Average Police Officer salary

**lewisipso** · 07-05-09, 04:35 AM

Police Officer Salaries - Free Salary Search | Indeed.com

$42,000???!!!!!

AAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH AHAAAAAHAHHAHAHA **Whew**

Good one. I thought they were serious for a moment.

Actually, check out the upscale unarmed security officer salary. That's more like it. These folks have obviously didn't ask anyone in the deep rural south.

**pgg** · 07-05-09, 05:08 AM

I wish I made more (don't we all) I'm at $22.00 an hour here, that is 6 more an hour then the SO makes

**Twan007** · 07-05-09, 05:19 AM

hell - I'm at 36k a year... with a bump from having my Bachelor's degree...

sometimes i wonder why i left the 42k a year base job (that i was clearing about 75k after O.T.) to come to my current dept...

then I remember... b/c it's McDonalds here...

you know... ba dap ba ba baaaa.... I'm lovin' it

honestly lew... I think that's what our bosses think... we do this job b/c it's a calling... not b/c it's a paycheck

hell, Livingston Parish makes like 25k a year (or something like that) and have a pretty good retention rate... why pay more if us dumbasses stay here for so little

**pgg** · 07-05-09, 05:21 AM

Here in my county CHP makes an average of 60k more a year then anyone else

**Wolven** · 07-05-09, 05:26 AM

Actually...I believe $42,000 is about our base salary after certification....give or take. Wasnt that when I joined but hey...I'm doing ok. In our area we actually make pretty decent money..but then again we dont have anything else big time here. Just retail and some tourist type jobs.

**Jenna** · 07-05-09, 06:47 AM

It's really amazing and admirable that LEOs are willing to sacrifice so much for so little pay. LEOs really should be paid more. Even if it is a calling, you all still have families to feed.

**ChesCopPodz** · 07-05-09, 09:30 AM

For the most part, departments east of the Mississippi are payed a lot less than those in the west.

My pay in Virginia was 43000 after 5 years and a promotion. That's what rookies in the academy make at my department in Colorado. Being a lateral, day one here was an instant 15000 pay jump.

**countybear** · 07-05-09, 11:12 AM

Here's the really telling statement:

Average Police Officer salaries for job postings nationwide are 31% lower than average salaries for all job postings nationwide.

This is what needs to change.

sometimes i wonder why i left the 42k a year base job (that i was clearing about 75k after O.T.) to come to my current dept...

Damn, maybe I should have taken that job...

**Buttercup** · 07-05-09, 11:40 AM

Originally Posted by Jenna

It's really amazing and admirable that LEOs are willing to sacrifice so much for so little pay. LEOs really should be paid more. Even if it is a calling, you all still have families to feed.

On this, I agree with you.

**Hannibal** · 07-05-09, 02:08 PM

Salary Table 2009-DET

We start at a GS 5 or GS 7, depending on the way the stars are alligned. I am a GS 11 - 4 now. Add 15% for afternoons, 20% for mids, and every Sunday add 50%.

**E-man** · 07-05-09, 02:47 PM

Here are some examples of top pay in the Pittsburgh area.
My dept tops at $75,000 next year.
Department jsut south of us around $70,000
City pays 4th year $54,000 but the rumors are scary about pay reductions, no pensions for any future hires etc.
A dept. east of the city pays the most at over $85,000

The cost of living hre isn't bad either with new houses costing anywhere from low $200s to over $500s for the biggies.
Gas is avg. around $2.59
Food is cheap
The city itself would be much better off if 40% of the property wasnt tax exempt, i.e. learning institutions and hospitals but the thousands that work there do contribute a lot w/ food, parking etc.

**luckyme** · 07-05-09, 02:56 PM

That's probably about right for the county I work in. However, if you go one county south, (where I live) it's about 12,000 less. I would love to work in my own city, but I can't afford too.

**Car 4** · 07-05-09, 03:00 PM

When I started in 71, I was making $735 a month and was happy to get it. When I retired, I was making $120,000 a year and didn't realy have any more money than when I started.

In the greater Seattle area, salaries are very good. With the raises that SPD and KCSO just got, a senior patrolman or deputy will be making about 80k a year. If I were still working, I would be making $155,000 a year.

Car 4

**Wolven** · 07-05-09, 03:40 PM

Originally Posted by Car 4

When I started in 71, I was making $735 a month and was happy to get it. When I retired, I was making $120,000 a year and didn't realy have any more money than when I started.

In the greater Seattle area, salaries are very good. With the raises that SPD and KCSO just got, a senior patrolman or deputy will be making about 80k a year. If I were still working, I would be making $155,000 a year.

Car 4

Yah..trying like hell to move there...your salaries are much more than ours but the cost of living is about the same. Plus I have family there to go have dinner with

I got another interview etc..but then hurt my leg. I just want to move...its so frustrating.

**jmur5074** · 07-05-09, 08:02 PM

I started at 41,000 a year, and right now i'm around 48,000 I think....but i can't really remember to be honest. That's without OT.

**GASheepdog** · 07-05-09, 08:46 PM

$42,000/yr. is what I make with overtime added. Extra-duty gigs added about $12,000 last year, so I'm doing okay. Like the rest of the south, GA lags behind national averages, especially in rural areas.

**Five-0** · 07-05-09, 08:59 PM

I can't complain at all. I'm making well over double from my first police job. When you add in the region of the country I work in I am doing quite well for "local" law enforcement.

**bird1** · 07-05-09, 09:03 PM

In USD as of Jul 5, 2009 Police Officer in Chicago, IL $44,000.00

Average Police Officer salaries for job postings in Chicago, IL are 2% higher than average Police Officer salaries for job postings nationwide.

If I woke up tomorrow making $44,000 I'll be in deep $@!&.