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Itasca 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.
Itasca County Sheriff's Office starts at $69,576 a year — about $33.45 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $2,891 above the median of the 2,288 agencies on this list, and $6,016 above the median for county agencies.
Cost of livingPrices in rural Minnesota run about 14% below the national average, so this goes about as far as $81,042 would somewhere at average prices — $11,466 more than the headline figure. Most of that is rent, at 58 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.
How big the department isItasca County Sheriff's Office reported 45 sworn officers and 57 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 Itasca County says about itself
The Itasca County Sheriff's Office is responsible for law enforcement work to protect life and property, prevent crimes, and enforce statutes and ordinances throughout the county, with assigned areas of responsibility including patrol, bailiff and recreational duties. The office runs its jail and jail annex, a civil process division and a records division from Grand Rapids, and it operates under a Sheriff's Civil Service Commission which sets the classifications and qualifications for every post. Under Minnesota Statute 387.03 the Sheriff shall keep and preserve the peace of the county, pursue and apprehend all felons, execute all processes, writs, precepts and orders, attend upon the terms of the district court, and perform all of the duties pertaining to the office, including investigating recreational vehicle accidents outside a municipality, searching and dragging for drowned bodies, and searching and looking for lost persons.
What Itasca County does
Itasca County Sheriff's Office provides patrol, investigations, corrections, civil, court-security, emergency communications, water patrol and search-and-rescue services. Official County materials emphasize professional public safety and service to residents and visitors.
Shifts at Itasca County
The normal work day and work week shall consist of twelve (12) hours per day and eighty (80) hours per pay period... [road deputy] The normal work week shall consist of an average of 42 hours per week based on a consistent scheduling procedure.
Two patterns in one office - twelves in the jail, a 42-hour average on the road. BlueShifts holds whichever one you actually work.
Where the figure comes from
Checked 8 August 2026. Itasca County official GovernmentJobs posting — Deputy Sheriff/Road Deputy — open the source document
Opening 24 June 2026; closes 8 July 2026; $33.45/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 Itasca 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. Itasca County starts at $69,576, so $6,011 above the county middle.
How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a Itasca County Sheriff's Office officer make?
Itasca County Sheriff's Office starts a new officer on $69,576 a year, about $33.45 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 Itasca County official GovernmentJobs posting — Deputy Sheriff/Road Deputy.
Is that good pay for a police officer in Minnesota?
It ranks #84 of 102 agencies we have verified in Minnesota — 18 pay less, 83 pay more in the state — and #963 of 2,288 nationally. Against the national median it is $2,891 above, and against other county agencies $6,016 above.
What shifts do Itasca County Sheriff's Office officers work?
The normal work day and work week shall consist of twelve (12) hours per day and eighty (80) hours per pay period... [road deputy] The normal work week shall consist of an average of 42 hours per week based on a consistent scheduling procedure. That is the agency's own published wording; the pattern is drawn on this page.
Compare with another department
Put Itasca 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 MN
| # | Agency | Level | Sworn # | Entry pay | Vs Itasca | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Blaine Police Department | Municipal | 80 | $101,733 | +$32,157 | #111 |
| 2 | Stillwater Police Department | Municipal | 26 | $94,328 | +$24,752 | #193 |
| 3 | Columbia Heights Police Department | Municipal | 29 | $93,725 | +$24,149 | #198 |
| 4 | Carver County Sheriff's Office | County | 77 | $93,683 | +$24,107 | #200 |
| 5 | Oakdale Police Department | Municipal | 39 | $93,538 | +$23,962 | #203 |
| 6 | Richfield Police Department | Municipal | 45 | $93,226 | +$23,650 | #205 |
| 7 | Maplewood Police Department | Municipal | 56 | $93,038 | +$23,462 | #209 |
| 8 | Forest Lake Police Department | Municipal | 20 | $92,789 | +$23,213 | #212 |
| 9 | Apple Valley Police Department | Municipal | 59 | $92,768 | +$23,192 | #213 |
| 10 | Coon Rapids Police Department | Municipal | 73 | $92,123 | +$22,547 | #226 |
| 11 | Saint Paul Police Department | Municipal | 562 | $91,291 | +$21,715 | #237 |
| 12 | Woodbury Police Department | Municipal | 80 | $91,187 | +$21,611 | #239 |
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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