What percentage of cops make more than 100k?

Answer 1

Some police officers working for a city/county/state government may make $100k per year, but unless you work in a very high cost of living area it is really doubtful that would be your base salary. Regardless, no matter where you would work, it is totally unlikely that the base pay for a new recruit would be anywhere near 100k. Nationwide, an average starting pay might be 35k-50k per year, depending on the jurisdiction, size of the city, location, etc. One could expect to possibly make $60k-80k after a certain time on the job (ie 6 or 8 years with pay steps). The real dollar that people do not calculate when they here how much the police in their area make comes from overtime (a lot of overtime is reimbured to the town or city through grants).

An example would be say you are a police officer for 10 years and your base pay is $70,000. That calculates to $35 per hour. Overtime is calculated at 1 1/2 times, so that would be an overtime rate at $52.50. About 500 hours overtime, or a little less than 10 hours a week, and you would cross the $100k plateau. Don't forget, some departments also get holiday pay, college degree pay, pay for giving back vacation days and shift differentaial (extra dollar amount for working graveyard shift).

I am a police officer in the Philadelphia area and although my base pay is under 100k a year, with a little overtime I have made over 100k a year for the past 9 years.