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Police pay statistics

What 2,288 verified agencies show about what a brand-new officer earns after the academy — by level, by state and by band. Every figure comes from an official source.

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.

Cost of living counted separatelyAn adjusted figure is what the published salary is worth at national prices. It is our arithmetic on the employer’s number, not a second salary, and no ranking on this site uses it.Price levels are the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parities, 2024.

Agencies verified2,288across all 50 states, DC and territoriesEvery figure from the employer's own published source

Median entry pay$66,706across all levelsHalf start below this, half above

The spread in starting pay9.8×$16,640 to $163,619The same job title, day one, top to bottom of the list

Middle half, to start$57,696–$77,516the interquartile rangeWhere most agencies start officers, outliers excluded

Read this first

These are the highest-paying agencies we have verified, not a random sample of American policing. That shapes everything below: a state appears here often because it pays well, not because it has more police. California is 94% of the hundred best-paid agencies on this list and 1% of the hundred lowest — so every national figure on this page sits above what a true national average would be.

The finding, in one line

A deputy in LA and an officer in CA do recognisably the same job. The median gap between those two states is $55,608 a year — more than the lowest entry salary on the whole list.

Pay by level of agency

The bar shows the full range; the shaded part is the middle half of agencies and the dot is the median. A range runs from one outlier to another, so the middle half is the more honest measure of where agencies actually sit.

Municipal1549 agencies

$68,140median

$33,280$163,619

Middle half $58,905–$80,288

County516 agencies

$63,565median

$35,000$132,263

Middle half $55,619–$71,739

Special jurisdiction71 agencies

$60,204median

$31,200$107,954

Middle half $49,608–$74,505

State145 agencies

$65,166median

$33,994$110,916

Middle half $56,726–$75,462

Federal5 agencies

$73,502median

$70,477$86,530

Middle half $73,177–$83,362

Territory9 agencies

$28,236median

$16,640$43,354

Middle half $24,000–$36,588

The three levels add up to 2,295, not 2,288. 7 agencies are genuinely two levels of government at once and are counted in both: Athens-Clarke County Police Department, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, Haines Borough Police Department, Hawaii Department of Law Enforcement, Sheriff Division, Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office and others. Alaska’s unified city-boroughs are the only municipality in a county-equivalent borough, and Hawaii has no highway patrol, so its statewide Sheriff Division is also that state’s state police. Each is counted ONCE in every national figure on this page — the range, the median and the distribution below all treat them as one agency.

How pay is distributed

Where the 2,288 agencies fall, in twenty-thousand-dollar bands. This is the shape a median cannot show you.

Band	Agencies	Share
$0k–$20k	1	0%
$20k–$40k	37	2%
$40k–$60k	665	29%
$60k–$80k	1089	48%
$80k–$100k	367	16%
$100k–$120k	97	4%
$120k–$140k	26	1%
$140k–$160k	5	0%
$160k–$180k	1	0%

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Where the money is

The states where we have verified five or more agencies, ranked. Bars run from zero, and states with fewer than five agencies are left out of every ranking on this page.

Highest median entry pay

CA$97,104278 agencies, $42,924–$163,619
WA$88,48392 agencies, $48,528–$117,792
HI$83,8086 agencies, $55,476–$83,808
MN$81,266102 agencies, $57,782–$101,733
IL$80,61343 agencies, $52,686–$94,460
AK$79,41415 agencies, $60,840–$97,365
CO$79,22846 agencies, $58,952–$103,544
OR$75,14453 agencies, $51,912–$86,596
TX$72,847151 agencies, $39,078–$91,106
CT$72,63321 agencies, $43,940–$87,483

The ten best-paid states of the 50 we can rank.

Lowest median entry pay

LA$41,49628 agencies, $33,663–$58,200
AL$49,94135 agencies, $33,049–$62,920
AR$51,49117 agencies, $37,814–$67,675
MS$52,53112 agencies, $45,000–$65,564
SC$54,49127 agencies, $44,357–$66,747
NJ$54,50027 agencies, $45,275–$74,153
NC$54,89953 agencies, $45,469–$67,363
ID$55,91054 agencies, $36,492–$75,005
GA$55,92380 agencies, $43,334–$73,733
WV$56,30016 agencies, $33,994–$60,984

The same ranking from the other end. The gap between the top and bottom state is $55,608 a year.

Most agencies on the list

FL303median $60,759
CA278median $97,104
TX151median $72,847
MN102median $81,266
WA92median $88,483
WI81median $67,454
GA80median $55,923
ID54median $55,910
OR53median $75,144
OH53median $71,656

This chart is a consequence of the one above it, not a separate fact. These are the highest-paying agencies we have verified, so a state appears often BECAUSE it pays well. California is 12% of the whole list — and 94% of the hundred best-paid agencies on it, against 1% of the hundred lowest. Read it as a map of where the money is, not of where the policing is.

