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Fulton 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.
Fulton County Sheriff's Office starts at $60,000 a year — about $28.85 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $8,390 below the median of the 1,681 agencies on this list, and $5,374 below the median for county agencies.
How big the department isFulton County Sheriff's Office reported 349 sworn officers and 293 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 Fulton County says about itself
The Sheriff's Office is responsible for administration and operation of the Fulton County Jail, providing security for all Courtrooms and Judges. Our goal is to make your neighborhood and our county a safe and enjoyable place to live.
What Fulton County does
Fulton County Sheriff's Office provides jail operations, court security, civil-process service, warrants and other law-enforcement functions supporting the county justice system. Official County materials emphasize safety, professional service, accountability and integrity.
Where the figure comes from
Checked 8 August 2026. Fulton County official GovernmentJobs posting — Deputy Sheriff — open the source document
Opening 1 February 2026; closing Continuous; high school diploma/GED and age 21 minimum; POST certification must be obtained and maintained rather than held before application; official annual salary $60,000
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 Fulton 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. Fulton County starts at $60,000, so $5,374 below the county middle.
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How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a Fulton County Sheriff's Office officer make?
Fulton County Sheriff's Office starts a new officer on $60,000 a year, about $28.85 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 Fulton County official GovernmentJobs posting — Deputy Sheriff.
Is that good pay for a police officer in Georgia?
It ranks #10 of 25 agencies we have verified in Georgia — 15 pay less, 9 pay more in the state — and #1,240 of 1,681 nationally. Against the national median it is $8,390 below, and against other county agencies $5,374 below.
Compare with another department
Put Fulton 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 GA
| # | Agency | Level | Sworn # | Entry pay | Vs Fulton | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sandy Springs Police Department | Municipal | 149 | $71,686 | +$11,686 | #687 |
| 2 | Georgia Bureau of Investigation | State | 338 | $64,977 | +$4,977 | #1,027 |
| 3 | Georgia State Patrol | State | — | $63,684 | +$3,684 | #1,072 |
| 4 | South Fulton Police Department | Municipal | 213 | $63,440 | +$3,440 | #1,086 |
| 5 | Roswell Police Department | Municipal | 154 | $62,462 | +$2,462 | #1,135 |
| 6 | Savannah Police Department | Municipal | 425 | $61,989 | +$1,989 | #1,156 |
| 7 | Alpharetta Police Department | Municipal | 105 | $61,100 | +$1,100 | #1,190 |
| 8 | Atlanta Police Department | Municipal | 1,817 | $60,987 | +$987 | #1,196 |
| 9 | Snellville Police Department | Municipal | 50 | $60,905 | +$905 | #1,199 |
| 11 | Fulton County Police Department | Municipal | 349 | $60,000 | same | #1,249 |
| 12 | Athens-Clarke County Police Department | Municipal | 235 | $59,287 | −$713 | #1,275 |
| 13 | DeKalb County Sheriff's Office | County | 306 | $57,919 | −$2,081 | #1,327 |
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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