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Deschutes County Sheriff's Office entry pay
What this agency pays a new officer to start, and how that compares with the rest of the country.
Entry pay onlyEvery salary here is what an officer is paid on day one, out of the academy — base pay on a 40-hour week, with no overtime, shift differential, specialty or education pay counted. Nobody stays on it.
Deschutes County Sheriff's Office starts at $78,340 a year — about $37.66 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $11,073 above the median of the 2,053 agencies on this list, and $13,901 above the median for county agencies.
Cost of livingPrices in Oregon run about 3% above the national average, so this is worth roughly $75,792 somewhere at average prices — $2,547 less than the headline figure. Most of that is rent, at 109 against a national average of 100, where goods are 105. Based on state-wide price levels, because this agency is not tied to a single metro area, from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, 2024. The salary above is what the employer publishes; this line is our arithmetic on it, and nothing on this site is ranked on it.
How big the department isDeschutes County Sheriff's Office reported 172 sworn officers and 64 civilian staff to the FBI for 2025.No rate is shown: this agency does not police a single population the FBI publishes a figure for. Reporting to the FBI is voluntary, so a count can reflect a partial return as easily as a small agency, and the FBI asks that agencies not be compared on staffing. Source: FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, Full-time Law Enforcement Employees, 2025.
What Deschutes County says about itself
The Deschutes County Sheriff's Office is committed to community policing partnerships and philosophies. Deputies are responsible for performing their duties consistent with the agency mission statement that embodies these philosophies and responsibilities.
What Deschutes County does
The Deschutes County Sheriff's Office is a full-service agency founded in 1916, serving over 200,000 residents in Central Oregon from Bend, between the Cascade Range and the high desert. It oversees the adult jail and work center, and provides patrol, criminal investigations, civil process and search and rescue. Special units include SWAT, Marine Patrol, ATV Patrol and Forest Patrol alongside five K-9 teams, and the office maintains an active reserve force trained through the Central Oregon Reserve Academy. Patrol runs twelve-hour shifts - two days, then two nights, then four days off - on a 182.53-hour work month, and deputies are represented by the Deschutes County Sheriff Employees Association. The County describes itself as one of the largest employers in Central Oregon, with a workforce of more than 1,250 across its departments, and runs an on-site clinic and pharmacy for benefited employees.
Deschutes County’s rotation, in BlueShifts
The County's own posting states the patrol roster in one line: "Patrol shifts are currently 12 hours, four days a week (2-days, 2-nights), followed by four days off. Shift assignments are determined by the Sheriff or his designee based on operational needs of the Sheriff's Office." Corrections runs the identical pattern in the Adult Jail. The work month is 182.53 hours - 2,190 hours a year - which is what seven twelve-hour tours a fortnight comes to, and a deputy moves onto that month only after orientation and training.
The rotation template screen — enter the cycle and the start date, and you are done.
DayNight24 hrsOff
Every month, already filled in — no typing, however far ahead you look.
September 2026
This cycle has its own page: how it works, and how to build it.
Two days, two nights, four off is the rare published cycle that names its own tours - so the calendar can show the sun on the first two and the moon on the next two instead of guessing. BlueShifts draws it that way, and because the eight-day cycle never lines up with a week, the month view is the only place the pattern is legible.
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Where the figure comes from
Checked 1 September 2026. Deschutes County, Entry Level Deputy Sheriff, Patrol: "$6,528.31 to $8,744.52 per month for a 182.53 hour work month. Applicants will begin at $6,199.27 per month (Step 1). Starting wages are based on a 173.33 hour work month. Hours will increase to 182.53 hours per month after the initial orientation and training period." — open the source document
Class: Entry Level Deputy Sheriff, Patrol, Step 1 at the full patrol work month. The County's own posting prices the rank in two stages and explains why: "$6,528.31 to $8,744.52 per month for a 182.53 hour work month. Applicants will begin at $6,199.27 per month (Step 1). Starting wages are based on a 173.33 hour work month. Hours will increase to 182.53 hours per month after the initial orientation and training period." THE HOURLY RATE IS THE SAME IN BOTH - about $35.77 - so the rise is not a raise, it is the deputy moving onto the twelve-hour patrol roster, which is 182.53 hours a month or 2,190 a year. The post-training figure is published, $6,528.31 x 12 = $78,339.72, because that is what a patrol deputy actually works; the orientation figure, $6,199.27 x 12 = $74,391.24 on a 2,080-hour year, is recorded here rather than published, the same reading applied to Rutland City, Brandon and Pittsburg. Trainee class: NO - the posting is titled Entry Level and runs alongside a separate Lateral posting, which is what proves this is the non-lateral step. Prior sworn service is NOT required; Oregon DPSST certification is earned after hire, and DPSST Intermediate and Advanced certificates add pay after a twelve-month evaluation. At the top step with an Advanced certificate and wellness pay the County states a patrol deputy can expect over $120,000 a year. Positions are represented by the Deschutes County Sheriff Employees Association. County's own recruiting tenancy, checked 1 September 2026.
