CopJobs data · updated Oct 20, 2026

2026 Police Starting Pay by State

The median new police officer in America starts at $68,120 a year, across 1,079 departments that state their starting pay. Every figure below comes from the department's own posting or pay page, with the exact wording and a link to the source. Download the data (CSV).

Median starting pay by state

50 states, highest first

A state is shown when at least 3 of its departments state a starting figure. Medians of fewer than 10 departments rest on a small sample; the department count is beside every median. Washington, DC has one local police department (MPD), so it isn't ranked as a state.
State	Median starting pay	Departments	Lowest	Highest
1. Washington	$90,420	53	$69,168	$117,792
2. Alaska	$87,620	6	$62,317	$97,365
3. California	$86,652	223	$40,560	$149,850
4. Hawaii	$83,808	3	$83,808	$83,808
5. Delaware	$81,910	4	$72,000	$91,265
6. Minnesota	$81,307	35	$61,880	$101,733
7. Illinois	$76,663	15	$56,923	$108,775
8. Vermont	$74,880	3	$69,742	$81,661
9. Oregon	$74,484	28	$36,888	$86,596
10. Utah	$74,464	4	$71,261	$76,315
11. Nebraska	$72,280	3	$70,200	$79,040
12. Colorado	$72,100	41	$34,929	$100,651
13. Texas	$71,669	74	$42,600	$85,717
14. Montana	$71,656	4	$55,869	$95,326
15. Connecticut	$71,035	27	$66,226	$95,888
16. Ohio	$70,127	18	$55,203	$77,939
17. Iowa	$69,659	12	$63,074	$77,251
18. Wisconsin	$68,973	32	$50,256	$82,618
19. Maryland	$67,228	16	$50,003	$73,779
20. Indiana	$67,226	4	$60,000	$74,459
21. New Hampshire	$66,617	4	$65,104	$70,720
22. Wyoming	$66,306	5	$62,670	$68,619
23. Arizona	$66,248	31	$44,304	$78,208
24. North Dakota	$65,808	4	$55,692	$69,326
25. Maine	$65,395	4	$40,518	$71,261
26. South Dakota	$65,250	3	$55,370	$68,307
27. Rhode Island	$65,000	7	$46,800	$69,155
28. Nevada	$64,834	11	$51,480	$75,941
29. Massachusetts	$63,914	12	$50,193	$75,400
30. Idaho	$63,321	3	$56,160	$63,710
31. Pennsylvania	$62,924	8	$47,736	$74,829
32. Florida	$62,708	84	$33,496	$86,674
33. New Mexico	$62,332	6	$43,472	$70,782
34. Oklahoma	$60,254	6	$44,741	$72,004
35. Michigan	$59,618	19	$41,600	$77,467
36. Tennessee	$58,203	7	$47,319	$66,305
37. Kentucky	$57,997	9	$45,176	$65,563
38. Virginia	$57,496	34	$44,512	$90,012
39. New York	$55,942	3	$54,122	$56,674
40. Alabama	$55,440	14	$42,307	$65,542
41. Kansas	$54,954	7	$42,786	$65,853
42. South Carolina	$54,662	21	$41,375	$63,960
43. North Carolina	$54,516	77	$39,416	$67,363
44. West Virginia	$54,370	8	$51,274	$57,660
45. Arkansas	$54,272	8	$39,308	$67,675
46. Georgia	$54,008	24	$39,187	$61,100
47. Mississippi	$51,886	4	$49,168	$65,695
48. Missouri	$47,638	42	$23,920	$74,022
49. New Jersey	$44,418	4	$40,000	$52,387
50. Louisiana	$42,356	4	$39,893	$50,003

The 10 highest starting salaries

Albany PDAlbany, CA · “$149,850.00 - $197,052.00 Annually” source$149,850
Sunnyvale PDSunnyvale, CA · “$142,327.00 - $164,761.00 Annually” source$142,327
Los Altos PDLos Altos, CA · “$139,739.83 - $161,766.32 Annually” source$139,740
Redwood City PDRedwood City, CA · “$139,443.20 - $153,712.00 Annually” source$139,443
Mountain View PDMountain View, CA · “$133,140.80 Annually” source$133,141
Los Gatos PDLos Gatos, CA · “$62.89 Hourly” source$130,811
Palo Alto PDPalo Alto, CA · “Police Officer Trainee: $128,668.80 Annually” source$128,669
Fremont PDFremont, CA · “$126,524.59 - $169,208.29 Annually” source$126,525
Concord PDConcord, CA · “$125,028.80 - $151,985.60 Annually” source$125,029
San Jose PDSan Jose, CA · “$123,653.40 Annually” source$123,653

The pay gap inside metro areas

Metros with the most departments

Departments a short drive apart can start officers tens of thousands of dollars apart.

