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Pierce County Sheriff's Department 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.
Pierce County Sheriff's Department starts at $93,517 a year — about $44.96 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $25,127 above the median of the 1,681 agencies on this list, and $28,142 above the median for county agencies.
Cost of livingPrices in Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA run about 11% above the national average, so this is worth roughly $84,149 somewhere at average prices — $9,368 less than the headline figure. Most of that is rent, at 151 against a national average of 100, where goods are 104. 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 isPierce County Sheriff's Department reported 257 sworn officers and 237 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 Pierce County says about itself
The Pierce County Sheriff's Department is a "full-service agency" that provides law enforcement, jail, court security, civil processing services to all areas of unincorporated Pierce County and the contract cities of Edgewood and University Place. The Pierce County Sheriff's Department prides itself on upholding our Core Values: Courage, Compassion, Integrity, Respect and Responsibility.
What Pierce County does
Pierce County Sheriff's Department provides law-enforcement services to unincorporated Pierce County and contract communities, operates the county jail and provides investigations, court security and specialized public-safety services. Official County materials emphasize public safety, professional service and partnership with the community.
Where the figure comes from
Checked 8 August 2026. Pierce County official GovernmentJobs posting — Deputy Sheriff - Entry Level — open the source document
Opening 10 April 2026; closing Continuous; $44.96/hour minimum annualized at 2,080 hours; $10,000 hiring incentive excluded CORROBORATED: the Washington CJTC employment listing carried the same $93,516 for an entry level deputy sheriff, posted 28 July 2026. A duplicate row under the name 'Pierce County Sheriff's Office' was removed 11 Aug 2026 - the agency's own name is Sheriff's DEPARTMENT, which is unusual for a sheriff and is why the duplicate escaped the name checks.
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 Pierce 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. Pierce County starts at $93,517, so $28,143 above the county middle.
How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a Pierce County Sheriff's Department officer make?
Pierce County Sheriff's Department starts a new officer on $93,517 a year, about $44.96 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 Pierce County official GovernmentJobs posting — Deputy Sheriff - Entry Level.
Is that good pay for a police officer in Washington?
It ranks #24 of 76 agencies we have verified in Washington — 52 pay less, 23 pay more in the state — and #162 of 1,681 nationally. Against the national median it is $25,127 above, and against other county agencies $28,142 above.
Compare with another department
Put Pierce County Sheriff's Department 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 WA
| # | Agency | Level | Sworn # | Entry pay | Vs Pierce | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Seattle Police Department | Municipal | 1,064 | $117,792 | +$24,275 | #35 |
| 2 | Redmond Police Department | Municipal | 81 | $110,435 | +$16,918 | #52 |
| 3 | Auburn Police Department | Municipal | 120 | $108,386 | +$14,870 | #57 |
| 4 | Everett Police Department | Municipal | 207 | $102,516 | +$8,999 | #81 |
| 5 | Vancouver Police Department | Municipal | 226 | $101,832 | +$8,315 | #85 |
| 6 | Kirkland Police Department | Municipal | 108 | $101,218 | +$7,701 | #92 |
| 7 | Tukwila Police Department | Municipal | 76 | $101,064 | +$7,547 | #94 |
| 8 | Mount Vernon Police Department | Municipal | 43 | $100,836 | +$7,319 | #97 |
| 9 | Edmonds Police Department | Municipal | 48 | $99,168 | +$5,651 | #108 |
| 10 | Tacoma Police Department | Municipal | 343 | $98,571 | +$5,054 | #111 |
| 11 | Issaquah Police Department | Municipal | 36 | $98,150 | +$4,633 | #114 |
| 12 | Renton Police Department | Municipal | 132 | $97,692 | +$4,175 | #117 |
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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