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 Deschutes 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.
| Level | Lowest | Median | Highest | Agencies |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Municipal | $33,280 | $68,786 | $163,619 | 1372 |
| County | $35,000 | $64,438 | $132,263 | 459 |
| Special jurisdiction | $31,200 | $60,204 | $107,954 | 71 |
| State | $33,994 | $65,400 | $110,916 | 144 |
| Federal | $70,477 | $73,502 | $86,530 | 5 |
| Territory | $16,640 | $28,236 | $43,354 | 9 |
Federal agencies pay the most to start
The middle federal agency starts at $73,502 — about $4,700 more than the middle municipal agency and about $9,100 more than the middle county agency and about $13,300 more than the middle special jurisdiction agency and about $8,100 more than the middle state agency and about $45,300 more than the middle territory agency. Deschutes County starts at $78,340, so $13,902 above the county middle.
How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a Deschutes County Sheriff's Office officer make?
Deschutes County Sheriff's Office starts a new officer on $78,340 a year, about $37.66 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 Deschutes County, Entry Level Deputy Sheriff, Patrol: "$6,528.31 to $8,744.52 per month for a 182.53 hour work month. Applicants will begin at $6,199.27 per month (Step 1). Starting wages are based on a 173.33 hour work month. Hours will increase to 182.53 hours per month after the initial orientation and training period.".
Is that good pay for a police officer in Oregon?
It ranks #18 of 47 agencies we have verified in Oregon — 29 pay less, 17 pay more in the state — and #499 of 2,053 nationally. Against the national median it is $11,073 above, and against other county agencies $13,901 above.
What shifts do Deschutes County Sheriff's Office officers work?
The County's own posting states the patrol roster in one line: "Patrol shifts are currently 12 hours, four days a week (2-days, 2-nights), followed by four days off. Shift assignments are determined by the Sheriff or his designee based on operational needs of the Sheriff's Office." Corrections runs the identical pattern in the Adult Jail. The work month is 182.53 hours - 2,190 hours a year - which is what seven twelve-hour tours a fortnight comes to, and a deputy moves onto that month only after orientation and training. That is the agency's own published wording; the pattern is drawn on this page.
Compare with another department
Put Deschutes County Sheriff's Office side by side with any other agency on the site — the two salaries, what each is worth once local prices are counted, and which comes out ahead.
The agencies either side of it
Other agencies in OR
| # | Agency | Level | Sworn # | Entry pay | Vs Deschutes | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tigard Police Department | Municipal | 71 | $86,596 | +$8,257 | #297 |
| 2 | Bend Police Department | Municipal | 107 | $86,432 | +$8,092 | #299 |
| 3 | Washington County Sheriff's Office | County | 219 | $85,738 | +$7,398 | #307 |
| 4 | Gresham Police Department | Municipal | 123 | $84,968 | +$6,628 | #320 |
| 5 | Portland Police Bureau | Municipal | 809 | $84,000 | +$5,660 | #338 |
| 6 | Hillsboro Police Department | Municipal | 144 | $83,988 | +$5,648 | #341 |
| 7 | Corvallis Police Department | Municipal | 67 | $82,747 | +$4,407 | #371 |
| 8 | Lane County Sheriff's Office | County | 75 | $82,181 | +$3,841 | #380 |
| 9 | Multnomah County Sheriff's Office | County | 132 | $82,035 | +$3,695 | #384 |
| 10 | Tualatin Police Department | Municipal | 38 | $81,973 | +$3,633 | #385 |
| 11 | Oregon City Police Department | Municipal | 38 | $81,564 | +$3,224 | #395 |
| 12 | Salem Police Department | Municipal | 185 | $81,349 | +$3,009 | #403 |
Base pay is only part of the year
Whatever the figure above, the rotation is what decides your year — which weekends you lose, when the changeovers land, what you can plan around. Save yours once and BlueShifts shows it a year ahead, with the off-duty jobs you take and what each one paid.
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