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Grant 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.
Grant County Sheriff's Office starts at $49,691 a year — about $23.89 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $18,699 below the median of the 1,681 agencies on this list, and $15,683 below the median for county agencies.
Cost of livingPrices in rural New Mexico run about 14% below the national average, so this goes about as far as $57,849 would somewhere at average prices — $8,158 more than the headline figure. Most of that is rent, at 53 against a national average of 100, where goods are 96. 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.
About Grant County
Grant County Sheriff's Office provides patrol, investigations, detention-related support, court-security, civil and emergency public-safety services. Official County materials emphasize professional law enforcement, protection of life and property and service to county residents.
Where the figure comes from
Checked 10 August 2026. Grant County official Certified Deputy Sheriff class specification — open the source document
Our $40,123.20 figure is the Deputy Sheriff Cadet minimum. Grant County separately publishes a Certified Deputy Sheriff class at $49,691.20-$69,576 annually; the certified class is the post-cadet law-enforcement rate.
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.
How this level compares
Where Grant 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. Grant County starts at $49,691, so $15,683 below the county middle.
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How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a Grant County Sheriff's Office officer make?
Grant County Sheriff's Office starts a new officer on $49,691 a year, about $23.89 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 Grant County official Certified Deputy Sheriff class specification.
Is that good pay for a police officer in New Mexico?
It ranks #13 of 13 agencies we have verified in New Mexico — 0 pay less, 12 pay more in the state — and #1,578 of 1,681 nationally. Against the national median it is $18,699 below, and against other county agencies $15,683 below.
Compare with another department
Put Grant 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 NM
| # | Agency | Level | Sworn # | Entry pay | Vs Grant | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Santa Fe Police Department | Municipal | — | $75,046 | +$25,355 | #557 |
| 2 | New Mexico State Police | State | 1,174 | $70,845 | +$21,154 | #734 |
| 3 | Albuquerque Police Department | Municipal | 966 | $65,499 | +$15,808 | #991 |
| 4 | San Juan County Sheriff's Office | County | 86 | $63,045 | +$13,354 | #1,109 |
| 5 | Valencia County Sheriff's Office | County | 48 | $62,150 | +$12,459 | #1,149 |
| 6 | Carlsbad Police Department | Municipal | 57 | $59,842 | +$10,150 | #1,255 |
| 7 | McKinley County Sheriff's Office | County | 37 | $59,675 | +$9,984 | #1,263 |
| 8 | Los Lunas Police Department | Municipal | — | $59,212 | +$9,521 | #1,279 |
| 9 | Chaves County Sheriff's Office | County | 33 | $56,264 | +$6,573 | #1,389 |
| 10 | Las Cruces Police Department | Municipal | 200 | $54,080 | +$4,389 | #1,466 |
| 11 | Rio Rancho Police Department | Municipal | 134 | $52,000 | +$2,309 | #1,515 |
| 12 | Ruidoso Police Department | Municipal | 12 | $50,336 | +$645 | #1,557 |
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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