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Dodge 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.
Dodge County Sheriff's Office starts at $66,200 a year — about $31.83 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $485 below the median of the 2,288 agencies on this list, and $2,641 above the median for county agencies.
Cost of livingPrices in Nebraska run about 10% below the national average, so this goes about as far as $73,472 would somewhere at average prices — $7,271 more than the headline figure. Most of that is rent, at 75 against a national average of 100, where goods are 94. 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 isDodge County Sheriff's Office reported 21 sworn officers and 5 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 Dodge County says about itself
Dodge County Sheriff's Office is made up of 24 sworn officers and four office staff members.
What Dodge County does
The Dodge County Sheriff's Office is the sheriff's office for Dodge County in eastern Nebraska, based in Fremont. It has 24 sworn officers and patrols 543 square miles, handles civil process and handgun permits, and runs the county jail.
Where the figure comes from
Checked 26 September 2026. Dodge County, Agreement between Dodge County Sheriff's Department and FOP Lodge No. 17, July 1, 2024 - June 30, 2027, Article 21 Wages, "July 1, 2026-June 30, 2027": Deputy/Civil Processor "Start" $31.827. — open the source document
The Start step for a deputy in the contract year in force now, $31.827 an hour from 1 July 2026, converted at 2,080 hours on the contract's 40-hour week ($31.827 x 2,080 = $66,200.16). The contract has no separate uncertified rate below Start. The copy is the County Board's own agenda attachment of 26 June 2024. The office's employment page agrees: "Salary range on 8-step pay scale: $31.80 - $41.90 per hour." Excluded: the field training, senior officer and Spanish differentials and the lateral hiring bonus.
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.
Entry pay, 2024–2026
Every point is the entry-class annual base printed in the agency’s own pay document. Base pay only — no shift differential, incentives or allowances.
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How this level compares
Where Dodge 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 | $68,140 | $163,619 | 1549 |
| County | $35,000 | $63,565 | $132,263 | 516 |
| Special jurisdiction | $31,200 | $60,204 | $107,954 | 71 |
| State | $33,994 | $65,166 | $110,916 | 145 |
| 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 $5,400 more than the middle municipal agency and about $9,900 more than the middle county agency and about $13,300 more than the middle special jurisdiction agency and about $8,300 more than the middle state agency and about $45,300 more than the middle territory agency. Dodge County starts at $66,200, so $2,635 above the county middle.
How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a Dodge County Sheriff's Office officer make?
Dodge County Sheriff's Office starts a new officer on $66,200 a year, about $31.83 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 Dodge County, Agreement between Dodge County Sheriff's Department and FOP Lodge No. 17, July 1, 2024 - June 30, 2027, Article 21 Wages, "July 1, 2026-June 30, 2027": Deputy/Civil Processor "Start" $31.827..
Is that good pay for a police officer in Nebraska?
It ranks #11 of 20 agencies we have verified in Nebraska — 9 pay less, 10 pay more in the state — and #1,176 of 2,288 nationally. Against the national median it is $485 below, and against other county agencies $2,641 above.
Compare with another department
Put Dodge 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 NE
| # | Agency | Level | Sworn # | Entry pay | Vs Dodge | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Omaha Police Department | Municipal | 788 | $79,580 | +$13,380 | #505 |
| 2 | Lincoln Police Department | Municipal | 351 | $74,568 | +$8,368 | #694 |
| 3 | Sarpy County Sheriff's Office | County | 114 | $73,861 | +$7,661 | #724 |
| 4 | La Vista Police Department | Municipal | 42 | $73,653 | +$7,453 | #730 |
| 5 | Lancaster County Sheriff's Office | County | 86 | $72,280 | +$6,080 | #796 |
| 6 | Nebraska State Patrol | State | 410 | $70,195 | +$3,995 | #928 |
| 7 | University of Nebraska-Lincoln Police Department | Special jurisdiction | 30 | $70,042 | +$3,842 | #935 |
| 8 | Papillion Police Department | Municipal | 48 | $69,086 | +$2,886 | #985 |
| 9 | Douglas County Sheriff's Office | County | 155 | $68,744 | +$2,544 | #1,008 |
| 10 | Grand Island Police Department | Municipal | 89 | $67,621 | +$1,421 | #1,086 |
| 12 | Hastings Police Department | Municipal | 35 | $65,790 | −$410 | #1,202 |
| 13 | Columbus Police Department | Municipal | 37 | $65,340 | −$860 | #1,235 |
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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