Chief of police vs sheriff

The differences between chiefs of police and sheriffs can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a chief of police has an average salary of $77,582, which is higher than the $46,053 average annual salary of a sheriff.

The top three skills for a chief of police include patrol, public safety and criminal justice. The most important skills for a sheriff are patrol, public safety, and emergency calls.

Chief of police vs sheriff overview

	Chief Of Police	Sheriff
Yearly salary	$77,582	$46,053
Hourly rate	$37.30	$22.14
Growth rate	3%	3%
Number of jobs	69,344	347
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 43%	Bachelor's Degree, 36%
Average age	46	40
Years of experience	-	-

Chief of police vs sheriff salary

Chiefs of police and sheriffs have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Chief Of Police	Sheriff
Average salary	$77,582	$46,053
Salary range	Between $49,000 And $120,000	Between $30,000 And $69,000
Highest paying City	Berkeley, CA	Santa Rosa, CA
Highest paying state	Maine	New York
Best paying company	Ohlone College	Apple
Best paying industry	Government	Government

Differences between chief of police and sheriff education

There are a few differences between a chief of police and a sheriff in terms of educational background:

	Chief Of Police	Sheriff
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 43%	Bachelor's Degree, 36%
Most common major	Criminal Justice	Criminal Justice
Most common college	Pennsylvania State University	Pennsylvania State University

Chief of police vs sheriff demographics

Here are the differences between chiefs of police' and sheriffs' demographics:

	Chief Of Police	Sheriff
Average age	46	40
Gender ratio	Male, 91.7% Female, 8.3%	Male, 64.7% Female, 35.3%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.9% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 13.6% Asian, 2.1% White, 68.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.5%	Black or African American, 10.6% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 21.2% Asian, 2.9% White, 59.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.0%
LGBT Percentage	11%	7%

Differences between chief of police and sheriff duties and responsibilities

Chief of police example responsibilities.

Lead, train and mentore a team of 11 senior logistics and business consultants.
Plan, manage, develop, implement and revise the training FTO program, as needed.
Enable senior leadership to accomplish combat objectives.
Provide first aid and CPR to victims as necessary.
Investigate burglary and theft crimes with extensive attention to details.
Investigate state and federal narcotics violations on a DEA lead strike-force team.

Sheriff example responsibilities.

Evaluate all investigative and patrol functions to assure public safety and security needs are met.
Check visitors for warrants via NCIC and CIB.
Provide mentor and leadership guidance a to numerous personnel within the sheriffs office.
Create directed patrol for gang intervention, and enhance community policing.
Participate in developing and implementing safety policy for firearms range operations.
Assist in driver education training at local high schools with an emphasis on DUI prevention.

Chief of police vs sheriff skills

Common chief of police skills

Patrol, 23%
Public Safety, 13%
Criminal Justice, 9%
Law Enforcement Agencies, 8%
Emergency Management, 4%
Police Services, 3%

Common sheriff skills

Patrol, 31%
Public Safety, 7%
Emergency Calls, 6%
Booking, 5%
Phone Calls, 5%
Data Entry, 5%