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Dunn 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.
Dunn County Sheriff's Office starts at $66,414 a year — about $31.93 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $270 below the median of the 2,288 agencies on this list, and $2,855 above the median for county agencies.
Cost of livingPrices in rural Wisconsin run about 10% below the national average, so this goes about as far as $74,142 would somewhere at average prices — $7,728 more than the headline figure. Most of that is rent, at 63 against a national average of 100, where goods are 94. 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 isDunn County Sheriff's Office reported 30 sworn officers and 31 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 Dunn County says about itself
It is the mission of the Dunn County Sheriff's Office to provide professional, courteous, and timely law enforcement services to all persons, businesses, and agencies of Dunn County in a cost effective and efficient manner. The office is a full-service agency covering over 850 square miles and approximately 50,000 residents across 14 villages, 22 townships and the City of Menomonie, with about 59 full-time employees, five part-time employees and up to 30 reserve deputies. The Office of Sheriff is created by the Wisconsin Constitution, Article VI, Section 4, an elected office in each county with a four year term, so the Sheriff is a constitutional officer who is the Chief Law Enforcement Officer of the County.
What Dunn County does
Dunn County Sheriff's Office provides patrol, investigations, corrections, court-security, civil, emergency communications and recreational patrol services. Official County materials emphasize professional public safety, service and community partnership.
Where the figure comes from
Checked 8 August 2026. Dunn County official GovernmentJobs posting — Deputy Sheriff — open the source document
Opening 29 January 2026; closed 22 February 2026; $31.93/hour minimum annualized at 2,080 hours
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 Dunn 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. Dunn County starts at $66,414, so $2,849 above the county middle.
How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a Dunn County Sheriff's Office officer make?
Dunn County Sheriff's Office starts a new officer on $66,414 a year, about $31.93 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 Dunn County official GovernmentJobs posting — Deputy Sheriff.
Is that good pay for a police officer in Wisconsin?
It ranks #49 of 81 agencies we have verified in Wisconsin — 32 pay less, 48 pay more in the state — and #1,165 of 2,288 nationally. Against the national median it is $270 below, and against other county agencies $2,855 above.
Compare with another department
Put Dunn 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 WI
| # | Agency | Level | Sworn # | Entry pay | Vs Dunn | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Menomonee Falls Police Department | Municipal | 59 | $82,618 | +$16,203 | #414 |
| 2 | Fitchburg Police Department | Municipal | 50 | $78,790 | +$12,376 | #527 |
| 3 | Brookfield Police Department | Municipal | 80 | $78,666 | +$12,251 | #533 |
| 4 | Cedarburg Police Department | Municipal | 24 | $77,561 | +$11,147 | #571 |
| 5 | Stoughton Police Department | Municipal | 23 | $76,378 | +$9,963 | #607 |
| 6 | Waukesha County Sheriff's Office | County | 158 | $76,128 | +$9,714 | #614 |
| 7 | River Falls Police Department | Municipal | 27 | $75,525 | +$9,110 | #647 |
| 8 | Wisconsin State Patrol | State | 445 | $75,462 | +$9,048 | #650 |
| 9 | Grafton Police Department | Municipal | 22 | $75,102 | +$8,688 | #672 |
| 10 | Dodge County Sheriff's Office | County | 64 | $75,088 | +$8,674 | #673 |
| 11 | St. Croix County Sheriff's Office | County | 98 | $74,695 | +$8,281 | #688 |
| 12 | Kenosha Police Department | Municipal | 231 | $74,640 | +$8,226 | #692 |
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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