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Putnam 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.
Putnam County Sheriff's Office starts at $53,000 a year — about $25.48 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $13,685 below the median of the 2,288 agencies on this list, and $10,560 below the median for county agencies.
Cost of livingPrices in Florida run about 3% above the national average, so this is worth roughly $51,250 somewhere at average prices — $1,750 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 isPutnam County Sheriff's Office reported 133 sworn officers and 107 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 Putnam County says about itself
The professional men and women of the Sheriff's Office strive to provide unparalleled service and dedication to duty to ensure a sense of well-being and safety for the citizens of Putnam County. We continue to take the necessary steps to foster an excellent working atmosphere for our Members as we work in partnership with our community for the benefit of our citizens.
What Putnam County does
The Putnam County Sheriff's Office is the county force for Putnam County, seat Palatka, in north-east Florida. It runs road patrol and the county jail, sponsors recruits through the law enforcement academy under a two-year contract, and provides take-home vehicles to law enforcement deputies.
Shifts at Putnam County
Putnam County states the post is twelve-hour shift work including nights, holidays and weekends.
The agency publishes the shift length but not a named cycle. These are the 12-hour rotations departments most often build on it: Pitman, 4 on, 4 off, DuPont, Panama, 3-4-4-3.
Nights, holidays and weekends written into the job is a schedule that needs sharing more than most. BlueShifts draws the month and sends it to whoever is planning around you.
Where the figure comes from
Checked 30 August 2026. Deputy Sheriff vacancy announcement, Putnam County Sheriff's Office recruiting system. — open the source document
ANNUAL SALARY $53,000 BASE on the Office's own current Deputy Sheriff advertisement, which is above the $45,168 the Office returned to the state's 2024 survey. A SPONSORED RECRUIT IS PAID $45,750 UNTIL PASSING THE ACADEMY AND THE STATE EXAM, then moves to the base; sponsorship requires a two-year contract with repayment of the academy cost if the deputy leaves before two years. Applicants with prior law enforcement service may receive $500 for each year up to nine years after field training, and there are further incentives for an associate's, bachelor's or master's degree, EMT or paramedic certification and foreign language skill. THE POST IS TWELVE-HOUR SHIFT WORK including nights, holidays and weekends. The 2024 survey also recorded a sergeant minimum of $59,438 and a lieutenant minimum of $83,217, with longevity paid at $300 for each year of service.
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.
BlueShifts. Plan Your Year. Own Your Time.
The shift calendar built for your rotation, off-duty work, and life on and off the clock.
Save your shift schedule once and BlueShifts fills the rest of the year in.
How this level compares
Where Putnam 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. Putnam County starts at $53,000, so $10,565 below the county middle.
How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a Putnam County Sheriff's Office officer make?
Putnam County Sheriff's Office starts a new officer on $53,000 a year, about $25.48 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 Deputy Sheriff vacancy announcement, Putnam County Sheriff's Office recruiting system..
Is that good pay for a police officer in Florida?
It ranks #223 of 303 agencies we have verified in Florida — 80 pay less, 222 pay more in the state — and #1,958 of 2,288 nationally. Against the national median it is $13,685 below, and against other county agencies $10,560 below.
What shifts do Putnam County Sheriff's Office officers work?
Putnam County states the post is twelve-hour shift work including nights, holidays and weekends. That is the agency's own published wording; the pattern is drawn on this page.
Compare with another department
Put Putnam 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 Putnam | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Boca Raton Police Services Department | Municipal | 195 | $91,007 | +$38,007 | #244 |
| 2 | Fort Lauderdale Police Department | Municipal | 565 | $81,723 | +$28,723 | #433 |
| 3 | Plantation Police Department | Municipal | 164 | $81,000 | +$28,000 | #459 |
| 4 | Hillsboro Beach Police Department | Municipal | 15 | $80,954 | +$27,954 | #461 |
| 5 | Pinecrest Police Department | Municipal | 47 | $80,912 | +$27,912 | #464 |
| 6 | Sunny Isles Beach Police Department | Municipal | 65 | $80,000 | +$27,000 | #496 |
| 7 | Indian Creek Village Public Safety Department | Municipal | 10 | $79,850 | +$26,850 | #500 |
| 8 | Sunrise Police Department | Municipal | 190 | $79,071 | +$26,071 | #520 |
| 9 | Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office | County | 1,720 | $78,828 | +$25,828 | #526 |
| 10 | Aventura Police Department | Municipal | 91 | $78,556 | +$25,556 | #536 |
| 11 | Longboat Key Police Department | Municipal | 19 | $78,430 | +$25,430 | #543 |
| 12 | Manalapan Police Department | Municipal | 13 | $78,280 | +$25,280 | #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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