What is a Deputy?

Deputy Sheriffs enforce laws, arrest criminals, escort defendants to and from the court, and assist citizens and properties in danger. You will patrol specific areas to detect law violators and investigate suspicious behaviors and activities. Your responsibilities include conducting criminal investigations and placing suspects in protective custody. As the deputy, you must take charge of accident scenes to control traffic flow, render help to accident victims, and assist in determining the cause of the accident. In extreme situations, you must report to officers of higher rank on assignments and ask for help and advice. Furthermore, you must provide medical aid to people in trouble and assist citizens under threat.

For this job position, you need to have a high school diploma or a GED in psychology or criminal justice, but having a bachelor's degree can be an advantage. You should also have strong verbal and written communication and interpersonal skills. You will earn an average salary of $42,056 per year.

What Does a Deputy Do

There are certain skills that many deputies have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed empathy, good judgment and leadership skills.

Learn more about what a Deputy does

How To Become a Deputy

If you're interested in becoming a deputy, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 48.2% of deputies have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 12.4% of deputies have master's degrees. Even though most deputies have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.

Learn More About How To Become a Deputy

Top Deputy Jobs Near You

Deputy Career Paths

As you move along in your career, you may start taking on more responsibilities or notice that you've taken on a leadership role. Using our career map, a deputy can determine their career goals through the career progression. For example, they could start out with a role such as sergeant, progress to a title such as officer and then eventually end up with the title senior officer.

Average Salary for a Deputy

Deputies in America make an average salary of $53,682 per year or $26 per hour. The top 10 percent makes over $90,000 per year, while the bottom 10 percent under $31,000 per year.

Average Deputy Salary

$53,682 Yearly

$25.81 hourly

$31,00010%

$53,000Median

$90,00090%

See More Salary Information

What Am I Worth?

Roles and Types of Deputy

The role of a deputy includes a wide range of responsibilities. These responsibilities can vary based on an individual's specific job, company, or industry.Here are some general deputy responsibilities:

Management oversight of cost, schedule, and technical performance for each product line within mos customer relationship management with multiple mda customers at various levels of seniority close coordination with the mos program leader to establish strategic plans for the organization provide backup support to the mos program leader at key jrdc program meetings
Work closely with the appian practice senior manager on a day to day basis
Monitors and advises on complex and high-level matters throughout the institution oversees the fiscal

There are several types of deputy, including:

Correction Officer

Role:

While you might think that as a correction officer, a main part of your job is to correct people, it's not necessarily true. I mean you don't want the grammar police guarding the jails, do you? Instead, correction officers are there to keep an eye over those who have either been arrested and are waiting for their trial, or have already been sentenced a time to serve in jail or prison.

I'm going to give it to you straight. This position is one of the most dangerous jobs, as it has one of the highest rates of injuries and illnesses out of all occupations. Sometimes you may have to deal with a confrontational inmate. Or two. On top of that, you'll probably have to work crazy hours because there "ain't no rest for the wicked."

Average Salary: $39,369
Degree: High School Diploma

Overview How To Become Job Description Jobs

Police Officer

Role:

Whoop, whoop. That's the sound of the police. Oh, wait. It's just you. Being a police officer isn't easy. You'll go through so many emotions, all in one shift. From feeling fulfilled to depressed and even satisfied, there's no telling what your day will bring you. But, there's one thing that will never change. Doughnuts will always be there for you.

That's another thing. You'll probably get sick of the doughnut jokes. But that's part of the job, so you'll have to learn to cope with it. Maybe lean into the skid. Even though sometimes you'll want to yell at the person for making such a joke because you're super tired.

Why are you super tired? Oh, that's because you'll be working some pretty crazy hours. Maybe you'll take a couple overnight shifts. Or maybe you'll have a weekend shift. Either way, criminals don't just stop because the moon comes out. So that means you don't either.

