· Counties structure pay differently. A listed salary may or may not include incentive pay, holiday pay, or certification stipends — this table shows what each document states, position by position.
· Counties differ in size and tax base. Garland County (Hot Springs) has roughly five times Clark County's population. Population figures are U.S. Census estimates, shown for scale.
· Years differ where marked. Two counties' current filings are scanned images without machine-readable text; their newest readable filings are used and labeled — nothing is guessed.
· These are appropriated salaries (layer one) — what the quorum court authorized, not audited payroll (layer two).
· The Clark and Nevada sheriffs also serve as Collector; their listed half-salaries reflect a split elected office.
Population ~21,000 (Census estimate) · figures from 2026 filing
| Position | Stated pay | |
|---|---|---|
| Deputy Sheriff (line) ×8 | $43,398 – $46,498 | most at $43,398–$44,398 |
| Deputy Sheriff — SGT ×2 | $45,648 – $50,927 | |
| Investigator ×5 | $45,015 – $51,257 | |
| Chief Deputy ×1 | $63,591 | |
| Jailer ×8 | $36,338 – $37,338 | |
| Jail Administrator ×1 | $43,285 | |
| Dispatcher/Matron (911) ×10 | $38,795 – $55,935 | |
| Sheriff (elected, ½ — also Collector) ×1 | $36,071 | per half-office |
From the salary schedule attached to Appropriation Ordinance 2025-21. The trajectory matters as much as the level: the county's own base-pay ordinances show deputy starting pay rising from $32,898 (2022) to $34,398 (2023) to $41,398 (2025) to $43,398 (2026) — up 32% in four years. The quorum court has been raising pay steadily; Garland simply moved further, faster. Deputies also earn certificate pay ($600 per certification, up to 4) and SGT pay ($750); two deputy slots were pending applicants when the 2026 ordinance passed (Ordinance 2025-22, Attachment A). Source: Appropriation Ordinance 2025-21 — Annual Operating Budget for Calendar Year 2026.
Population ~100,000 (Census estimate) · figures from 2026 filing
| Position | Stated pay | |
|---|---|---|
| Patrol Deputy ×65 | $57,418 – $58,540 | |
| Patrol Corporal | $68,002 | |
| Patrol Sergeant ×4 | $72,110 | |
| Patrol Lieutenant | $78,849 | |
| Patrol Captain ×1 | $84,728 |
Position-level salary schedule in the county's filed 2026 budget (pages 1–3). Their 2024 salary survey listed patrol deputies at $42,770–$48,480 — a raise of roughly $15,000 per deputy in two years. Source: Garland County 2026 Budget (transparency portal filing), page 2.
Population ~22,000 (Census estimate) · figures from 2026 filing
| Position | Stated pay | |
|---|---|---|
| Deputy (all, pooled) | — | listed as a single pool: $527,738 proposed for 2026; headcount and per-deputy rate not stated |
| