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Wright 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.
Wright County Sheriff's Office starts at $81,120 a year — about $39.00 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $12,730 above the median of the 1,681 agencies on this list, and $15,746 above the median for county agencies.
Cost of livingPrices in Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI run about 5% above the national average, so this is worth roughly $77,388 somewhere at average prices — $3,732 less than the headline figure. Most of that is rent, at 112 against a national average of 100, where goods are 103. 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 isWright County Sheriff's Office reported 172 sworn officers and 124 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 Wright County
Wright County Sheriff's Office performs county law-enforcement work focused on maintaining the peace, protecting the public, promoting public safety, responding to emergencies and enforcing state and local law. Its deputies may serve in patrol, investigations, court security, civil process, warrants and transports, school-resource, K-9, narcotics and other assignments, with the official posting emphasizing community partnerships and positive public relationships.
Where the figure comes from
Checked 8 August 2026. Wright County official GovernmentJobs posting — Deputy Sheriff — open the source document
Opening 8 January 2026; closed 20 April 2026; posting expressly states starting wage $39.00/hour and establishes an eligibility list for current and future vacancies
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 Wright 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. Wright County starts at $81,120, so $15,746 above the county middle.
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How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a Wright County Sheriff's Office officer make?
Wright County Sheriff's Office starts a new officer on $81,120 a year, about $39.00 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 Wright County official GovernmentJobs posting — Deputy Sheriff.
Is that good pay for a police officer in Minnesota?
It ranks #52 of 100 agencies we have verified in Minnesota — 48 pay less, 51 pay more in the state — and #376 of 1,681 nationally. Against the national median it is $12,730 above, and against other county agencies $15,746 above.
Compare with another department
Put Wright 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 MN
| # | Agency | Level | Sworn # | Entry pay | Vs Wright | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Blaine Police Department | Municipal | 80 | $101,733 | +$20,613 | #86 |
| 2 | Stillwater Police Department | Municipal | 26 | $94,328 | +$13,208 | #152 |
| 3 | Columbia Heights Police Department | Municipal | 29 | $93,725 | +$12,605 | #157 |
| 4 | Carver County Sheriff's Office | County | 77 | $93,683 | +$12,563 | #158 |
| 5 | Oakdale Police Department | Municipal | 39 | $93,538 | +$12,418 | #161 |
| 6 | Richfield Police Department | Municipal | 45 | $93,226 | +$12,106 | #163 |
| 7 | Maplewood Police Department | Municipal | 56 | $93,038 | +$11,918 | #167 |
| 8 | Forest Lake Police Department | Municipal | 20 | $92,789 | +$11,669 | #169 |
| 9 | Apple Valley Police Department | Municipal | 59 | $92,768 | +$11,648 | #170 |
| 10 | Coon Rapids Police Department | Municipal | 73 | $92,123 | +$11,003 | #179 |
| 11 | Saint Paul Police Department | Municipal | 562 | $91,291 | +$10,171 | #188 |
| 12 | Woodbury Police Department | Municipal | 80 | $91,187 | +$10,067 | #190 |
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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