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Hardee 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.
Hardee County Sheriff's Office starts at $50,900 a year — about $24.47 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $15,785 below the median of the 2,288 agencies on this list, and $12,660 below the median for county agencies.
Cost of livingPrices in Florida run about 3% above the national average, so this is worth roughly $49,220 somewhere at average prices — $1,680 less than the headline figure. Most of that is rent, at 122 against a national average of 100, where goods are 98. 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 isHardee County Sheriff's Office reported 54 sworn officers and 54 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 Hardee County says about itself
The mission of the Hardee County Sheriff's Office is to enhance the quality of life in Hardee County by working cooperatively with the public and within the framework of the United States constitution to enforce the laws, preserve the peace, reduce fear and provide for a safe environment.
What Hardee County does
The Hardee County Sheriff's Office serves Hardee County in the Florida Heartland from Wauchula, about 65 miles from both Tampa and Orlando across roughly 640 square miles of mostly rural agricultural land, taking in Bowling Green, Ona and Zolfo Springs. Alongside its mission the Office publishes a set of values: that it must preserve and advance the principles of democracy in the county, that it places its highest value on the preservation of human life, that crime prevention is its top operational priority, that it will involve the entire county in delivering its services, and that it must be accountable to the county it serves.
Where the figure comes from
Checked 30 August 2026. Entry minimum salary, Florida Department of Law Enforcement Criminal Justice Agency Profile Report, Sheriff's Office Salary 2025. — open the source document
Their source is effective 1 January 2025.
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.
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How this level compares
Where Hardee 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 | $68,140 | $163,619 | 1549 |
| County | $35,000 | $63,565 | $132,263 | 516 |
| Special jurisdiction | $31,200 | $60,204 | $107,954 | 71 |
| State | $33,994 | $65,166 | $110,916 | 145 |
| 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 $5,400 more than the middle municipal agency and about $9,900 more than the middle county agency and about $13,300 more than the middle special jurisdiction agency and about $8,300 more than the middle state agency and about $45,300 more than the middle territory agency. Hardee County starts at $50,900, so $12,665 below the county middle.
How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a Hardee County Sheriff's Office officer make?
Hardee County Sheriff's Office starts a new officer on $50,900 a year, about $24.47 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 Entry minimum salary, Florida Department of Law Enforcement Criminal Justice Agency Profile Report, Sheriff's Office Salary 2025..
Is that good pay for a police officer in Florida?
It ranks #245 of 303 agencies we have verified in Florida — 58 pay less, 244 pay more in the state — and #2,039 of 2,288 nationally. Against the national median it is $15,785 below, and against other county agencies $12,660 below.
Compare with another department
Put Hardee 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 FL
| # | Agency | Level | Sworn # | Entry pay | Vs Hardee | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Boca Raton Police Services Department | Municipal | 195 | $91,007 | +$40,107 | #244 |
| 2 | Fort Lauderdale Police Department | Municipal | 565 | $81,723 | +$30,823 | #433 |
| 3 | Plantation Police Department | Municipal | 164 | $81,000 | +$30,100 | #459 |
| 4 | Hillsboro Beach Police Department | Municipal | 15 | $80,954 | +$30,054 | #461 |
| 5 | Pinecrest Police Department | Municipal | 47 | $80,912 | +$30,012 | #464 |
| 6 | Sunny Isles Beach Police Department | Municipal | 65 | $80,000 | +$29,100 | #496 |
| 7 | Indian Creek Village Public Safety Department | Municipal | 10 | $79,850 | +$28,950 | #500 |
| 8 | Sunrise Police Department | Municipal | 190 | $79,071 | +$28,171 | #520 |
| 9 | Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office | County | 1,720 | $78,828 | +$27,928 | #526 |
| 10 | Aventura Police Department | Municipal | 91 | $78,556 | +$27,656 | #536 |
| 11 | Longboat Key Police Department | Municipal | 19 | $78,430 | +$27,530 | #543 |
| 12 | Manalapan Police Department | Municipal | 13 | $78,280 | +$27,380 | #549 |
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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