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Richland 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.
Richland County Sheriff's Office starts at $62,213 a year — about $29.91 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $6,177 below the median of the 1,681 agencies on this list, and $3,162 below the median for county agencies.
Cost of livingPrices in rural North Dakota run about 13% below the national average, so this goes about as far as $71,285 would somewhere at average prices — $9,072 more than the headline figure. Most of that is rent, at 64 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 isRichland County Sheriff's Office reported 18 sworn officers and 23 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 Richland County says about itself
The Sheriff serves as one of the chief law enforcement officers of Richland County, directing the activities of the department in detecting and preventing crime. DESCRIPTION: The Richland County Sheriff's Office detects and prevents crime, enforces North Dakota law through investigations and patrol, directs serious-crime investigations, operates the County Corrections Department, and provides public and school safety programs.
What Richland County does
Richland County's official recruitment is for a Deputy Sheriff position in the Richland County Sheriff's Office and requires North Dakota peace-officer licensure or eligibility while providing county law-enforcement employment and standard county benefits.
Where the figure comes from
Checked 8 August 2026. Richland County official D — open the source document
Current 2026 county recruitment; official starting salary $62,212.80 annually;
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 Richland 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. Richland County starts at $62,213, so $3,161 below the county middle.
How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a Richland County Sheriff's Office officer make?
Richland County Sheriff's Office starts a new officer on $62,213 a year, about $29.91 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 Richland County official D.
Is that good pay for a police officer in North Dakota?
It ranks #8 of 9 agencies we have verified in North Dakota — 1 pay less, 7 pay more in the state — and #1,148 of 1,681 nationally. Against the national median it is $6,177 below, and against other county agencies $3,162 below.
Compare with another department
Put Richland 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 ND
| # | Agency | Level | Sworn # | Entry pay | Vs Richland | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | North Dakota Highway Patrol | State | 165 | $73,332 | +$11,119 | #614 |
| 2 | Grand Forks Police Department | Municipal | 91 | $69,326 | +$7,114 | #797 |
| 3 | Fargo Police Department | Municipal | 185 | $68,494 | +$6,282 | #836 |
| 4 | North Dakota Game and Fish Department — Enforcement Division | State | — | $65,808 | +$3,595 | #977 |
| 5 | Williston Police Department | Municipal | 64 | $65,520 | +$3,307 | #990 |
| 6 | West Fargo Police Department | Municipal | 83 | $64,376 | +$2,163 | #1,046 |
| 7 | Bismarck Police Department | Municipal | 128 | $63,123 | +$910 | #1,104 |
| 9 | Dickinson Police Department | Municipal | 44 | $60,345 | −$1,868 | #1,220 |
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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