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Brown 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.
Brown County Sheriff's Office starts at $55,578 a year — about $26.72 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $12,812 below the median of the 1,681 agencies on this list, and $9,797 below the median for county agencies.
Cost of livingPrices in rural South Dakota run about 13% below the national average, so this goes about as far as $64,117 would somewhere at average prices — $8,540 more than the headline figure. Most of that is rent, at 59 against a national average of 100, where goods are 95. Based on price levels for the non-metropolitan part of this state, because this agency is outside every metro 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 isBrown County Sheriff's Office reported 21 sworn officers and 66 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 Brown County says about itself
The Sheriff shall keep and preserve the peace within the county. DESCRIPTION: The Brown County Sheriff's Office preserves the peace, pursues and apprehends felons, executes lawful court process, and provides law enforcement, civil process, jail, juvenile detention, prisoner transport, communications and rescue services.
What Brown County does
Brown County describes the Deputy Sheriff position as law-enforcement work involving protection of life and property, enforcement of laws and investigation of crime. Deputies patrol the county, respond to calls, investigate incidents, arrest offenders, serve court process, transport inmates and provide courthouse security
Where the figure comes from
Checked 10 August 2026. Brown County Commission personnel action confirming a new full-time Deputy Sheriff hire at the starting wage; Brown County Deputy Sheriff job specification — open the source document
Their source is effective 27 May 2025.
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 Brown 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 | $35,006 | $71,287 | $163,619 | 1046 |
| County | $36,492 | $65,374 | $132,263 | 416 |
| Special jurisdiction | $31,200 | $60,195 | $107,954 | 69 |
| State | $33,994 | $64,998 | $102,692 | 143 |
| 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 $2,200 more than the middle municipal agency and about $8,100 more than the middle county agency and about $13,300 more than the middle special jurisdiction agency and about $8,500 more than the middle state agency and about $45,300 more than the middle territory agency. Brown County starts at $55,578, so $9,796 below the county middle.
How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a Brown County Sheriff's Office officer make?
Brown County Sheriff's Office starts a new officer on $55,578 a year, about $26.72 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 Brown County Commission personnel action confirming a new full-time Deputy Sheriff hire at the starting wage; Brown County Deputy Sheriff job specification.
Is that good pay for a police officer in South Dakota?
It ranks #9 of 9 agencies we have verified in South Dakota — 0 pay less, 8 pay more in the state — and #1,408 of 1,681 nationally. Against the national median it is $12,812 below, and against other county agencies $9,797 below.
Compare with another department
Put Brown 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 SD
| # | Agency | Level | Sworn # | Entry pay | Vs Brown | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sioux Falls Police Department | Municipal | 284 | $72,030 | +$16,453 | #664 |
| 2 | Spearfish Police Department | Municipal | 19 | $68,307 | +$12,730 | #846 |
| 3 | Pierre Police Department | Municipal | 20 | $68,307 | +$12,730 | #847 |
| 4 | Minnehaha County Sheriff's Office | County | 86 | $66,893 | +$11,315 | #923 |
| 5 | Rapid City Police Department | Municipal | 157 | $66,456 | +$10,878 | #950 |
| 6 | South Dakota Highway Patrol | State | 150 | $64,251 | +$8,674 | #1,053 |
| 7 | Pennington County Sheriff's Office | County | 217 | $63,357 | +$7,779 | #1,092 |
| 8 | Yankton Police Department | Municipal | 30 | $58,253 | +$2,675 | #1,306 |
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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