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Lemhi 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.
Lemhi County Sheriff's Office starts at $52,000 a year — about $25.00 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $16,390 below the median of the 1,681 agencies on this list, and $13,374 below the median for county agencies.
Cost of livingPrices in Idaho run about 5% below the national average, so this goes about as far as $54,454 would somewhere at average prices — $2,454 more than the headline figure. Most of that is utilities, at 70 against a national average of 100, where goods are 96. Based on state-wide price levels, because this agency is not tied to a single 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.
What Lemhi County says about itself
The primary function of Patrol Deputy is to enforce state and local laws and ordinances, respond to calls for the protection of life and property, conduct criminal and non-criminal investigations, and make arrests and to perform other assigned law enforcement and public safety duties.
What Lemhi County does
Lemhi County Sheriff's Office provides countywide law enforcement from Salmon in east-central Idaho, covering patrol and traffic across a large rural county, criminal and non-criminal investigation, marine patrol, civil process and specialist assignments.
Where the figure comes from
Checked 23 August 2026. This figure was advertised on the state POST job board on that date; postings there rotate, so the listing itself may since have closed. Idaho POST Agency Job Portal, agency-submitted posting — open the source document
$25.00/hour non-POST-certified entry Patrol Deputy, per the county's Idaho POST portal posting (open until filled). Standard schedule 4 x 10-hour shifts.
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 Lemhi 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. Lemhi County starts at $52,000, so $13,374 below the county middle.
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How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a Lemhi County Sheriff's Office officer make?
Lemhi County Sheriff's Office starts a new officer on $52,000 a year, about $25.00 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 Idaho POST Agency Job Portal, agency-submitted posting.
Is that good pay for a police officer in Idaho?
It ranks #32 of 51 agencies we have verified in Idaho — 19 pay less, 31 pay more in the state — and #1,518 of 1,681 nationally. Against the national median it is $16,390 below, and against other county agencies $13,374 below.
Compare with another department
Put Lemhi 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 ID
| # | Agency | Level | Sworn # | Entry pay | Vs Lemhi | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sun Valley Police Department | Municipal | — | $75,005 | +$23,005 | #558 |
| 2 | Blaine County Sheriff's Office | County | 20 | $74,526 | +$22,526 | #577 |
| 3 | Boise Police Department | Municipal | 326 | $69,514 | +$17,514 | #791 |
| 4 | Meridian Police Department | Municipal | 109 | $67,621 | +$15,621 | #885 |
| 5 | Post Falls Police Department | Municipal | 52 | $67,330 | +$15,330 | #904 |
| 6 | Coeur d'Alene Police Department | Municipal | 94 | $66,872 | +$14,872 | #925 |
| 7 | Kootenai County Sheriff's Office | County | 104 | $65,291 | +$13,291 | #1,006 |
| 8 | Ada County Sheriff's Office | County | 220 | $64,896 | +$12,896 | #1,030 |
| 9 | McCall Police Department | Municipal | 12 | $63,773 | +$11,773 | #1,069 |
| 10 | Moscow Police Department | Municipal | 30 | $63,544 | +$11,544 | #1,079 |
| 11 | Lewiston Police Department | Municipal | 46 | $63,321 | +$11,321 | #1,094 |
| 12 | Idaho State Police | State | 311 | $62,546 | +$10,546 | #1,128 |
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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