National Salaries

• According to a 2007 study presented at the 2010 Annual Conference of the Justice Research and Statistics Association --- "Rural Law Enforcement Agencies: An Exploratory Examination" --- the average minimum salary for a rural police officer is nearly $25,000 with a maximum average salary of about $29,000. Rural sheriffs earned an average minimum salary of $25,000 and a maximum of approximately $29,500. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics doesn't isolate rural sheriff's deputy salaries, or sheriff's deputies at all, for that matter. The Bureau lists deputies and police patrol officers as a single group with a median salary of $53,540. The middle 50th percentile pay range is $40,830 to $69,070 a year. The 10th percentile salary is $31,700 and the 90th percentile figure is $83,510 with an average hourly wage of $26.74.
  
  

Washington County, Maryland

• Located in the western part of the state, Washington County has a population of 147,430, according to the 2010 U.S. Census. As of 2008, deputies in the Washington County Sheriff's Office Patrol Division and the Judicial Division made a starting salary of $38,141. Deputies in the Detention Division earned an entry-level salary of $33,279.
  
  

Clackamas County, Oregon

• Named for the region's Clackamas Indians, Clackamas County has a population of 375,992 and is located in the northwestern part of the state. Covering 1,879 square miles, the county has a population density of 181 people per square mile --- compared, for example, to Manhattan, which has a population density of nearly 71,000 people per square mile. As of June 2011, the salary range for a deputy sheriff was $50,123.87 to $64,150.95 with extensive health, dental, vision and life insurance benefits, and generous vacation and sick time, pension plan, and incentive and longevity pay.
  
  

Oneida County, New York

• The north-central New York county has 234,878 people with Utica being the largest city. In 2006, the starting salary for a sheriff's deputy patrol officer was $34,638 with a maximum salary of $46,545 for senior deputies. A recruit deputy's salary is 85 percent of the starting salary until basic police academy training is completed, which would be $29,442 based on a salary of $34,638.
  
  

Dinwiddie County, Virginia

• Dinwiddie County, in southeastern Virginia, has a population of only 27,209. The salary range, as of April 2009, for a sheriff's deputy was $35,601 to $38,338.
  
  

Caddo Parish, Louisiana

• Located in the northwest corner of the state, adjacent to Texas and Arkansas, Caddo Parish has a population of 252,161 and paid its security deputies a starting salary of $33,001.28 as of 2008. After one year, the salary increases to $38,101.28. A corrections deputy earns $26,401.44 to start and $28,202.72 after one year. Bonuses are awarded for attaining college degrees.
  
  

Los Angeles County

• In contrast to most rural county sheriff's departments, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Office pays a salary of $5,588.36 to $6,576.09 a month, or $67,060 to $78,913 a year, for laterally trained, basic-post deputies, and $5,929.36 to $6,976.73 per month, or $71,152 to $83,721 annually, for advance-post deputies. Laterally trained means that a deputy has law enforcement experience. The starting salary for a deputy trainee is $4,702.45 to $5,842.09 monthly, or $56,429 to $70,105 a year. Associate and bachelor's degrees bump the starting pay higher.