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Monterey 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.
Monterey County Sheriff's Office starts at $98,197 a year — about $47.21 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $29,807 above the median of the 1,681 agencies on this list, and $32,822 above the median for county agencies.
Cost of livingPrices in Salinas, CA run about 9% above the national average, so this is worth roughly $90,054 somewhere at average prices — $8,143 less than the headline figure. Most of that is utilities, at 154 against a national average of 100, where goods are 105. 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 isMonterey County Sheriff's Office reported 293 sworn officers and 150 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 Monterey County says about itself
The mission of the Monterey County Sheriff's Office is to safeguard the lives and property of the people within our county. We perform our law enforcement and custody duties with honor and integrity in order to guard the public trust. Our highly trained and competent workforce reflects the diversity of our community and demonstrates the highest standards of professionalism.
What Monterey County does
Monterey County Sheriff's Office provides law-enforcement services to unincorporated areas, operates the county jail, supports the courts and provides civil, investigative and specialized services. Official agency materials emphasize professional service, public safety and partnerships with the community.
Where the figure comes from
Checked 10 August 2026. Monterey County official Deputy Sheriff-Operations class specification — open the source document
The published $81,060 is the Deputy Sheriff Recruit rate. The official recruit specification states incumbents attend the academy and may be appointed and sworn as Deputy Sheriff-Operations or Deputy Sheriff-Corrections after graduation. Deputy Sheriff-Operations is a sworn peace-officer class requiring academy graduation and starts at $98,196.80 annually.
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 Monterey 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. Monterey County starts at $98,197, so $32,823 above the county middle.
How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a Monterey County Sheriff's Office officer make?
Monterey County Sheriff's Office starts a new officer on $98,197 a year, about $47.21 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 Monterey County official Deputy Sheriff-Operations class specification.
Is that good pay for a police officer in California?
It ranks #100 of 222 agencies we have verified in California — 122 pay less, 99 pay more in the state — and #113 of 1,681 nationally. Against the national median it is $29,807 above, and against other county agencies $32,822 above.
Compare with another department
Put Monterey 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 Monterey | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Santa Clara Police Department | Municipal | 141 | $163,619 | +$65,422 | #1 |
| 2 | Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety | Municipal | 227 | $149,443 | +$51,246 | #2 |
| 3 | Redwood City Police Department | Municipal | 83 | $147,942 | +$49,745 | #3 |
| 4 | San Jose Police Department | Municipal | 1,065 | $144,003 | +$45,807 | #4 |
| 5 | Mountain View Police Department | Municipal | 90 | $143,096 | +$44,899 | #5 |
| 6 | San Mateo Police Department | Municipal | 111 | $141,024 | +$42,827 | #6 |
| 7 | Los Altos Police Department | Municipal | 31 | $139,740 | +$41,543 | #7 |
| 8 | Hayward Police Department | Municipal | 171 | $138,965 | +$40,768 | #8 |
| 9 | Milpitas Police Department | Municipal | 84 | $138,261 | +$40,064 | #9 |
| 10 | Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office | County | 1,071 | $132,263 | +$34,066 | #10 |
| 11 | Menlo Park Police Department | Municipal | 43 | $132,036 | +$33,839 | #11 |
| 12 | Campbell Police Department | Municipal | 44 | $131,747 | +$33,550 | #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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