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Hillsborough 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.
Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office starts at $72,356 a year — about $34.79 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $3,966 above the median of the 1,681 agencies on this list, and $6,982 above the median for county agencies.
How big the department isHillsborough County Sheriff's Office reported 1,421 sworn officers and 2,099 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 Hillsborough County says about itself
The mission of the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office is to serve, protect, and defend the community while preserving the rights and dignity of all. It's our duty to make Hillsborough County, Florida a safer place. We do this by working together with the community.
What Hillsborough County does
Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office says its mission is to serve, protect and defend the community while preserving the rights and dignity of all people. The Office provides law enforcement, detention, court and specialized public-safety services and emphasizes integrity, service and community partnership.
Where the figure comes from
Checked 15 August 2026. Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office — FY26 Certified Salary Schedules and Step Plans, revised 14 August 2026 — open the source document
The Sheriff's Office publishes its own FY26 certified salary schedule. A Law Enforcement Deputy sits at compensation grade SM, step 1 at $33.13 an hour on a 2,184-hour year, which the schedule itself states as $72,355.92, rising through eleven steps to $95,069.52. A Law Enforcement Deputy Trainee is grade VK at the same hourly rate but on a 2,080-hour year.
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 Hillsborough 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. Hillsborough County starts at $72,356, so $6,982 above the county middle.
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How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office officer make?
Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office starts a new officer on $72,356 a year, about $34.79 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 Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office — FY26 Certified Salary Schedules and Step Plans, revised 14 August 2026.
Is that good pay for a police officer in Florida?
It ranks #24 of 141 agencies we have verified in Florida — 117 pay less, 23 pay more in the state — and #650 of 1,681 nationally. Against the national median it is $3,966 above, and against other county agencies $6,982 above.
Compare with another department
Put Hillsborough 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 Hillsborough | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Boca Raton Police Services Department | Municipal | 195 | $86,674 | +$14,318 | #270 |
| 2 | Fort Lauderdale Police Department | Municipal | 565 | $81,723 | +$9,367 | #354 |
| 3 | Plantation Police Department | Municipal | 164 | $81,000 | +$8,644 | #379 |
| 4 | Pinecrest Police Department | Municipal | 47 | $80,912 | +$8,556 | #383 |
| 5 | Sunny Isles Beach Police Department | Municipal | 65 | $80,000 | +$7,644 | #411 |
| 6 | Aventura Police Department | Municipal | 91 | $78,556 | +$6,200 | #441 |
| 7 | Coral Springs Police Department | Municipal | 222 | $77,516 | +$5,160 | #470 |
| 8 | Boynton Beach Police Department | Municipal | 173 | $76,650 | +$4,294 | #490 |
| 9 | North Palm Beach Police Department | Municipal | 37 | $76,378 | +$4,022 | #497 |
| 10 | Naples Police Department | Municipal | 74 | $76,320 | +$3,964 | #501 |
| 11 | West Palm Beach Police Department | Municipal | 295 | $75,921 | +$3,565 | #524 |
| 12 | Bay Harbor Islands Police Department | Municipal | 24 | $75,836 | +$3,480 | #528 |
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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