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Travis 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.
Travis County Sheriff's Office starts at $72,141 a year — about $34.68 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $5,456 above the median of the 2,288 agencies on this list, and $8,582 above the median for county agencies.
Cost of livingPrices in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX run about 2% below the national average, so this goes about as far as $73,564 would somewhere at average prices — $1,423 more than the headline figure. That average hides a wide spread: rent at 120, where goods are 94. 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 isTravis County Sheriff's Office reported 343 sworn officers and 1,318 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 Travis County says about itself
We are a family of highly trained professionals whose mission is to provide innovative law enforcement and correctional services in a holistic manner through collaborative partnerships. Our vision is a strong bond with our diverse community, so that they are confident in our compassion. The Law Enforcement Bureau is made up of three area commands - Central, East and West - and embraces community policing, with deputies patrolling the same districts throughout their tour of duty.
What Travis County does
Travis County Sheriff's Office provides law-enforcement, corrections, court-security and specialized public-safety services. Official County materials emphasize public safety, professional service, accountability and collaboration with the community and justice-system partners.
Where the figure comes from
Checked 20 August 2026. Travis County Sheriff's Office — Careers FAQs, Deputy Sheriff salary — open the source document
Travis County Sheriff's Office's own Careers FAQs page: "What is the salary for a DEPUTY SHERIFF? We offer a competitive salary starting at $72,141.20/year." The same answer prices experience separately — 5+ years with an intermediate license $76,534.60, 10+ years with an advanced license $81,195.56 — so the starting figure is the no-prior-service rate. TCSO's own posting calls Law Enforcement Deputy an entry-level position in the Law Enforcement Bureau. Corrections Officer ($58,349.50) and Courthouse Deputy ($66,740.12) are separate classes on separate scales and are not this figure.
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 Travis 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. Travis County starts at $72,141, so $8,576 above the county middle.
How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a Travis County Sheriff's Office officer make?
Travis County Sheriff's Office starts a new officer on $72,141 a year, about $34.68 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 Travis County Sheriff's Office — Careers FAQs, Deputy Sheriff salary.
Is that good pay for a police officer in Texas?
It ranks #79 of 151 agencies we have verified in Texas — 72 pay less, 78 pay more in the state — and #803 of 2,288 nationally. Against the national median it is $5,456 above, and against other county agencies $8,582 above.
Compare with another department
Put Travis 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 TX
| # | Agency | Level | Sworn # | Entry pay | Vs Travis | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Allen Police Department | Municipal | 153 | $91,106 | +$18,965 | #241 |
| 2 | Frisco Police Department | Municipal | 270 | $90,750 | +$18,609 | #252 |
| 3 | Plano Police Department | Municipal | 400 | $90,729 | +$18,588 | #253 |
| 4 | Grand Prairie Police Department | Municipal | 287 | $90,000 | +$17,859 | #270 |
| 5 | Hurst Police Department | Municipal | 61 | $87,048 | +$14,907 | #322 |
| 6 | Lewisville Police Department | Municipal | 181 | $86,268 | +$14,127 | #335 |
| 7 | Coppell Police Department | Municipal | 60 | $84,968 | +$12,827 | #355 |
| 8 | Rockwall Police Department | Municipal | 95 | $84,448 | +$12,307 | #362 |
| 9 | Farmers Branch Police Department | Municipal | 83 | $84,440 | +$12,299 | #363 |
| 10 | The Colony Police Department | Municipal | 86 | $84,082 | +$11,941 | #371 |
| 11 | Baytown Police Department | Municipal | 172 | $84,049 | +$11,908 | #372 |
| 12 | McKinney Police Department | Municipal | 248 | $83,992 | +$11,851 | #374 |
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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