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Day 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.
Day County Sheriff's Office starts at $52,000 a year — about $25.00 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $15,267 below the median of the 2,053 agencies on this list, and $12,438 below the median for county agencies.
Cost of livingPrices in South Dakota run about 11% below the national average, so this goes about as far as $58,700 would somewhere at average prices — $6,700 more than the headline figure. Most of that is rent, at 68 against a national average of 100, where goods are 95. Based on state-wide price levels, because this agency is not tied to a single 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 isDay County Sheriff's Office reported 4 sworn officers and 10 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.
About Day County
The Day County Sheriff's Office polices Day County in north-eastern South Dakota from the courthouse at Webster, covering the county and the communities of Andover, Bristol, Pierpont, Roslyn and Waubay and assisting the Webster Police Department. The office consists of the Sheriff, three full-time deputies, an administrative assistant, a jail administrator and six part-time jailer/dispatchers, and it runs a 24/7 jail that houses inmates for neighbouring counties under contract. The Sheriff is Jerred Schreur.
Where the figure comes from
Checked 8 September 2026. Day County Commission, minutes of 24 March 2026 — new hire approved at the deputy starting rate; rank structure from the County's SDCL 6-1-10 salary list of 6 January 2026 and the Sheriff's Office's own roster — open the source document
Read 8 September 2026 from the County's own minutes: 'Moved by McGregor-Okroi, seconded by Torrence to approve new hire Slade Owen as Deputy Sheriff at $25.00/hour with benefits effective 4/7/26', taken at the same meeting that accepted Deputy Kolby Weinberg's resignation. $25.00 x 2,080 = $52,000.00. This is the rate the County actually starts a deputy on: its SDCL 6-1-10 salary list of 6 January 2026 shows the two serving deputies above it at $53,040 and $54,080 with the Chief Deputy at $59,280, and the Sheriff's Office's own roster names Josh Hoven as Chief Deputy Sheriff, which is what identifies the plain 'Deputy' entry on the payroll list as the senior post rather than the junior one. The County's own deputy posting lists South Dakota law enforcement certification as PREFERRED, not required, and says starting pay is set by experience and certification status, so certification is not a condition of hire.
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 Day 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 | $33,280 | $68,786 | $163,619 | 1372 |
| County | $35,000 | $64,438 | $132,263 | 459 |
| Special jurisdiction | $31,200 | $60,204 | $107,954 | 71 |
| State | $33,994 | $65,400 | $110,916 | 144 |
| 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 $4,700 more than the middle municipal agency and about $9,100 more than the middle county agency and about $13,300 more than the middle special jurisdiction agency and about $8,100 more than the middle state agency and about $45,300 more than the middle territory agency. Day County starts at $52,000, so $12,438 below the county middle.
How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a Day County Sheriff's Office officer make?
Day County Sheriff's Office starts a new officer on $52,000 a year, about $25.00 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 Day County Commission, minutes of 24 March 2026 — new hire approved at the deputy starting rate; rank structure from the County's SDCL 6-1-10 salary list of 6 January 2026 and the Sheriff's Office's own roster.
Is that good pay for a police officer in South Dakota?
It ranks #15 of 17 agencies we have verified in South Dakota — 2 pay less, 14 pay more in the state — and #1,800 of 2,053 nationally. Against the national median it is $15,267 below, and against other county agencies $12,438 below.
Compare with another department
Put Day 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 Day | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sioux Falls Police Department | Municipal | 284 | $72,030 | +$20,030 | #744 |
| 2 | Rapid City Police Department | Municipal | 157 | $70,491 | +$18,491 | #835 |
| 3 | Spearfish Police Department | Municipal | 19 | $68,307 | +$16,307 | #953 |
| 4 | Pierre Police Department | Municipal | 20 | $68,307 | +$16,307 | #954 |
| 5 | Minnehaha County Sheriff's Office | County | 86 | $66,893 | +$14,893 | #1,044 |
| 6 | South Dakota Highway Patrol | State | 150 | $64,251 | +$12,251 | #1,201 |
| 7 | Mitchell Police Department | Municipal | 26 | $63,492 | +$11,492 | #1,240 |
| 8 | Pennington County Sheriff's Office | County | 217 | $63,357 | +$11,357 | #1,250 |
| 9 | Aberdeen Police Department | Municipal | 54 | $62,587 | +$10,587 | #1,291 |
| 10 | Yankton Police Department | Municipal | 30 | $58,253 | +$6,253 | #1,512 |
| 11 | Edmunds County Sheriff's Office | County | 8 | $58,136 | +$6,136 | #1,520 |
| 12 | Brown County Sheriff's Office | County | 21 | $55,578 | +$3,578 | #1,645 |
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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