94 metro areas have at least 3 departments with stated starting pay; the 25 with the most are shown. All are in the CSV.
Metro area	Departments	Median	Lowest	Highest	Gap
Los Angeles Area	51	$87,492	$43,404 Bell Gardens PD	$111,285 Beverly Hills PD	$67,881
San Francisco Bay Area	44	$97,864	$62,400 East Palo Alto PD	$149,850 Albany PD	$87,450
Dallas-Fort Worth	28	$80,079	$52,497 Lancaster PD	$85,717 Ellis County Sheriff	$33,220
Seattle-Tacoma Area	26	$96,098	$77,272 Dupont PD	$117,792 Seattle PD	$40,520
South Florida	23	$72,000	$48,000 Opa Locka PD	$86,674 Boca Raton PD	$38,674
Twin Cities	22	$85,982	$66,352 Mille Lacs County Sheriff	$101,733 Blaine PD	$35,381
Inland Empire	18	$77,796	$56,160 Cathedral City PD	$96,316 Corona PD	$40,156
Phoenix Metro	14	$72,769	$57,491 Eloy PD	$78,208 Gilbert PD	$20,717
Metro Atlanta	14	$55,564	$48,210 Walton County Sheriff	$61,100 Alpharetta PD	$12,890
Central Florida	13	$64,890	$41,600 Longwood PD	$74,559 Orlando PD	$32,959
San Jose & Silicon Valley	12	$121,128	$66,574 Hollister PD	$142,327 Sunnyvale PD	$75,753
Denver Metro	12	$76,138	$52,957 Park County Sheriff	$90,903 Clear Creek County Sheriff	$37,946
St. Louis Area	12	$61,383	$41,800 Rock Hill PD	$74,022 Maplewood PD	$32,222
Washington DC Area	12	$62,880	$44,512 Front Royal PD	$90,012 Arlington County PD	$45,500
Metro Detroit	11	$59,618	$53,456 Port Huron PD	$75,253 Warren PD	$21,797
Sacramento Area	10	$85,966	$78,977 Placer County Sheriff	$99,694 Yolo County Sheriff	$20,717
Raleigh Area	10	$59,658	$39,416 Youngsville PD	$67,363 Knightdale PD	$27,947
Columbus Area	10	$71,116	$55,536 Ashville PD	$77,938 Columbus PD	$22,402
Austin Area	10	$71,854	$62,222 Bastrop PD	$78,755 Kyle PD	$16,533
Greater Hartford	9	$72,983	$67,464 Hartford PD	$84,988 Glastonbury PD	$17,524
Tampa Bay	9	$62,400	$52,500 Dade City PD	$71,029 Pinellas County Sheriff	$18,529
Charlotte Area	9	$58,225	$49,986 Huntersville PD	$63,000 Davidson PD	$13,014
Portland Area	9	$82,243	$75,144 McMinnville PD	$86,596 Tigard PD	$11,452
Milwaukee Area	9	$68,786	$54,892 Milwaukee PD	$82,618 Menomonee Falls PD	$27,726
Chicago Area	8	$86,058	$63,636 Chicago PD	$108,775 St. Charles PD	$45,139

Hiring bonuses

161 departments advertise a hiring bonus in a current posting, with a median of $10,000.

States with at least 3 departments advertising a bonus. Referral and retention pay are not counted; bonuses drop off on the end date the department gives.
State	Departments offering a bonus	Median bonus
California	59	$20,000
Washington	18	$25,000
Florida	8	$5,000
Virginia	8	$10,000
Arizona	6	$5,500
Oregon	6	$6,750
Colorado	5	$7,500
Maryland	5	$10,000
Missouri	5	$2,000
Texas	5	$5,000
North Carolina	4	$12,500
Ohio	3	$5,000

How this was put together

Source. Each department's own job postings (on its applicant system or state peace-officer board) and, where it publishes one, its official pay page. No surveys, estimates or salary sites. Every figure in the CSV carries the exact wording it came from and a link.
One figure per department. The starting pay for a new full-time sworn officer, deputy or trooper: the low end of the posted range, including academy-graduate and recruit hires. Not counted: “up to” figures, pay for experienced or lateral officers only, top-step pay, and part-time or reserve pay. Hourly and monthly pay is annualized (2,080 hours a year).
Which figure. 92% come from a posting open on Oct 20, 2026; the rest from a 2026 posting that has since closed or the department's pay page.
Coverage. 1,079 police departments, sheriff's offices and state police agencies. A state or metro is shown once 3 of its departments state starting pay.
Updated. Oct 20, 2026. The figures are re-read from the postings every week. For the current state-by-state view see police starting pay by state.

Published by CopJobs. Reporters: the CSV has every department's figure, quote and source; cite “CopJobs, 2026 Police Starting Pay report.” Questions or corrections.