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Hidalgo 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.
Hidalgo County Sheriff's Office starts at $55,578 a year — about $26.72 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $12,812 below the median of the 1,681 agencies on this list, and $9,796 below the median for county agencies.
Cost of livingPrices in McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX run about 14% below the national average, so this goes about as far as $64,705 would somewhere at average prices — $9,127 more than the headline figure. Most of that is rent, at 56 against a national average of 100, where goods are 94. Based on price levels for this metropolitan 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 isHidalgo County Sheriff's Office reported 304 sworn officers and 581 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 Hidalgo County
The Hidalgo County Sheriff's Office provides county law-enforcement services and operates its own Sheriff's Office Academy and TCOLE training program. Its compensation plan distinguishes trainee deputies from regular Deputy Sheriffs and senior law-enforcement ranks
Where the figure comes from
Checked 10 August 2026. Hidalgo County 2026 Law Enforcement Pay Plan - Salary Table — open the source document
Their source is effective 1 January 2026.
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 Hidalgo 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. Hidalgo County starts at $55,578, so $9,796 below the county middle.
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How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a Hidalgo County Sheriff's Office officer make?
Hidalgo County Sheriff's Office starts a new officer on $55,578 a year, about $26.72 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 Hidalgo County 2026 Law Enforcement Pay Plan - Salary Table.
Is that good pay for a police officer in Texas?
It ranks #121 of 140 agencies we have verified in Texas — 19 pay less, 120 pay more in the state — and #1,406 of 1,681 nationally. Against the national median it is $12,812 below, and against other county agencies $9,796 below.
Compare with another department
Put Hidalgo 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 TX
| # | Agency | Level | Sworn # | Entry pay | Vs Hidalgo | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Allen Police Department | Municipal | 153 | $91,106 | +$35,528 | #192 |
| 2 | Frisco Police Department | Municipal | 270 | $90,750 | +$35,172 | #200 |
| 3 | Plano Police Department | Municipal | 414 | $90,729 | +$35,151 | #201 |
| 4 | Grand Prairie Police Department | Municipal | 287 | $90,000 | +$34,422 | #216 |
| 5 | Hurst Police Department | Municipal | — | $87,048 | +$31,470 | #264 |
| 6 | Lewisville Police Department | Municipal | 181 | $86,268 | +$30,690 | #276 |
| 7 | Coppell Police Department | Municipal | 60 | $84,968 | +$29,390 | #293 |
| 8 | Rockwall Police Department | Municipal | 95 | $84,448 | +$28,870 | #300 |
| 9 | The Colony Police Department | Municipal | — | $84,082 | +$28,504 | #306 |
| 10 | Baytown Police Department | Municipal | — | $84,049 | +$28,471 | #307 |
| 11 | McKinney Police Department | Municipal | 248 | $83,992 | +$28,414 | #309 |
| 12 | Mesquite Police Department | Municipal | 260 | $83,869 | +$28,291 | #312 |
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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