Compare Washington sheriff department costs

Sheriff department cost and staffing across all 39 counties. Click a column header to sort. Hover a column header to see what it measures. Data as of 2026-06-27.

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County Population Budget $/resident Sworn / 100k res Custody / 100k res Beds / 100k res
Adams County 20,557 145.9 63.2 145.9
Asotin County 22,370 58.1 80.5 643.7
Benton County 207,560 $36,273,515 $175 30.4 67.9 358.5
Chelan County 79,076 74.6 130.3 349.0
Clallam County 77,333 $18,778,572 $243 73.7 97.0 146.1
Clark County 504,091 $105,135,959 $209 26.0 52.0 112.9
Columbia County 3,980 276.4 0.0
Cowlitz County 110,621 $26,567,795 $240 39.8 93.1 325.4
Douglas County 43,189 71.8 13.9
Ferry County 7,260 82.6 151.5 1267.2
Franklin County 96,692 $17,706,019 $183 25.9 61.0 330.9
Garfield County 2,310 346.3 0.0
Grant County 99,145 $28,369,385 $286 53.5 57.5 189.6
Grays Harbor County 75,672 $11,709,557 $155 50.2 75.3 232.6
Island County 86,510 $13,531,359 $156 64.7 25.4 67.0
Jefferson County 33,006 97.0 45.4 172.7
King County 2,254,371 $544,625,500 $242 24.6 45.9 120.6
Kitsap County 275,411 $61,129,637 $222 45.0 49.7 176.5
Kittitas County 44,424 94.5 99.0 470.5
Klickitat County 22,798 87.7 105.3 214.9
Lewis County 82,663 $20,999,597 $254 52.0 116.1 430.7
Lincoln County 11,036 145.0 117.8 163.1
Mason County 66,053 $19,744,699 $299 81.8 139.3 227.1
Okanogan County 42,336 54.3 122.8 458.2
Pacific County 23,396 68.4 47.0 171.0
Pend Oreille County 13,570 110.5 66.3 294.8
Pierce County 918,993 $203,258,610 $221 32.2 29.7 186.7
San Juan County 18,001 122.2 33.3
Skagit County 129,480 $36,820,488 $284 44.8 81.9 308.9
Skamania County 12,118 148.5 24.8 387.9
Snohomish County 828,337 $161,400,078 $195 36.5 42.4 123.7
Spokane County 538,711 $134,897,726 $250 38.1 67.8 181.5
Stevens County 46,774 66.3 29.9 85.5
Thurston County 294,272 $63,693,496 $216 32.6 61.2 166.9
Wahkiakum County 4,476 201.1 178.7 312.8
Walla Walla County 62,150 $10,982,445 $177 51.5 75.6 177.0
Whatcom County 226,523 $48,541,260 $214 36.6 51.7 131.6
Whitman County 47,141 $5,962,756 $126 36.1 33.9 131.5
Yakima County 256,143 $51,900,032 $203 21.5 67.1 457.6
Washington average 344,661 $77,239,452 $224 33.0 52.0 172.6

A note on data vintages and definitions. Population is the US Census Bureau's 2018–2022 American Community Survey 5-year estimate. Sheriff staffing comes from the US Census Bureau's Annual Survey of Public Employment & Payroll / Census of Governments — Employment 2022 (March reference period). Headcount equals full-time plus part-time positions across function codes 062 (sworn law enforcement), 162 (civilian law enforcement), and 005 (corrections). Census does not publish true full-time-equivalent figures, and the March payroll snapshot is not directly comparable to a full annual operating budget. Jail bed capacity comes from the US Bureau of Justice Statistics Annual Survey of Jails 2020 (ICPSR 38408), a sampled survey covering 11 of Washington's 39 counties; the remaining 28 counties show "—" for the Beds / 100k column. Counties that book inmates to a neighboring jurisdiction's facility under an interlocal agreement are noted on their individual county page. Budget data for Washington sheriff departments has not yet been loaded into this site.