Sunday’s Star-Ledger had an eye-opening article on police salaries in New Jersey.
Analyzing 2009 pay data from police departments throughout the state, the Sledger concluded that
the average municipal cop in New Jersey is paid 80 percent more than the average resident, and three of 10 made at least $100,000 last year. In addition, police tend to be paid the best in small towns with little crime.
In Monmouth County, the median pay for police last year was $95,016. Statewide, it was $90,672.
Among towns in the Red Bank area, Tinton Falls was the leader in the percentage of officers pulling down a salary of $100,000 or more, with 51 percent doing so, according to the Sledger. Rumson had the fewest in that category, at six percent.
Here’s the local data from the Sledger. It doesn’t include overtime pay or the value of healthcare and other benefits. The crime figure denotes the number of offenses per 1,000 residents:
| Town | | Pay | | # of cops | | % $100k + | | Crime |
| FAIR HAVEN | $93021 | 13 | 23% | 11.3 |
| LITTLE SILVER | $91257 | 16 | 25% | 16.8 |
| MIDDLETOWN | $93700 | 102 | 22% | 17.0 |
| RED BANK | $88648 | 41 | 22% | 27.4 |
| RUMSON | $88712 | 17 | 6% | 9.5 |
| SEA BRIGHT*** | $79522.5 | 10 | 20% | 30.9 |
| SHREWSBURY | $98628 | 16 | 50% | 27.1 |
| TINTON FALLS | $104724 | 39 | 51% | 18.7 |
*** These towns are identified in the Uniform Crime Report as resort municipalities with large numbers of seasonal residents, which skews crime rates.higher.
