Policepay.net Compensation Survey

Rank	City	Index	Salary Range
1	Pittsburgh, PA	144	$36,501	to	$55,303
2	San Bernardino, CA	141	$53,424	to	$77,112
3	North Las Vegas, NV	140	$46,745	to	$67,152
4	Henderson, NV	137	$47,986	to	$70,907
5	Columbus, OH	133	$36,358	to	$55,682
6	Austin, TX	133	$42,246	to	$74,762
7	Peoria, IL	133	$38,805	to	$59,046
8	Reno, NV	130	$41,739	to	$57,197
9	Las Vegas, NV	133	$43,819	to	$68,742
10	Warren, MI	129	$43,948	to	$69,123
11	Ontario, CA	128	$48,256	to	$71,611
12	Elizabeth, NJ	125	$40,795	to	$73,536
13	St. Petersburg, FL	124	$34,810	to	$52,601
14	San Antonio, TX	124	$36,960	to	$49,260
15	Dallas, TX	124	$41,690	to	$67,879
16	Fort Wayne, IN	123	$37,490	to	$42,191
17	Cincinnati, OH	122	$42,192	to	$55,150
18	Lubbock, TX	122	$41,776	to	$54,895
19	Omaha, NE	122	$32,256	to	$51,072
20	Orlando, FL	119	$36,200	to	$58,014
21	Naperville, IL	119	$48,209	to	$67,749
22	Buffalo, NY	119	$45,733	to	$59,950
23	Hayward, CA	118	$69,326	to	$94,598
24	Portland, OR	117	$37,794	to	$61,922
25	Oklahoma City, OK	116	$40,396	to	$58,058
26	Tacoma, WA	116	$43,680	to	$66,373
27	Fort Lauderdale, FL	116	$40,394	to	$60,216
28	Riverside, CA	114	$53,224	to	$74,882
29	Plano, TX	114	$48,878	to	$61,167
30	Sterling Heights, MI	113	$38,288	to	$62,029
31	Spokane, WA	113	$35,893	to	$62,285
32	Arlington, TX	113	$40,333	to	$56,778
33	Aurora, IL	113	$52,570	to	$65,387
34	Des Moines, IA	113	$41,605	to	$54,181
35	Rochester, NY	112	$39,078	to	$59,325
36	Pasadena, TX	112	$38,610	to	$56,858
37	Dayton, OH	112	$43,408	to	$52,743
38	Toledo, OH	112	$41,933	to	$51,901
39	Tampa, FL	111	$39,270	to	$71,094
40	Aurora, CO	111	$40,456	to	$69,374
41	Alexandria, VA	111	$37,099	to	$66,160
42	Sunnyvale, CA	111	$71,242	to	$93,927
43	Laredo, TX	111	$40,914	to	$54,350
44	Salt Lake City, UT	111	$31,425	to	$50,568
45	Lansing, MI	110	$35,792	to	$55,095
46	Mesquite, TX	110	$45,084	to	$57,540
47	Denver, CO	110	$39,144	to	$66,276
48	Kansas City, MO	110	$38,304	to	$56,028
49	Overland Park, KS	110	$37,020	to	$61,836
50	Irving, TX	110	$42,900	to	$57,492

Information source: policepay.net a service of Ronald J. York, CPA

Click here for 51-100

How is the "Index" determined and how can a department with a larger salary be ranked below one with a much lower pay range?

The "Index" is what makes the salary survey from policepay.net so unique. The index is based on a formula that combines pay with time off, over a 30-year period, and then is adjusted by the local cost of living. I think this is a very clever approach that makes a great effort to look beyond the raw salary numbers and really value the entire benefit package over the period of a typical police career. In fact when you visit policepay.net you will notice that salary figures and the index number are not displayed on the same page, which is true to the philosophy that compensation is about much more than the gross pay. (At the risk of confusing that point, I have included the salary range so you can see exactly what it is.)

Want a more detailed explanation of the Index?

The index measures total compensation over a 30-year career and divides this figure by the total hours required to earn this compensation. An officer with an average annual total compensation of $50,000 per year would earn $1,500,000 over a 30-year career. If he was required to be on the job an average of 1,800 hours per year, his total hours would be 54,000 over the 30-year period, Dividing $1,500,000 by 54,000 hours yields an average hourly rate of $27.78. This would be the average hourly compensation for each hour on the job.

What's included?

Included for total compensation are base pay, longevity pay, holiday pay, shift differential pay, uniform allowance, employer's pension contribution, employer's group insurance contribution, employer's FICA contributions and any other compensation that all employees receive. Education pay, bi-lingual pay, special duty pay, etc. are not included. Total work hours are calculated by subtracting vacation hours, sick leave hours, holiday hours and any other paid leave that all employees receive from normal hours, usually 2,080 per year. Some paid leave such as funeral leave and military leave are not included.

One final adjustment

If the cost of living index numbers for such places as New York City, Los Angeles and San Francisco were measured at the core of the cities they would show rather astronomical costs. It is doubtful these would be the costs incurred by the police officers in those departments. To mitigate this effect the cost of living numbers for the areas surrounding these cities have been used. This may not be perfect, but it makes more sense than using the down-town Manhattan rate. The ending hourly rate is converted into an Index with 100 representing the average of departments currently in the survey.

Still want more?

Visit www.policepay.net

This site is a literal wealth of information that includes much more detail on each department's benefit package, including downloadable copies of most of the actual negotiated contracts.

Click here for departments 51-100 in the survey

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