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Snohomish 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.
Snohomish County Sheriff's Office starts at $83,350 a year — about $40.07 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $16,665 above the median of the 2,288 agencies on this list, and $19,790 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 $75,000 somewhere at average prices — $8,350 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 isSnohomish County Sheriff's Office reported 274 sworn officers and 69 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 Snohomish County says about itself
Our mission is to provide safe communities through dedicated and professional service - Community First. It is our promise that Snohomish County will have a Sheriff's Office that is community-minded, progressive and professional. Our four values are integrity, adopting an uncompromising approach to the highest ethical standards, being honest, truthful, and worthy of trust; dignity, believing in the importance of treating others with respect and in conducting ourselves in a manner which inspires respect; commitment, to the Office's mission, to the development and support of employees and to the highest standards of professional conduct; and pride, as members of this Office honoured to serve and protect our communities.
What Snohomish County does
Snohomish County Sheriff's Office provides patrol and investigative services in unincorporated communities and contract cities, operates the county jail and provides court-security, civil and specialized services. Official materials emphasize public safety, professional service and community partnership.
Where the figure comes from
Checked 8 August 2026. Snohomish County official GovernmentJobs posting — Deputy Sheriff - Entry/Exceptional - Civil Service — open the source document
2026 entry-level posting; official annual minimum $83,349.96
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 Snohomish 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. Snohomish County starts at $83,350, so $19,785 above the county middle.
How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a Snohomish County Sheriff's Office officer make?
Snohomish County Sheriff's Office starts a new officer on $83,350 a year, about $40.07 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 Snohomish County official GovernmentJobs posting — Deputy Sheriff - Entry/Exceptional - Civil Service.
Is that good pay for a police officer in Washington?
It ranks #60 of 92 agencies we have verified in Washington — 32 pay less, 59 pay more in the state — and #396 of 2,288 nationally. Against the national median it is $16,665 above, and against other county agencies $19,790 above.
Compare with another department
Put Snohomish 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 WA
| # | Agency | Level | Sworn # | Entry pay | Vs Snohomish | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Seattle Police Department | Municipal | 1,064 | $117,792 | +$34,442 | #38 |
| 2 | Redmond Police Department | Municipal | 81 | $110,435 | +$27,085 | #59 |
| 3 | Auburn Police Department | Municipal | 120 | $108,386 | +$25,036 | #68 |
| 4 | Lynnwood Police Department | Municipal | 71 | $106,371 | +$23,021 | #81 |
| 5 | Everett Police Department | Municipal | 207 | $102,516 | +$19,166 | #106 |
| 6 | Vancouver Police Department | Municipal | 226 | $101,832 | +$18,482 | #110 |
| 7 | Kirkland Police Department | Municipal | 108 | $101,218 | +$17,868 | #118 |
| 8 | Tukwila Police Department | Municipal | 76 | $101,064 | +$17,714 | #120 |
| 9 | Bothell Police Department | Municipal | 70 | $101,055 | +$17,705 | #121 |
| 10 | Mount Vernon Police Department | Municipal | 43 | $100,836 | +$17,486 | #125 |
| 11 | Kennewick Police Department | Municipal | 107 | $100,104 | +$16,754 | #128 |
| 12 | Edmonds Police Department | Municipal | 48 | $99,168 | +$15,818 | #140 |
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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