Average Salary: $52,638
Degree: Bachelor's Degree

Overview How To Become Job Description Jobs

Deputy Sheriff

Role:

Deputy sheriffs are essentially responsible for keeping life ordered and civil. They patrol their designated areas to prevent crime, investigate illegal activities, and arrest offenders. They supervise detainees in county jails, prepare documents for court cases, and respond to emergency situations, such as accidents, medical emergencies, or missing people.

Supervising law enforcement staff is also their responsibility. But all dynamic and exciting duties aside, deputy sheriffs have to take care of administrative tasks as well. They have to log daily activities and submit reports on the work of their department to the authorities they respond to.

If you want to become a deputy sheriff, the most important thing is to have a clean criminal record. Everything else comes after that, like a high school diploma, a driver's license, perhaps some military experience, or even a degree in criminal justice. 72% of people working as deputy sheriffs find their work makes a difference and if you believe that, you too can get there, regardless of any requirements.

Average Salary: $50,143
Degree: Bachelor's Degree

Overview How To Become Job Description Jobs

States With The Most Deputy Jobs

Mouse over a state to see the number of active deputy jobs in each state. The darker areas on the map show where deputies earn the highest salaries across all 50 states.

Average Salary: Job Openings:

Number Of Deputy Jobs By State

Rank	State	Number of Jobs	Average Salary
1	California	4,401	$78,185
2	Florida	1,749	$45,971
3	Texas	1,396	$49,070
4	Pennsylvania	1,362	$57,405
5	Ohio	1,226	$53,718
6	Virginia	1,208	$61,675
7	New York	1,174	$83,516
8	Illinois	984	$58,576
9	Georgia	926	$39,573
10	Missouri	742	$40,255
11	Michigan	707	$49,540
12	Washington	706	$66,051
13	New Jersey	700	$72,862
14	Indiana	677	$42,459
15	Maryland	676	$63,562
16	Massachusetts	661	$51,805
17	Wisconsin	652	$53,576
18	Colorado	623	$58,229
19	North Carolina	621	$42,360
20	Kentucky	576	$55,700
21	Arizona	537	$51,884
22	Minnesota	504	$48,384
23	Alabama	397	$41,762
24	Tennessee	381	$45,102
25	Utah	378	$38,232
26	Oregon	368	$60,132
27	South Carolina	317	$47,202
28	Oklahoma	315	$42,892
29	Connecticut	309	$60,825
30	Nebraska	285	$50,246
31	Arkansas	246	$44,776
32	Louisiana	238	$45,456
33	Iowa	222	$50,371
34	Mississippi	203	$39,724
35	Nevada	197	$61,420
36	Delaware	170	$64,917
37	Kansas	166	$52,968
38	New Mexico	159	$50,335
39	Hawaii	136	$54,612
40	Montana	119	$42,709
41	New Hampshire	118	$46,814
42	West Virginia	104	$64,423
43	Idaho	103	$40,381
44	Alaska	95	$44,185
45	Maine	88	$51,335
46	Rhode Island	79	$56,462
47	North Dakota	48	$45,221
48	Vermont	47	$41,041
49	Wyoming	41	$52,746
50	South Dakota	37	$39,855

Deputy Education

Deputy Majors

Criminal Justice

27.7 %

Business

15.9 %

Law Enforcement

7.0 %

Deputy Degrees

Bachelors

48.2 %

The skills section on your resume can be almost as important as the experience section, so you want it to be an accurate portrayal of what you can do. Luckily, we've found all of the skills you'll need so even if you don't have these skills yet, you know what you need to work on. Out of all the resumes we looked through, 20.4% of deputies listed patrol on their resume, but soft skills such as empathy and good judgment are important as well.

Patrol, 20.4%

Public Safety, 9.0%

Transport Inmates, 5.9%

Emergency Situations, 5.1%

CPR, 5.0%

Other Skills, 54.6%

Choose From 10+ Customizable Deputy Resume templates

Zippia allows you to choose from different easy-to-use Deputy templates, and provides you with expert advice. Using the templates, you can rest assured that the structure and format of your Deputy resume is top notch. Choose a template with the colors, fonts & text sizes that are appropriate for your industry.

