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Merrimack 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.
Merrimack County Sheriff's Office starts at $57,595 a year — about $27.69 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $10,795 below the median of the 1,681 agencies on this list, and $7,779 below the median for county agencies.
How big the department isMerrimack County Sheriff's Office reported 16 sworn officers and 17 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 Merrimack County
Merrimack County Sheriff's Office provides court security, civil-process service, prisoner transportation, law-enforcement support and other sheriff services for the county justice system. Official County materials emphasize professional public service, safety and faithful execution of legal duties.
Where the figure comes from
Checked 8 August 2026. Merrimack County official GovernmentJobs posting — Deputy Sheriff I — open the source document
Opening 27 March 2026; $27.69/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.
How this level compares
Where Merrimack 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. Merrimack County starts at $57,595, so $7,779 below the county middle.
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How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a Merrimack County Sheriff's Office officer make?
Merrimack County Sheriff's Office starts a new officer on $57,595 a year, about $27.69 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 Merrimack County official GovernmentJobs posting — Deputy Sheriff I.
Is that good pay for a police officer in New Hampshire?
It ranks #7 of 9 agencies we have verified in New Hampshire — 2 pay less, 6 pay more in the state — and #1,357 of 1,681 nationally. Against the national median it is $10,795 below, and against other county agencies $7,779 below.
Compare with another department
Put Merrimack 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 NH
| # | Agency | Level | Sworn # | Entry pay | Vs Merrimack | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Manchester Police Department | Municipal | 250 | $68,016 | +$10,421 | #860 |
| 2 | Concord Police Department | Municipal | 79 | $67,995 | +$10,400 | #862 |
| 3 | Greenland Police Department | Municipal | 8 | $67,700 | +$10,105 | #877 |
| 4 | New Hampshire State Police | State | 350 | $66,872 | +$9,277 | #924 |
| 5 | Rochester Police Department | Municipal | 59 | $63,960 | +$6,365 | #1,061 |
| 6 | Chesterfield Police Department | Municipal | 4 | $61,776 | +$4,181 | #1,164 |
| 8 | Barrington Police Department | Municipal | 12 | $56,992 | −$603 | #1,368 |
| 9 | Dover Police Department | Municipal | 49 | $56,888 | −$707 | #1,370 |
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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