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Custer 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.
Custer County Sheriff's Office starts at $49,920 a year — about $24.00 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $18,470 below the median of the 1,681 agencies on this list, and $15,454 below the median for county agencies.
Cost of livingPrices in rural Idaho run about 8% below the national average, so this goes about as far as $54,341 would somewhere at average prices — $4,421 more than the headline figure. Most of that is utilities, at 70 against a national average of 100, where goods are 97. 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 isCuster County Sheriff's Office reported 10 sworn officers and 11 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 Custer County says about itself
Be active in patrols and investigations in Custer County. Responding to calls and providing backup. Be available as needed to cover calls and assist with coverage shifts for the Custer County Sheriff's Office.
What Custer County does
Custer County Sheriff's Office works out of Challis in the mountains of central Idaho, one of the state's largest and emptiest counties. The County describes its duties as enforcing state and local law in the unincorporated areas, running the county jail, serving court papers such as writs and summonses, keeping public order, responding to emergencies and working alongside other law-enforcement agencies. It also handles public records requests and maintains a county search and rescue unit.
Where the figure comes from
Checked 8 August 2026. This figure was advertised on the state POST job board on that date; postings there rotate, so the listing itself may since have closed. Idaho Peace Officer Standards and Training official Law Enforcement Job Postings — Patrol Deputy — open the source document
Open 20 May 2026–30 August 2026; official range $24.00–$26.00/hour; applicant must be willing and able to attend the Idaho POST Patrol Academy within one year of employment
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 Custer 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. Custer County starts at $49,920, so $15,454 below the county middle.
How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a Custer County Sheriff's Office officer make?
Custer County Sheriff's Office starts a new officer on $49,920 a year, about $24.00 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 Idaho Peace Officer Standards and Training official Law Enforcement Job Postings — Patrol Deputy.
Is that good pay for a police officer in Idaho?
It ranks #36 of 51 agencies we have verified in Idaho — 15 pay less, 35 pay more in the state — and #1,574 of 1,681 nationally. Against the national median it is $18,470 below, and against other county agencies $15,454 below.
Compare with another department
Put Custer 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 ID
| # | Agency | Level | Sworn # | Entry pay | Vs Custer | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sun Valley Police Department | Municipal | — | $75,005 | +$25,085 | #558 |
| 2 | Blaine County Sheriff's Office | County | 20 | $74,526 | +$24,606 | #577 |
| 3 | Boise Police Department | Municipal | 326 | $69,514 | +$19,594 | #791 |
| 4 | Meridian Police Department | Municipal | 109 | $67,621 | +$17,701 | #885 |
| 5 | Post Falls Police Department | Municipal | 52 | $67,330 | +$17,410 | #904 |
| 6 | Coeur d'Alene Police Department | Municipal | 94 | $66,872 | +$16,952 | #925 |
| 7 | Kootenai County Sheriff's Office | County | 104 | $65,291 | +$15,371 | #1,006 |
| 8 | Ada County Sheriff's Office | County | 220 | $64,896 | +$14,976 | #1,030 |
| 9 | McCall Police Department | Municipal | 12 | $63,773 | +$13,853 | #1,069 |
| 10 | Moscow Police Department | Municipal | 30 | $63,544 | +$13,624 | #1,079 |
| 11 | Lewiston Police Department | Municipal | 46 | $63,321 | +$13,401 | #1,094 |
| 12 | Idaho State Police | State | 311 | $62,546 | +$12,626 | #1,128 |
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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