Deputy diversity

Deputy Gender Distribution

Male

65%

Female

35%

After extensive research and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:

Among deputies, 34.9% of them are women, while 65.1% are men.

The most common race/ethnicity among deputies is White, which makes up 60.4% of all deputies.

The most common foreign language among deputies is Spanish at 45.2%.

Online Courses For Deputy That You May Like

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Best States For a Deputy

Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as a deputy. The best states for people in this position are New York, California, New Jersey, and Washington. Deputies make the most in New York with an average salary of $83,516. Whereas in California and New Jersey, they would average $78,185 and $72,862, respectively. While deputies would only make an average of $66,051 in Washington, you would still make more there than in the rest of the country. We determined these as the best states based on job availability and pay. By finding the median salary, cost of living, and using the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Location Quotient, we narrowed down our list of states to these four.

1. District of Columbia

Total Deputy Jobs: 279

Highest 10% Earn:

$155,000

Location Quotient:

1.67

$84,407

Avg. Salary

View 279 Deputy Jobs In DC

2. California

Total Deputy Jobs: 4,401

Highest 10% Earn:

$140,000

Location Quotient:

1.51

$78,185

Avg. Salary

View 4,401 Deputy Jobs In CA

3. Delaware

Total Deputy Jobs: 170

Highest 10% Earn:

$122,000

Location Quotient:

1.36

$64,917

Avg. Salary

View 170 Deputy Jobs In DE

Full List Of Best States For Deputies

How Do Deputies Rate Their Jobs?

Top Deputy Employers

Most Common Employers For Deputy

Rank	Company	Average Salary	Hourly Rate	Job Openings
1	Oakland County, Michigan Government	$55,756	$26.81	13
2	New Hanover County	$54,285	$26.10	8
3	Travis County	$53,144	$25.55	7
4	Sullivan County	$52,482	$25.23	7
5	United States Courts	$49,934	$24.01	82
6	All Pro Security, Inc.	$48,240	$23.19	9
7	Marion County Sheriff's Office	$47,142	$22.66	16
8	Douglas County Sheriff's Office	$47,082	$22.64	11
9	Franklin County Sheriff's Office	$46,958	$22.58	8
10	Monroe County	$45,270	$21.76	13

Deputy Videos

Day in the Life: Deputy Chief of Staff

Career Advice on becoming a Deputy Teaching Support Manager by Mala P (Full Version)

Becoming a Deputy FAQs

Deputy Vs. Officer

A deputy is a policeman that works for a county's sheriff's department, while an officer is a policeman in a police department of a specific town or city.

A deputy is a law enforcement professional who enforces the laws of a specific county within a state. They are tasked with investigating crimes, arresting criminals, and responding to emergency situations.

Have more questions? See all answers to common protective service questions.

Search For Deputy Jobs

Updated April 6, 2023

What is a Deputy?

What Does a Deputy Do

How To Become a Deputy

Deputy Career Paths

Average Salary for a Deputy

Roles and Types of Deputy

Correction Officer

Role:

Police Officer

Role:

Deputy Sheriff

Role:

States With The Most Deputy Jobs

Number Of Deputy Jobs By State

Deputy Education

Deputy Majors

Deputy Degrees

Top Colleges for Deputys

1. California State University - Bakersfield

2. SUNY at Binghamton

3. San Diego State University

4. SUNY Farmingdale

5. Boston University

6. Howard University

7. SUNY at Albany

8. Western Carolina University

9. SUNY College at Plattsburgh

10. SUNY College at Oswego

Top Skills For a Deputy

Choose From 10+ Customizable Deputy Resume templates

Deputy diversity

Deputy Gender Distribution

Online Courses For Deputy That You May Like

Best States For a Deputy

How Do Deputies Rate Their Jobs?

Top Deputy Employers

Most Common Employers For Deputy

Deputy Videos

Becoming a Deputy FAQs

Deputy Vs. Officer

Search For Deputy Jobs

Deputy Related Careers

Deputy Related Jobs

What Similar Roles Do

Resume For Related Jobs