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Nebraska State Fire Marshal — Deputy Fire Marshals 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.
Nebraska State Fire Marshal — Deputy Fire Marshals 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 $9,420 below the median for state agencies.
Cost of livingPrices in Nebraska run about 10% below the national average, so this goes about as far as $61,682 would somewhere at average prices — $6,105 more than the headline figure. Most of that is rent, at 75 against a national average of 100, where goods are 94. 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 Nebraska State Fire Marshal — Deputy Fire Marshals says about itself
These investigators are all certified law enforcement personnel and are designated as Special State Sheriffs. DESCRIPTION: The Nebraska State Fire Marshal promotes statewide public safety through fire prevention, code enforcement, inspections, training and fire investigation. Its Investigations Division uses certified law-enforcement personnel designated Special State Sheriffs to investigate suspicious fires, fire-related deaths, explosions and arson-related crimes.
What Nebraska State Fire Marshal — Deputy Fire Marshals does
Nebraska Fire Marshal Deputies are included in the State Law Enforcement Bargaining Unit. Nebraska state records classify fire marshal personnel among state employees holding powers of arrest. Deputy duties include statewide fire-code enforcement and investigation, with law-enforcement certification required for positions exercising law-enforcement authority.
Where the figure comes from
Checked 8 August 2026. Nebraska Department of Administrative Services — July 1, 2026 Classification and Pay Plan — open the source document
Their source is effective 1 July 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 Nebraska State Fire Marshal — Deputy Fire Marshals 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. Nebraska State Fire Marshal — Deputy Fire Marshals starts at $55,578, so $9,420 below the state middle.
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How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a Nebraska State Fire Marshal — Deputy Fire Marshals officer make?
Nebraska State Fire Marshal — Deputy Fire Marshals 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 Nebraska Department of Administrative Services — July 1, 2026 Classification and Pay Plan.
Is that good pay for a police officer in Nebraska?
It ranks #15 of 17 agencies we have verified in Nebraska — 2 pay less, 14 pay more in the state — and #1,407 of 1,681 nationally. Against the national median it is $12,812 below, and against other state agencies $9,420 below.
Compare with another department
Put Nebraska State Fire Marshal — Deputy Fire Marshals 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 NE
| # | Agency | Level | Sworn # | Entry pay | Vs Nebraska | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lincoln Police Department | Municipal | 351 | $74,568 | +$18,990 | #574 |
| 2 | Sarpy County Sheriff's Office | County | 114 | $73,861 | +$18,283 | #600 |
| 3 | La Vista Police Department | Municipal | 42 | $73,653 | +$18,075 | #605 |
| 4 | Lancaster County Sheriff's Office | County | 86 | $72,280 | +$16,702 | #653 |
| 5 | Nebraska State Patrol | State | 410 | $70,195 | +$14,617 | #760 |
| 6 | University of Nebraska-Lincoln Police Department | Special jurisdiction | 30 | $70,042 | +$14,464 | #766 |
| 7 | Papillion Police Department | Municipal | 48 | $69,086 | +$13,508 | #809 |
| 8 | Douglas County Sheriff's Office | County | 155 | $68,744 | +$13,166 | #827 |
| 9 | Grand Island Police Department | Municipal | 89 | $67,621 | +$12,043 | #886 |
| 10 | Columbus Police Department | Municipal | 37 | $65,340 | +$9,762 | #1,003 |
| 11 | Hall County Sheriff's Office | County | 34 | $61,027 | +$5,450 | #1,191 |
| 12 | Nebraska Game and Parks Commission — Law Enforcement Division | State | — | $58,947 | +$3,370 | #1,288 |
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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