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Police pay statistics
What 1,681 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.
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 89% of the hundred best-paid agencies on this list and 0% 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 $57,678 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.
The three levels add up to 1,688, not 1,681. 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 1,681 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 | 29 | 2% |
| $40k–$60k | 399 | 24% |
| $60k–$80k | 841 | 50% |
| $80k–$100k | 312 | 19% |
| $100k–$120k | 70 | 4% |
| $120k–$140k | 23 | 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.
CA$96,325222 agencies, $51,743–$163,619
WA$88,92576 agencies, $48,528–$117,792
HI$83,8086 agencies, $55,476–$87,108
MN$81,266100 agencies, $57,782–$101,733
AK$79,72611 agencies, $60,840–$97,365
IL$78,08335 agencies, $52,686–$94,460
CO$76,80935 agencies, $58,952–$91,620
OR$76,61246 agencies, $51,912–$86,596
CT$72,88111 agencies, $53,684–$87,483
TX$72,847140 agencies, $39,078–$91,106
The ten best-paid states of the 50 we can rank.
LA$38,64619 agencies, $35,004–$58,200
AL$49,92021 agencies, $33,049–$60,195
MS$54,0008 agencies, $45,000–$61,982
ID$54,08051 agencies, $36,492–$75,005
SC$54,47516 agencies, $45,000–$66,747
NC$54,61040 agencies, $45,469–$67,363
AR$55,0689 agencies, $48,357–$67,675
NJ$55,16515 agencies, $46,189–$74,153
WV$57,05410 agencies, $33,994–$59,187
KS$57,74113 agencies, $42,494–$70,970
The same ranking from the other end. The gap between the top and bottom state is $57,678 a year.
- CA222median $96,325
FL141median $62,767- TX140median $72,847
- MN100median $81,266
- WA76median $88,925
WI74median $67,454- ID51median $54,080
- OR46median $76,612
OH40median $71,656- NC40median $54,610
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 13% of the whole list — and 89% of the hundred best-paid agencies on it, against 0% of the hundred lowest. Read it as a map of where the money is, not of where the policing is.
- HI6median $83,808
VT7median $66,560
KY8median $62,254- MS8median $54,000
MA9median $71,861
SD9median $66,456
ND9median $65,520
NH9median $63,960- AR9median $55,068
- WV10median $57,054
Thinnest coverage among the states we can rank — more work to do here, not evidence that these states pay differently.
- Municipal1046 · 62%
- County416 · 25%
- Special jurisdiction69 · 4%
- State143 · 9%
- Federal5 · 0%
- Territory9 · 1%
Municipal, county and state agencies as a share of all 1,681 verified.
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 | 222 | $51,743 | $96,325 | $163,619 | +$27,935 |
| WA | 76 | $48,528 | $88,925 | $117,792 | +$20,535 |
| HI | 6 | $55,476 | $83,808 | $87,108 | +$15,418 |
| MN | 100 | $57,782 | $81,266 | $101,733 | +$12,876 |
| AK | 11 | $60,840 | $79,726 | $97,365 | +$11,336 |
| IL | 35 | $52,686 | $78,083 | $94,460 | +$9,693 |
| CO | 35 | $58,952 | $76,809 | $91,620 | +$8,419 |
| OR | 46 | $51,912 | $76,612 | $86,596 | +$8,222 |
| CT | 11 | $53,684 | $72,881 | $87,483 | +$4,491 |
| TX | 140 | $39,078 | $72,847 | $91,106 | +$4,457 |
| MA | 9 | $61,511 | $71,861 | $95,568 | +$3,471 |
| OH | 40 | $52,957 | $71,656 | $88,712 | +$3,266 |
| DE | 14 | $38,863 | $70,000 | $91,265 | +$1,610 |
| IA | 28 | $55,000 | $69,264 | $85,550 | +$874 |
| MT | 23 | $44,949 | $69,056 | $95,326 | +$666 |
| RI | 11 | $61,460 | $69,000 | $90,850 | +$610 |
| ME | 19 | $58,406 | $69,000 | $77,896 | +$610 |
| MD | 26 | $50,003 | $68,359 | $75,256 | −$31 |
| NE | 17 | $54,080 | $67,621 | $74,568 | −$769 |
| WI | 74 | $50,256 | $67,454 | $82,618 | −$936 |
| IN | 39 | $49,196 | $66,968 | $81,234 | −$1,422 |
| VT | 7 | $58,344 | $66,560 | $81,653 | −$1,830 |
| SD | 9 | $55,578 | $66,456 | $72,030 | −$1,934 |
| AZ | 26 | $56,701 | $65,874 | $77,147 | −$2,516 |
| ND | 9 | $60,345 | $65,520 | $73,332 | −$2,870 |
| UT | 31 | $50,544 | $65,374 | $76,315 | −$3,016 |
| WY | 11 | $54,080 | $64,329 | $68,619 | −$4,061 |
| NV | 19 | $50,773 | $64,022 | $102,692 | −$4,368 |
| NH | 9 | $56,888 | $63,960 | $68,016 | −$4,430 |
| FL | 141 | $41,474 | $62,767 | $86,674 | −$5,623 |
| NY | 23 | $51,526 | $62,657 | $86,681 | −$5,733 |
| MI | 38 | $49,920 | $62,385 | $78,224 | −$6,005 |
| KY | 8 | $39,520 | $62,254 | $66,760 | −$6,136 |
| MO | 27 | $31,200 | $60,486 | $71,329 | −$7,904 |
| VA | 36 | $46,761 | $60,000 | $90,012 | −$8,390 |
| OK | 12 | $44,886 | $60,000 | $72,004 | −$8,390 |
| TN | 12 | $47,840 | $59,700 | $75,804 | −$8,690 |
| NM | 13 | $49,691 | $59,675 | $75,046 | −$8,715 |
| GA | 25 | $45,450 | $57,919 | $71,686 | −$10,471 |
| PA | 23 | $45,098 | $57,803 | $103,421 | −$10,587 |
| KS | 13 | $42,494 | $57,741 | $70,970 | −$10,649 |
| WV | 10 | $33,994 | $57,054 | $59,187 | −$11,336 |
| NJ | 15 | $46,189 | $55,165 | $74,153 | −$13,225 |
| AR | 9 | $48,357 | $55,068 | $67,675 | −$13,322 |
| NC | 40 | $45,469 | $54,610 | $67,363 | −$13,780 |
| SC | 16 | $45,000 | $54,475 | $66,747 | −$13,915 |
| ID | 51 | $36,492 | $54,080 | $75,005 | −$14,310 |
| MS | 8 | $45,000 | $54,000 | $61,982 | −$14,390 |
| AL | 21 | $33,049 | $49,920 | $60,195 | −$18,470 |
| LA | 19 | $35,004 | $38,646 | $58,200 | −$29,744 |
Figures checked between 8 August 2026 and 23 August 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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