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Dubuque 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.
Dubuque County Sheriff's Office starts at $70,970 a year — about $34.12 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $4,285 above the median of the 2,288 agencies on this list, and $7,410 above the median for county agencies.
Cost of livingPrices in Iowa run about 12% below the national average, so this goes about as far as $80,866 would somewhere at average prices — $9,896 more than the headline figure. Most of that is rent, at 65 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 isDubuque County Sheriff's Office reported 75 sworn officers and 34 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 Dubuque County says about itself
The mission of the Dubuque County Sheriff's Office is the preservation of the peace, the prevention of crime, the safe-guarding of civil rights, and the maintenance of social order with justice, equity, and freedom for all.
What Dubuque County does
The Dubuque County Sheriff's Office is the sheriff's office for Dubuque County in eastern Iowa, based at the Law Enforcement Center at 770 Iowa Street in Dubuque.
Where the figure comes from
Checked 26 September 2026. Dubuque County, Deputy Sheriff civil service examination notice (pay effective 7/1/26): "Hourly Entry Rate ... $34.12". — open the source document
The County labels $34.12 an hour the entry rate for a deputy, on the pay scale effective 1 July 2026; converted at 2,080 hours ($70,969.60). The notice is for the examination of 21 November 2026 and prints no separate certified or recruit rate. Excluded: the second- and third-shift differential, paid holidays, uniform and equipment.
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 Dubuque 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. Dubuque County starts at $70,970, so $7,405 above the county middle.
How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a Dubuque County Sheriff's Office officer make?
Dubuque County Sheriff's Office starts a new officer on $70,970 a year, about $34.12 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 Dubuque County, Deputy Sheriff civil service examination notice (pay effective 7/1/26): "Hourly Entry Rate ... $34.12"..
Is that good pay for a police officer in Iowa?
It ranks #11 of 34 agencies we have verified in Iowa — 23 pay less, 10 pay more in the state — and #881 of 2,288 nationally. Against the national median it is $4,285 above, and against other county agencies $7,410 above.
Compare with another department
Put Dubuque 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 IA
| # | Agency | Level | Sworn # | Entry pay | Vs Dubuque | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Iowa County Sheriff's Office | County | 14 | $85,550 | +$14,581 | #342 |
| 2 | Des Moines Police Department | Municipal | 367 | $84,635 | +$13,666 | #359 |
| 3 | Norwalk Police Department | Municipal | 22 | $76,710 | +$5,741 | #593 |
| 4 | Ankeny Police Department | Municipal | 78 | $76,648 | +$5,678 | #599 |
| 5 | Urbandale Police Department | Municipal | 58 | $76,028 | +$5,058 | #625 |
| 6 | Waterloo Police Department | Municipal | 124 | $74,776 | +$3,806 | #683 |
| 7 | Woodbury County Sheriff's Office | County | 44 | $73,944 | +$2,974 | #721 |
| 8 | Linn County Sheriff's Office | County | 120 | $73,216 | +$2,246 | #746 |
| 9 | Chickasaw County Sheriff's Office | County | 10 | $71,822 | +$853 | #827 |
| 10 | Mason City Police Department | Municipal | 40 | $71,448 | +$478 | #847 |
| 12 | Johnson County Sheriff's Office | County | 81 | $70,871 | −$99 | #889 |
| 13 | Iowa Department of Natural Resources — Conservation Law Enforcement | State | — | $70,574 | −$395 | #902 |
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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