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Guilford 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.
Guilford County Sheriff's Office starts at $53,331 a year — about $25.64 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $15,059 below the median of the 1,681 agencies on this list, and $12,043 below the median for county agencies.
Cost of livingPrices in Greensboro-High Point, NC run about 7% below the national average, so this goes about as far as $57,429 would somewhere at average prices — $4,098 more than the headline figure. Most of that is rent, at 75 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 isGuilford County Sheriff's Office reported 240 sworn officers and 349 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 Guilford County says about itself
The Guilford County Sheriff's Office enhances the quality of citizens' lives by reducing crime and the fear of crime.
What Guilford County does
Guilford County Sheriff's Office says its primary concern is the well-being and safety of county residents. It seeks to enhance quality of life by reducing crime and fear of crime through proactive, innovative and resourceful approaches, with patrol, investigations, detention, legal process and specialized operations supporting that mission.
Where the figure comes from
Checked 8 August 2026. Guilford County official GovernmentJobs posting — Deputy Sheriff Pool - 2026 — open the source document
Opening 16 July 2026; closes 31 December 2026; official annual minimum $53,331.20
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 Guilford 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. Guilford County starts at $53,331, so $12,043 below the county middle.
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How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a Guilford County Sheriff's Office officer make?
Guilford County Sheriff's Office starts a new officer on $53,331 a year, about $25.64 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 Guilford County official GovernmentJobs posting — Deputy Sheriff Pool - 2026.
Is that good pay for a police officer in North Carolina?
It ranks #26 of 40 agencies we have verified in North Carolina — 14 pay less, 25 pay more in the state — and #1,491 of 1,681 nationally. Against the national median it is $15,059 below, and against other county agencies $12,043 below.
Compare with another department
Put Guilford 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 Guilford | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Knightdale Police Department | Municipal | 45 | $67,363 | +$14,032 | #902 |
| 2 | Cary Police Department | Municipal | 194 | $65,104 | +$11,773 | #1,012 |
| 3 | Wake Forest Police Department | Municipal | 96 | $65,093 | +$11,762 | #1,013 |
| 4 | Appalachian State University Police Department | Special jurisdiction | 36 | $64,084 | +$10,753 | #1,057 |
| 5 | North Carolina State Highway Patrol | State | — | $63,250 | +$9,919 | #1,100 |
| 6 | Johnston County Sheriff's Office | County | 124 | $62,213 | +$8,882 | #1,147 |
| 7 | Chapel Hill Police Department | Municipal | 82 | $61,451 | +$8,120 | #1,176 |
| 8 | Raleigh Police Department | Municipal | 713 | $61,417 | +$8,086 | #1,177 |
| 9 | Duke University Police Department | Special jurisdiction | 57 | $60,195 | +$6,864 | #1,227 |
| 10 | Greensboro Police Department | Municipal | 582 | $59,509 | +$6,178 | #1,268 |
| 11 | Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department | Municipal | 1,702 | $59,502 | +$6,171 | #1,269 |
| 12 | Rolesville Police Department | Municipal | 25 | $59,304 | +$5,972 | #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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