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St. Johns 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.
St. Johns County Sheriff's Office starts at $60,500 a year — about $29.09 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $6,185 below the median of the 2,288 agencies on this list, and $3,060 below the median for county agencies.
Cost of livingPrices in Florida run about 3% above the national average, so this is worth roughly $58,503 somewhere at average prices — $1,997 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 isSt. Johns County Sheriff's Office reported 436 sworn officers and 409 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 St. Johns County says about itself
SJSO Provides safety, protection and service to the people of St. Johns County.
What St. Johns County does
The St. Johns County Sheriff's Office is the county force for St. Johns County, seat St. Augustine, led by the 28th Sheriff of the county. Its mission statement, published in its annual report, is 'Serve with Excellence'. Hire dates for law enforcement deputies, corrections deputies and telecommunications operators are scheduled quarterly around its formal training programmes, and deputies issued an agency vehicle may live in Clay, Duval, Flagler or Putnam counties as well as St. Johns.
Shifts at St. Johns County
St. Johns County distinguishes a 40-hour week from 12-hour shifts in its own pay structure, with the 12-hour posts paying more on completion of training, and hires quarterly to fit the formal training programmes.
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.
Two schedules priced differently in the same office means the shift you take is part of the pay. BlueShifts counts each on its own basis rather than flattening both to a 40-hour week.
Where the figure comes from
Checked 27 August 2026. Law Enforcement Deputy 2026 vacancy, St. Johns County Sheriff's Office recruiting system. — open the source document
Their source is effective 1 January 2026.
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 St. Johns 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. St. Johns County starts at $60,500, so $3,065 below the county middle.
How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a St. Johns County Sheriff's Office officer make?
St. Johns County Sheriff's Office starts a new officer on $60,500 a year, about $29.09 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 Law Enforcement Deputy 2026 vacancy, St. Johns County Sheriff's Office recruiting system..
Is that good pay for a police officer in Florida?
It ranks #155 of 303 agencies we have verified in Florida — 148 pay less, 154 pay more in the state — and #1,534 of 2,288 nationally. Against the national median it is $6,185 below, and against other county agencies $3,060 below.
What shifts do St. Johns County Sheriff's Office officers work?
St. Johns County distinguishes a 40-hour week from 12-hour shifts in its own pay structure, with the 12-hour posts paying more on completion of training, and hires quarterly to fit the formal training programmes. That is the agency's own published wording; the pattern is drawn on this page.
Compare with another department
Put St. Johns 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 St. | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Boca Raton Police Services Department | Municipal | 195 | $91,007 | +$30,507 | #244 |
| 2 | Fort Lauderdale Police Department | Municipal | 565 | $81,723 | +$21,223 | #433 |
| 3 | Plantation Police Department | Municipal | 164 | $81,000 | +$20,500 | #459 |
| 4 | Hillsboro Beach Police Department | Municipal | 15 | $80,954 | +$20,454 | #461 |
| 5 | Pinecrest Police Department | Municipal | 47 | $80,912 | +$20,412 | #464 |
| 6 | Sunny Isles Beach Police Department | Municipal | 65 | $80,000 | +$19,500 | #496 |
| 7 | Indian Creek Village Public Safety Department | Municipal | 10 | $79,850 | +$19,350 | #500 |
| 8 | Sunrise Police Department | Municipal | 190 | $79,071 | +$18,571 | #520 |
| 9 | Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office | County | 1,720 | $78,828 | +$18,328 | #526 |
| 10 | Aventura Police Department | Municipal | 91 | $78,556 | +$18,056 | #536 |
| 11 | Longboat Key Police Department | Municipal | 19 | $78,430 | +$17,930 | #543 |
| 12 | Manalapan Police Department | Municipal | 13 | $78,280 | +$17,780 | #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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