Fewest agencies verified

HI6median $83,808
ND12median $65,520
MS12median $52,531
AK15median $79,414
KY15median $62,254
VT16median $64,668
WV16median $56,300
RI17median $66,402
NH17median $64,896
WY17median $62,962

Thinnest coverage among the states we can rank — more work to do here, not evidence that these states pay differently.

What the list is made of

2,288agencies

Municipal1549 · 68%
County516 · 23%
Special jurisdiction71 · 3%
State145 · 6%
Federal5 · 0%
Territory9 · 0%

Municipal, county and state agencies as a share of all 2,288 verified.

Which states the list comes from

2,288agencies

FL303 · 13%
CA278 · 12%
TX151 · 7%
MN102 · 4%
WA92 · 4%
Everywhere else1362 · 60%

The 5 states with the most verified agencies, and everything else together. A handful of states account for most of this list, which is worth knowing before reading any national figure from it.

By state

The 50 states where we have verified five or more agencies. Fewer than five is not a median, it is an anecdote, so those states are left out rather than shown with a figure that would mislead. Click any column heading to sort by it.

State	Agencies	Lowest	Median	Highest	Vs national
CA	278	$42,924	$97,104	$163,619	+$30,398
WA	92	$48,528	$88,483	$117,792	+$21,778
HI	6	$55,476	$83,808	$83,808	+$17,102
MN	102	$57,782	$81,266	$101,733	+$14,560
IL	43	$52,686	$80,613	$94,460	+$13,907
AK	15	$60,840	$79,414	$97,365	+$12,709
CO	46	$58,952	$79,228	$103,544	+$12,522
OR	53	$51,912	$75,144	$86,596	+$8,438
TX	151	$39,078	$72,847	$91,106	+$6,141
CT	21	$43,940	$72,633	$87,483	+$5,927
DE	18	$38,863	$72,000	$91,265	+$5,294
OH	53	$47,590	$71,656	$88,712	+$4,950
ME	21	$58,406	$69,181	$77,896	+$2,475
IA	34	$55,000	$68,931	$85,550	+$2,226
MT	25	$44,949	$67,648	$95,326	+$942
NE	20	$54,080	$67,621	$79,580	+$915
MD	29	$50,003	$67,517	$75,256	+$811
AZ	36	$56,701	$67,496	$81,474	+$791
WI	81	$50,256	$67,454	$82,618	+$749
IN	46	$49,196	$66,950	$81,234	+$244
RI	17	$53,674	$66,402	$90,850	−$304
MA	19	$53,907	$66,397	$95,568	−$309
ND	12	$56,576	$65,520	$75,785	−$1,186
UT	31	$50,544	$65,374	$76,315	−$1,331
NH	17	$52,148	$64,896	$70,956	−$1,810
VT	16	$52,103	$64,668	$84,160	−$2,037
NV	26	$50,773	$64,022	$102,692	−$2,683
WY	17	$54,080	$62,962	$73,178	−$3,744
NY	27	$51,526	$62,657	$86,681	−$4,049
MI	41	$49,920	$62,618	$78,224	−$4,087
SD	18	$48,360	$62,587	$72,030	−$4,118
KY	15	$39,520	$62,254	$71,000	−$4,452
MO	33	$31,200	$60,918	$72,986	−$5,788
FL	303	$33,280	$60,759	$91,007	−$5,947
KS	22	$42,494	$60,180	$70,970	−$6,526
VA	42	$46,761	$60,000	$90,012	−$6,706
TN	26	$44,699	$59,700	$75,804	−$7,006
NM	22	$49,691	$59,675	$75,046	−$7,030
OK	22	$36,969	$59,398	$72,004	−$7,308
PA	25	$45,098	$58,100	$103,421	−$8,606
WV	16	$33,994	$56,300	$60,984	−$10,406
GA	80	$43,334	$55,923	$73,733	−$10,783
ID	54	$36,492	$55,910	$75,005	−$10,795
NC	53	$45,469	$54,899	$67,363	−$11,807
NJ	27	$45,275	$54,500	$74,153	−$12,206
SC	27	$44,357	$54,491	$66,747	−$12,215
MS	12	$45,000	$52,531	$65,564	−$14,175
AR	17	$37,814	$51,491	$67,675	−$15,215
AL	35	$33,049	$49,941	$62,920	−$16,765
LA	28	$33,663	$41,496	$58,200	−$25,210

Figures checked between 8 August 2026 and 26 September 2026. Every figure comes from an official source — the employer's own published pay information. Entry-level base salary only: overtime, bonuses, education incentives, shift differentials, locality pay and lateral rates are excluded. These are the highest-paying agencies we have verified, not a random sample, so the medians here sit above what a national average would be. Cost of living is not adjusted for — $55,000 in Honolulu and $55,000 in rural Virginia are not the same offer.

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