CopJobs report · Q4 2026 · as of Oct 20, 2026
Tennessee police hiring, Q4 2026
16 sworn jobs were open at 7 Tennessee departments on Oct 20, 2026. See them all.
Open sworn jobs
16
as of Oct 20, 2026Departments hiring
7
as of Oct 20, 2026Median starting pay
$64,451
departments' own postingsJobs offering a hiring bonus
2 (13%)
as of Oct 20, 2026Lateral (certified officer) jobs
7 (44%)
of open sworn jobsStarting pay changes
0
since Jul 22, 2026Largest hiring bonuses in Tennessee
- Hamilton County Sheriff's OfficeFor certified laterals · “$8,000 SIGN ON BONUS FOR SHERIFF'S DEPUTIES THAT ARE TN POST CERTIFIED: $5,000 SIGN ON BONUS FOR DEPUTIES THAT ARE POST CERTIFIED IN ANY OTHER STATE” posting$8,000
Starting pay changes this quarter
No department in Tennessee changed its posted starting pay since Jul 22, 2026.
How these numbers are made
- Jobs. Open sworn police, deputy and trooper postings on Oct 20, 2026, read every week from departments' own hiring systems and state peace-officer boards. Civilian, dispatch and corrections-officer jobs are not counted; sheriff's jail deputy jobs are.
- Starting pay. The median of each department's starting figure for a new full-time officer, as its own posting states it. A state's median needs at least 5 departments.
- Hiring bonuses. Bonuses a current posting offers, in the posting's own words, until the end date it gives. Referral and retention pay are not counted.
- Lateral jobs. Postings only for officers already certified elsewhere.
- Pay changes. Starting-pay moves seen in the department's own postings over the last 90 days, with the posting linked.
Published by CopJobs. Every figure is as of Oct 20, 2026; the report is refreshed each week and published quarterly.