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Police pay in Tennessee
Entry pay in Tennessee runs from $44,699 to $75,804 a year. Verified at 26 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 Tennessee agency starts officers on $59,700, below the national middle of $66,706 — 37th of the 50 states we can rank.
How Tennessee 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 TN agency | Middle US agency | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| All agencies | $59,700 | $66,706 | −11% |
| City departments | $58,102 | $68,140 | −15% |
| State agencies | $65,804 | $65,400 | +1% |
The best-paid agency in Tennessee starts officers on 1.7 times what the lowest-paid one does — $75,804 against $44,699. Overall, Tennessee ranks 37th of the 50 states we can rank.
By level
Municipal22 agencies
Lowest$44,699
Middle$58,102
Highest$75,804
Across 22 city departments in Tennessee.
Sheriff1 agency
Shelby County Sheriff's Office$51,518
Only one verified here, so we name it rather than give a middle figure.
State3 agencies
Lowest$59,700
Middle$65,804
Highest$67,764
Across 3 state agencies in Tennessee.
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Every Tennessee agency we have verified
Across the state line
What the middle agency starts on in the states Tennessee borders.
Also for Tennessee: What Tennessee 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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