Police Officer Salary & Benefits
Aside from being able to serve and protect the community, becoming a police officer may be more rewarding than what you might ordinarily think. When taking a closer look at a typical police officer salary (which is around $50,000/year), many officers have lots of opportunities to make more money, whether it be through working overtime, off-duty jobs (such as security for graduations or movie openings), or cashing in unused sick days. In most cases, a police officer's salary will depend on several different facors, inlcuding the state & county in which he/she resides, the length of time served as a police officer, along with any type of promotion or rank advancement. Some departments in the Bay Area of California offer starting police salaries of $100,000 per year, and that doesn't even include benefits. This may sound too good to be true (and with good reason) because people often forget to factor in the higher cost of living, which can have a significant impact on your monthly salary. To find out the average police officer salary in your area, clink on the link or perform a standard Google search. In addition to offering a competitive salary, most states provide generous medical, dental, and vision coverage, top-notch retirement plans, 2-5 weeks of paid vacation, paid sick leave, holiday bonus pay, yearly uniform allowance, bilingual bonuses, among other perks. Experienced police officers also have better chances of getting hired by the FBI or being offered lucrative private security jobs.
- Competitive starting salary while attending the police academy
- Starting salary range of $35,000 - $100,000 per year (depending on location)
- Excellent medical, dental, and vision coverage
- Potential 4 day work week & 4 day weekends
- 80-180 hours of paid vacation annually
- Up to 96 hours of paid sick leave annually
- Almost full salary pension with 30 years of service
- Annual cost of living increase
- Off-duty employment [which may pay more]
- Bonus for being bilingual
- Potential earlier retirement for military personnel
- Holiday bonus pay
- Carry a gun almost anywhere you go
- Develop close friendships with partners & co-workers
*Keep in mind, not all departments will offer these benefits. In case you were interested, the chart above portrays the average starting salary for police officers in the Bay Area, one of the highest paying agencies in America.
Continue Learning: Find out which police departments are hiring and start applying for local police jobs.
