Bernalillo County Sheriff's Office entry pay

What Bernalillo County says about itself

At the Bernalillo County Sheriff's Office, we are more than just a team - we are a family dedicated to serving and protecting our community with unwavering integrity.

What Bernalillo County does

The Bernalillo County Sheriff's Office polices the unincorporated county around Albuquerque from 400 Roma Avenue NW, and says it is staffed with 315 sworn personnel, more than 60 of them at the rank of sergeant or above, with over 30 detectives in the Criminal Investigations Division. New deputies come through the office's own academy at the Public Safety Training Academy on Broadway Boulevard SE - about 28 weeks, non-residential, with shifts moving between days and swings as training requires - and then complete a field training programme of three months of real-world training, a month of evaluation and a month of solo performance. Specialist work includes SWAT, canine, motorcycles, a pilot and helicopter operation, drones and an Open Space Unit that handles river and backcountry rescue; three years on patrol is required before applying to most specialty units. Deputies are issued a patrol vehicle from field training onward, and the office runs Camp Triumph for local children. Retirement pays 75 per cent of salary at 25 years and 90 per cent at 30, with deputies contributing 7 per cent of income.

Where the figure comes from

Checked 20 September 2026. Bernalillo County Sheriff's Office, Pay Scales: "Deputy 2nd Class ... $68,318" annual — open the source document
Read 10 September 2026 from the Sheriff's Office own recruitment site; the pay-scale page was modified 3 September 2026 and the FAQ 29 July 2026. The published ladder, with the office's own annual conversions: Cadet Pre-hire $23.03 an hour ($47,902), Cadet $25.30 ($52,624), Deputy 2nd Class $32.85 ($68,318), Deputy 1st Class $40.87 ($85,018), Sergeant $45.42 ($94,472), Lieutenant $51.91 ($107,981). THE CADET RATE IS THE ONE PUBLISHED HERE AND THE FAQ SETTLES WHY: asked how much a recruit makes while attending the academy, the office answers that cadets receive a base pay of $25.30 an hour plus any overtime earned, so that is the rate from the start of employment; the pre-hire line sits before hire. THE ENTRY TEST IS SETTLED FROM THE LATERAL SIDE ON THE SAME TABLE: laterals are priced at Deputy 1st Class, $85,018, while cadets are promoted to Deputy 2nd Class on graduating, so prior service buys two ranks rather than a step. The academy runs about 28 weeks on a 40-hour week, built on the NMLEA 775-hour certification with over 1,000 hours in total, and is not residential. Excluded: longevity from $1,950 a year at three years to $20,800 at 22 years, degree pay of $1,664 for a Bachelor's, $1,950 for a Master's and $2,219.88 for a PhD, shift differentials of $0.40 swing and $0.50 graveyard, specialty pay per pay period for canine, SWAT, FTO, detective, pilot and bilingual assignments, and the $945 clothing and cleaning allowance. *** CORRECTED 20 SEPTEMBER 2026, UP FROM $52,624 TO $68,318. *** The row deliberately published the CADET rate, and said so, and the reasoning above is sound on its own terms - the FAQ does confirm cadets are paid $25.30 an hour from the start of employment. But the standing rule is ENTRY PAY ONLY, NEVER A CADET, RECRUIT OR TRAINEE RATE: where both are listed, the pre-academy rate is not the figure, and the sworn officer's starting step is. This row's own note already names that step - 'cadets are promoted to Deputy 2nd Class on graduating' - so Deputy 2nd Class, $68,318, is the figure. The ladder is otherwise exactly as recorded above and nothing else changes: Cadet Pre-hire $47,902 and Cadet $52,624 are both barred, Deputy 1st Class and LATERAL are both $85,018, which is what proves Deputy 2nd Class is the non-lateral post-academy entry. TABLE MISLABEL, RECORDED SO NOBODY 'CORRECTS' IT LATER: the first column is headed BI-WEEKLY but carries hourly rates - $32.85 over 2,080 hours is $68,328, within $10 of the published annual - and the ANNUAL column is what has been used, unaltered.
Entry-level base salary only. Overtime, bonuses, education incentives, shift differentials, locality pay and lateral rates are excluded, so most officers earn more than this.

How this level compares

Where Bernalillo County sits is partly about the agency and partly about which level of policing it belongs to. The three levels do not pay the same.

How it ranks

Common questions

How much does a Bernalillo County Sheriff's Office officer make?

Bernalillo County Sheriff's Office starts a new officer on $68,318 a year, about $32.85 an hour on a 2,080-hour year. That is base salary before overtime, bonuses, education incentives, shift differentials and locality pay, so most serving officers earn more. The figure comes from Bernalillo County Sheriff's Office, Pay Scales: "Deputy 2nd Class ... $68,318" annual.

Is that good pay for a police officer in New Mexico?

It ranks #3 of 22 agencies we have verified in New Mexico — 19 pay less, 2 pay more in the state — and #1,032 of 2,288 nationally. Against the national median it is $1,633 above, and against other county agencies $4,758 above.

The agencies either side of it