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Modoc 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.
Modoc County Sheriff's Office starts at $42,924 a year — about $20.64 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $23,761 below the median of the 2,288 agencies on this list, and $20,636 below the median for county agencies.
Cost of livingPrices in California run about 11% above the national average, so this is worth roughly $38,768 somewhere at average prices — $4,156 less than the headline figure. Most of that is utilities, at 159 against a national average of 100, where goods are 106. 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 isModoc County Sheriff's Office reported 16 sworn officers and 8 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 Modoc County says about itself
It is the Mission of the Modoc County Sheriff's Office in collaboration with our communities, residents and visitors to keep the peace in Modoc County.
What Modoc County does
The Modoc County Sheriff's Office polices California's far north-eastern corner from Alturas, running the jail, court services, civil process, animal control and code enforcement for a county of high desert and ranching country. Its deputies are represented by the Deputy Sheriffs' Association on a nine-step monthly range, with no cadet or recruit class beneath them: the County hires at Deputy Sheriff I, an entry level into sworn work, and requires the basic POST certificate within probation. The agreement that set the current rate provided a single 12 per cent increase and no other, and its 2025 economic reopener changed benefits only.
Where the figure comes from
Checked 21 September 2026. County of Modoc salary schedule, "Fiscal Year 2022 to 2023 - DSA Members", effective April 1, 2023 — "Deputy Sheriff I 7022-004 DSA Protective Service Police Protection 227 20.6386 ... 3,577", the first of nine steps; corroborated by the County's class specification for class code 7022-004, which heads itself "RANGE/STEP A-I: 227 (Step-A: $3,577 - Step-I: $5,285)", and by Attachment A to the County/DSA memorandum of understanding, "7022-004 Deputy Sheriff I 227 $3,577 - $5,285". — open the source document
$42,924.00 is the County's monthly figure for Step A, $3,577, at twelve months - the form the memorandum of understanding and the class specification both state the range in. The salary schedule also prints $20.6386 an hour, which at 2,080 hours gives $42,928.29; the monthly is the contractual form and is the one used, and the two differ by four dollars a year. THE APRIL 2023 DATE IS THE DATE THE RATE LAST MOVED, NOT A STALE PAGE, AND THE CONTRACT SAYS SO IN TERMS. The MOU ratified by the Board on 14 March 2023 per Resolution 2023-11, for the term 14 March 2023 to 31 March 2026, Article 9.1: "Effective the first full pay period following ratification of this MOU, all DSA classifications shall see a 12% increase in base wage, WHICH SHALL CONSTITUTE ALL SALARY INCREASES DURING THE TERM OF THIS MOU". The same article agreed "an economic reopener in March 2025" - AND THE REOPENER WAS WORKED AND PRODUCED NO WAGE CHANGE: both side letters it generated are benefits only, the 27 May 2025 one moving medical insurance from CalPERS to PACE and the 14 October 2025 one raising the dental/vision contribution from $85.00 to $97.00 and changing the life insurer. Neither touches base pay. THE CLASS SPECIFICATION SETTLES THE GATE IN ONE SENTENCE: "Deputy Sheriff I is an entry-level into sworn law enforcement work", and its requirement is to "Obtain a basic P.O.S.T. certificate within the probationary period" - so the County hires into this class before certification and pays this rate from day one. THE STEP UP IS EXPERIENCE-GATED: Deputy Sheriff II is "the experienced level in this series" and wants "two (2) years of experience as a Deputy I or the equivalent of a Deputy I". No cadet, recruit or trainee class exists anywhere in the County's classification list. Excluded from the figure: the eight steps above, topping out at $5,285 a month; Deputy Sheriff I/Bailiff, which is priced identically at range 227; Deputy Sheriff II at range 242; and the education and POST incentives, 5 per cent for a two-year degree or Intermediate POST and 10 per cent for a four-year degree or Advanced POST, which the MOU pyramids to a maximum of 10 per cent. THE AGREEMENT EXPIRED ON 31 MARCH 2026 AND NO SUCCESSOR IS PUBLISHED; the rate stands until one is.
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 Modoc 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. Modoc County starts at $42,924, so $20,641 below the county middle.
How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a Modoc County Sheriff's Office officer make?
Modoc County Sheriff's Office starts a new officer on $42,924 a year, about $20.64 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 County of Modoc salary schedule, "Fiscal Year 2022 to 2023 - DSA Members", effective April 1, 2023 — "Deputy Sheriff I 7022-004 DSA Protective Service Police Protection 227 20.6386 ... 3,577", the first of nine steps; corroborated by the County's class specification for class code 7022-004, which heads itself "RANGE/STEP A-I: 227 (Step-A: $3,577 - Step-I: $5,285)", and by Attachment A to the County/DSA memorandum of understanding, "7022-004 Deputy Sheriff I 227 $3,577 - $5,285"..
Is that good pay for a police officer in California?
It ranks #278 of 278 agencies we have verified in California — 0 pay less, 277 pay more in the state — and #2,235 of 2,288 nationally. Against the national median it is $23,761 below, and against other county agencies $20,636 below.
Compare with another department
Put Modoc 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 CA
| # | Agency | Level | Sworn # | Entry pay | Vs Modoc | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Santa Clara Police Department | Municipal | 141 | $163,619 | +$120,695 | #1 |
| 2 | Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety | Municipal | 227 | $149,443 | +$106,519 | #2 |
| 3 | Redwood City Police Department | Municipal | 83 | $147,942 | +$105,018 | #3 |
| 4 | San Jose Police Department | Municipal | 1,065 | $144,003 | +$101,079 | #4 |
| 5 | Mountain View Police Department | Municipal | 90 | $143,096 | +$100,172 | #5 |
| 6 | San Mateo Police Department | Municipal | 111 | $141,024 | +$98,100 | #6 |
| 7 | Los Altos Police Department | Municipal | 31 | $139,740 | +$96,816 | #7 |
| 8 | Hayward Police Department | Municipal | 171 | $138,965 | +$96,041 | #8 |
| 9 | Milpitas Police Department | Municipal | 84 | $138,261 | +$95,337 | #9 |
| 10 | Los Gatos Police Department | Municipal | 34 | $132,394 | +$89,470 | #10 |
| 11 | Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office | County | 1,071 | $132,263 | +$89,339 | #11 |
| 12 | Menlo Park Police Department | Municipal | 43 | $132,036 | +$89,112 | #12 |
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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