5 times what the lowest-paid one does — $67,363 against $45,469. Overall, North Carolina ranks 45th of the 50 states we can rank.
By level
Municipal20 agencies
Lowest$46,285
Middle$54,899
Highest$67,363
Across 20 city departments in North Carolina.
Sheriff13 agencies
Lowest$45,469
Middle$54,516
Highest$62,213
Across 13 sheriff's offices in North Carolina.
State3 agencies
Lowest$50,000
Middle$53,477
Highest$63,250
Across 3 state agencies in North Carolina.
Special jurisdiction4 agencies
Lowest$49,000
Middle$60,195
Highest$64,084
Across 4 special jurisdiction agencies in North Carolina.
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Every North Carolina agency we have verified
Across the state line
What the middle agency starts on in the states North Carolina borders.
Also for North Carolina: What North Carolina 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 15 August 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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