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York 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.
York County Sheriff's Office starts at $61,081 a year — about $29.37 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $5,604 below the median of the 2,288 agencies on this list, and $2,479 below the median for county agencies.
Cost of livingPrices in Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC run about 3% below the national average, so this goes about as far as $62,745 would somewhere at average prices — $1,664 more than the headline figure. That average hides a wide spread: utilities at 89, where goods are 97. 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 isYork County Sheriff's Office reported 223 sworn officers and 149 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 York County says about itself
We, the men and women of the York County Sheriff's Office, realize that we have been entrusted with providing the highest quality of service for the citizens of York County. We understand that we are a full service organization working together with the citizens to enhance the quality of life in York County.
What York County does
York County says its Sheriff's Office provides law-enforcement protection through Enforcement and Detention divisions. Enforcement includes uniform and field services, criminal investigations, support and administration, while Detention is responsible for incarceration of people awaiting trial and those serving qualifying sentences.
Where the figure comes from
Checked 20 September 2026. York County Sheriff's Office, Salary & Benefits: "Your journey begins with a competitive starting salary of $61,081, after successfully completing the SCCJA and Field training." — open the source document
CORRECTED 20 September 2026, UP from $54,121.60, and RE-SOURCED off a job board onto the agency's own site. The row had been carrying $26.02 an hour x 2,080 from a York County GovernmentJobs posting. The Sheriff's Office publishes the figure itself: $61,081 for a non-certified deputy after successfully completing the South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy and field training, with Class 1 certified officers starting separately and higher at $64,992. That is the post-academy, non-lateral rate, which is the measure - academy certification never disqualifies, and the separately priced Class 1 certified start is what prior service buys. CONFLICT RECORDED RATHER THAN RESOLVED: the Sheriff's own Enforcement page, /328/Enforcement, still says 'The initial salary for a non-certified deputy new hire is $53,578. A 5% increase after successful completion of the SCCJA and Field training, to bring the salary to $56,257.' Neither page is dated. The Salary & Benefits page is taken as current because its certified figure, $64,992, is above the $61,108 top of the certified range the Sheriff announced on 6 July 2023, while the Enforcement page's numbers sit between the 2023 announcement ($50,273 start) and it - so /328/ reads as the superseded step. The $4,824 gap between $61,081 and $56,257 is the exposure. NEXT DOCUMENT: the York County pay plan or adopted budget, which would date both. Excluded: the take-home car programme for enforcement deputies, overtime, and the career advancement programme.
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 York 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. York County starts at $61,081, so $2,484 below the county middle.
How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a York County Sheriff's Office officer make?
York County Sheriff's Office starts a new officer on $61,081 a year, about $29.37 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 York County Sheriff's Office, Salary & Benefits: "Your journey begins with a competitive starting salary of $61,081, after successfully completing the SCCJA and Field training.".
Is that good pay for a police officer in South Carolina?
It ranks #6 of 27 agencies we have verified in South Carolina — 21 pay less, 5 pay more in the state — and #1,496 of 2,288 nationally. Against the national median it is $5,604 below, and against other county agencies $2,479 below.
Compare with another department
Put York 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 SC
| # | Agency | Level | Sworn # | Entry pay | Vs York | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Myrtle Beach Police Department | Municipal | 215 | $66,747 | +$5,666 | #1,142 |
| 2 | North Myrtle Beach Police Department | Municipal | 98 | $62,000 | +$919 | #1,449 |
| 3 | South Carolina Highway Patrol | State | 1,004 | $61,908 | +$827 | #1,454 |
| 4 | Horry County Police Department | County | — | $61,800 | +$719 | #1,461 |
| 5 | Rock Hill Police Department | Municipal | 148 | $61,331 | +$250 | #1,484 |
| 7 | Mount Pleasant Police Department | Municipal | 159 | $60,611 | −$470 | #1,526 |
| 8 | Greenville County Sheriff's Office | County | 576 | $59,273 | −$1,808 | #1,618 |
| 9 | Charleston Police Department | Municipal | 419 | $58,115 | −$2,966 | #1,671 |
| 10 | Greenville Police Department | Municipal | 219 | $57,353 | −$3,728 | #1,739 |
| 11 | University of South Carolina Police Department | Special jurisdiction | 6 | $56,696 | −$4,385 | #1,767 |
| 12 | North Charleston Police Department | Municipal | 308 | $56,078 | −$5,003 | #1,794 |
| 13 | Berkeley County Sheriff's Office | County | 305 | $55,975 | −$5,106 | #1,796 |
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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