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Forsyth 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.
Forsyth County Sheriff's Office starts at $51,537 a year — about $24.78 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $16,853 below the median of the 1,681 agencies on this list, and $13,837 below the median for county agencies.
Cost of livingPrices in Winston-Salem, NC run about 8% below the national average, so this goes about as far as $55,993 would somewhere at average prices — $4,455 more than the headline figure. Most of that is rent, at 71 against a national average of 100, where goods are 97. Based on price levels for this metropolitan 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 isForsyth County Sheriff's Office reported 278 sworn officers and 276 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 Forsyth County says about itself
Our Mission is to ensure the security of life and property, prevent crime and disorder, and enforce the laws of North Carolina and the United States.
What Forsyth County does
Forsyth County Sheriff's Office provides patrol, investigations, detention, court-security, civil-process and specialized law-enforcement services. Official County materials emphasize professional public safety, protection of life and property and partnership with the community.
Where the figure comes from
Checked 10 August 2026. Forsyth County official Deputy Sheriff posting — open the source document
Our $46,383 figure belongs to the Deputy Sheriff Trainee/BLET Cadet route. The County's official Deputy Sheriff posting identifies the position as sworn law enforcement and lists the current minimum at $51,537.20 annually.
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 Forsyth 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 | $35,006 | $71,287 | $163,619 | 1046 |
| County | $36,492 | $65,374 | $132,263 | 416 |
| Special jurisdiction | $31,200 | $60,195 | $107,954 | 69 |
| State | $33,994 | $64,998 | $102,692 | 143 |
| 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 $2,200 more than the middle municipal agency and about $8,100 more than the middle county agency and about $13,300 more than the middle special jurisdiction agency and about $8,500 more than the middle state agency and about $45,300 more than the middle territory agency. Forsyth County starts at $51,537, so $13,837 below the county middle.
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How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a Forsyth County Sheriff's Office officer make?
Forsyth County Sheriff's Office starts a new officer on $51,537 a year, about $24.78 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 Forsyth County official Deputy Sheriff posting.
Is that good pay for a police officer in North Carolina?
It ranks #29 of 40 agencies we have verified in North Carolina — 11 pay less, 28 pay more in the state — and #1,526 of 1,681 nationally. Against the national median it is $16,853 below, and against other county agencies $13,837 below.
Compare with another department
Put Forsyth 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 NC
| # | Agency | Level | Sworn # | Entry pay | Vs Forsyth | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Knightdale Police Department | Municipal | 45 | $67,363 | +$15,826 | #902 |
| 2 | Cary Police Department | Municipal | 194 | $65,104 | +$13,567 | #1,012 |
| 3 | Wake Forest Police Department | Municipal | 96 | $65,093 | +$13,556 | #1,013 |
| 4 | Appalachian State University Police Department | Special jurisdiction | 36 | $64,084 | +$12,547 | #1,057 |
| 5 | North Carolina State Highway Patrol | State | — | $63,250 | +$11,713 | #1,100 |
| 6 | Johnston County Sheriff's Office | County | 124 | $62,213 | +$10,676 | #1,147 |
| 7 | Chapel Hill Police Department | Municipal | 82 | $61,451 | +$9,914 | #1,176 |
| 8 | Raleigh Police Department | Municipal | 713 | $61,417 | +$9,880 | #1,177 |
| 9 | Duke University Police Department | Special jurisdiction | 57 | $60,195 | +$8,658 | #1,227 |
| 10 | Greensboro Police Department | Municipal | 582 | $59,509 | +$7,972 | #1,268 |
| 11 | Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department | Municipal | 1,702 | $59,502 | +$7,965 | #1,269 |
| 12 | Rolesville Police Department | Municipal | 25 | $59,304 | +$7,766 | #1,274 |
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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