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Polk 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.
Polk County Sheriff's Office starts at $61,158 a year — about $29.40 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $7,232 below the median of the 1,681 agencies on this list, and $4,216 below the median for county agencies.
Cost of livingPrices in Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL run about 3% below the national average, so this goes about as far as $62,958 would somewhere at average prices — $1,800 more than the headline figure. That average hides a wide spread: utilities at 87, where goods are 96. 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 isPolk County Sheriff's Office reported 774 sworn officers and 1,116 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.
About Polk County
Polk County Sheriff's Office says its mission is to preserve life, protect property and reduce crime while providing professional public-safety services. The Office performs law-enforcement, detention, court-security and specialized functions and emphasizes integrity, accountability and community partnership.
Where the figure comes from
Checked 11 August 2026. Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Sheriff's Office Salary 2024 - Entry Min Salary column — open the source document
FDLE statewide sheriff salary collection for 2024; the Entry Min Salary column gives $61,158 for this office. Dated 2024, which is the spreadsheet's own year - it supersedes a lower figure of $59,488 carried here from an agency page, which the FDLE collection shows was understated.
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 Polk 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. Polk County starts at $61,158, so $4,216 below the county middle.
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How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a Polk County Sheriff's Office officer make?
Polk County Sheriff's Office starts a new officer on $61,158 a year, about $29.40 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 Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Sheriff's Office Salary 2024 - Entry Min Salary column.
Is that good pay for a police officer in Florida?
It ranks #87 of 141 agencies we have verified in Florida — 54 pay less, 86 pay more in the state — and #1,188 of 1,681 nationally. Against the national median it is $7,232 below, and against other county agencies $4,216 below.
Compare with another department
Put Polk 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 Polk | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Boca Raton Police Services Department | Municipal | 195 | $86,674 | +$25,516 | #270 |
| 2 | Fort Lauderdale Police Department | Municipal | 565 | $81,723 | +$20,565 | #354 |
| 3 | Plantation Police Department | Municipal | 164 | $81,000 | +$19,842 | #379 |
| 4 | Pinecrest Police Department | Municipal | 47 | $80,912 | +$19,754 | #383 |
| 5 | Sunny Isles Beach Police Department | Municipal | 65 | $80,000 | +$18,842 | #411 |
| 6 | Aventura Police Department | Municipal | 91 | $78,556 | +$17,398 | #441 |
| 7 | Coral Springs Police Department | Municipal | 222 | $77,516 | +$16,358 | #470 |
| 8 | Boynton Beach Police Department | Municipal | 173 | $76,650 | +$15,492 | #490 |
| 9 | North Palm Beach Police Department | Municipal | 37 | $76,378 | +$15,220 | #497 |
| 10 | Naples Police Department | Municipal | 74 | $76,320 | +$15,162 | #501 |
| 11 | West Palm Beach Police Department | Municipal | 295 | $75,921 | +$14,763 | #524 |
| 12 | Bay Harbor Islands Police Department | Municipal | 24 | $75,836 | +$14,678 | #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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