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Police pay in Virginia
Entry pay in Virginia runs from $46,761 to $90,012 a year. Verified at 37 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 Virginia agency starts officers on $60,000, below the national middle of $68,390 — 35th of the 50 states we can rank.
How Virginia 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 VA agency | Middle US agency | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| All agencies | $60,000 | $68,390 | −12% |
| City departments | $58,729 | $71,302 | −18% |
| Sheriff's offices | $63,345 | $65,374 | −3% |
The best-paid agency in Virginia starts officers on 1.9 times what the lowest-paid one does — $90,012 against $46,761. Overall, Virginia ranks 35th of the 50 states we can rank.
By level
Municipal18 agencies
Lowest$46,761
Middle$58,729
Highest$76,400
Across 18 city departments in Virginia.
Sheriff16 agencies
Lowest$47,258
Middle$63,345
Highest$90,012
Across 16 sheriff's offices in Virginia.
State2 agencies
Virginia State Police$60,000
Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources — Conservation Police$54,106
Only two verified here, so we name them rather than give a middle figure.
Special jurisdiction1 agency
Metro Transit Police Department (WMATA)$74,505
Only one verified here, so we name it rather than give a middle figure.
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Every Virginia agency we have verified
Across the state line
What the middle agency starts on in the states Virginia borders.
Also for Virginia: What Virginia 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 20 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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