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Lake 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.
Lake County Sheriff's Office starts at $87,297 a year — about $41.97 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $18,907 above the median of the 1,681 agencies on this list, and $21,923 above the median for county agencies.
Cost of livingPrices in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN run about 4% above the national average, so this is worth roughly $84,268 somewhere at average prices — $3,029 less than the headline figure. Most of that is utilities, at 84 against a national average of 100, where goods are 107. 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 isLake County Sheriff's Office reported 113 sworn officers and 198 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 Lake County says about itself
The Mission of the Lake County Sheriff's Office is to protect our diverse communities by maintaining order, upholding laws and defending the rights of all people. Our commitment is to serve through education, communication, partnerships, and enforcement while strengthening the public trust.
What Lake County does
The Lake County Sheriff's Office maintains peace and order and protects life and property by enforcing federal, state and local laws and ordinances throughout unincorporated Lake County and contracted communities. Its Operations Division provides first-responder police services, investigates criminal activity, apprehends offenders and maintains order, with Highway Patrol serving unincorporated areas and contractual municipalities
Where the figure comes from
Checked 10 August 2026. Lake County Sheriff's Merit Commission Deputy Sheriff recruitment — open the source document
Their source is effective 1 July 2025.
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 Lake 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. Lake County starts at $87,297, so $21,923 above the county middle.
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How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a Lake County Sheriff's Office officer make?
Lake County Sheriff's Office starts a new officer on $87,297 a year, about $41.97 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 Lake County Sheriff's Merit Commission Deputy Sheriff recruitment.
Is that good pay for a police officer in Illinois?
It ranks #9 of 35 agencies we have verified in Illinois — 26 pay less, 8 pay more in the state — and #259 of 1,681 nationally. Against the national median it is $18,907 above, and against other county agencies $21,923 above.
Compare with another department
Put Lake 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 IL
| # | Agency | Level | Sworn # | Entry pay | Vs Lake | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vernon Hills Police Department | Municipal | 44 | $94,460 | +$7,163 | #151 |
| 2 | Wilmette Police Department | Municipal | 45 | $93,156 | +$5,859 | #165 |
| 3 | Aurora Police Department | Municipal | 328 | $92,248 | +$4,951 | #176 |
| 4 | Des Plaines Police Department | Municipal | 97 | $91,440 | +$4,143 | #186 |
| 5 | Highland Park Police Department | Municipal | 60 | $91,158 | +$3,861 | #191 |
| 6 | Illinois State Police | State | 1,821 | $90,828 | +$3,531 | #199 |
| 7 | River Forest Police Department | Municipal | 26 | $90,106 | +$2,809 | #213 |
| 8 | Elgin Police Department | Municipal | 203 | $88,274 | +$977 | #245 |
| 10 | Woodridge Police Department | Municipal | 47 | $84,781 | −$2,516 | #294 |
| 11 | DeKalb Police Department | Municipal | 72 | $83,449 | −$3,848 | #326 |
| 12 | Rolling Meadows Police Department | Municipal | 49 | $81,439 | −$5,858 | #362 |
| 13 | Bloomington Police Department | Municipal | — | $81,304 | −$5,993 | #368 |
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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