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Pasco 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.
Pasco County Sheriff's Office starts at $60,465 a year — about $29.07 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $6,220 below the median of the 2,288 agencies on this list, and $3,094 below the median for county agencies.
Cost of livingPrices in Florida run about 3% above the national average, so this is worth roughly $58,469 somewhere at average prices — $1,996 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 isPasco County Sheriff's Office reported 771 sworn officers and 305 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 Pasco County says about itself
The 'We' in 'We Fight As One' means all of us. It is the women and men of the Pasco Sheriff's Office united with our community as ONE TEAM to make our neighborhoods, schools, businesses and future better. The Pasco Sheriff's Office is dedicated to fighting as one with our community to build a more just, peaceful, and flourishing Pasco County. We want every citizen, even the most defenseless, to feel safe and protected. We also exhibit the key values of the Pasco Sheriff's Office: Energy, Enthusiasm, Efficiency, Effectiveness, Ethics, Espirit de Corps, and Excellence.
What Pasco County does
The Pasco County Sheriff's Office is the largest law enforcement agency in Pasco County, formed in 1887 and led by an elected sheriff. It works from three district stations - New Port Richey, Dade City and Trinity - with detention at Land O' Lakes, and in February 2015 became the first sheriff's office in the central Florida region to adopt body-worn cameras across the agency. It publishes an intelligence-led policing manual setting out how and why it operates.
Where the figure comes from
Checked 27 August 2026. Salary and Benefits, Law Enforcement Deputy, Pasco Sheriff's Office recruiting site (Join PSO). — open the source document
CERTIFIED DEPUTY PATROL WITH LESS THAN FOUR YEARS' EXPERIENCE $27.36 AN HOUR, $60,465.27 a year - the rate on certification, which is the measure this site publishes. The Office also pays trainees $23.77 an hour, $52,533.47 a year, WITH ACADEMY TUITION AND EXPENSES PAID, so a person with no prior sworn service is paid throughout the academy and moves to the certified rate on completing it. Step increases come twice a year, and college tuition reimbursement is available for bachelor's and master's degrees.
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 Pasco 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. Pasco County starts at $60,465, so $3,100 below the county middle.
How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a Pasco County Sheriff's Office officer make?
Pasco County Sheriff's Office starts a new officer on $60,465 a year, about $29.07 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 Salary and Benefits, Law Enforcement Deputy, Pasco Sheriff's Office recruiting site (Join PSO)..
Is that good pay for a police officer in Florida?
It ranks #156 of 303 agencies we have verified in Florida — 147 pay less, 155 pay more in the state — and #1,537 of 2,288 nationally. Against the national median it is $6,220 below, and against other county agencies $3,094 below.
Compare with another department
Put Pasco 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 Pasco | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Boca Raton Police Services Department | Municipal | 195 | $91,007 | +$30,542 | #244 |
| 2 | Fort Lauderdale Police Department | Municipal | 565 | $81,723 | +$21,258 | #433 |
| 3 | Plantation Police Department | Municipal | 164 | $81,000 | +$20,535 | #459 |
| 4 | Hillsboro Beach Police Department | Municipal | 15 | $80,954 | +$20,489 | #461 |
| 5 | Pinecrest Police Department | Municipal | 47 | $80,912 | +$20,446 | #464 |
| 6 | Sunny Isles Beach Police Department | Municipal | 65 | $80,000 | +$19,535 | #496 |
| 7 | Indian Creek Village Public Safety Department | Municipal | 10 | $79,850 | +$19,385 | #500 |
| 8 | Sunrise Police Department | Municipal | 190 | $79,071 | +$18,606 | #520 |
| 9 | Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office | County | 1,720 | $78,828 | +$18,363 | #526 |
| 10 | Aventura Police Department | Municipal | 91 | $78,556 | +$18,091 | #536 |
| 11 | Longboat Key Police Department | Municipal | 19 | $78,430 | +$17,965 | #543 |
| 12 | Manalapan Police Department | Municipal | 13 | $78,280 | +$17,815 | #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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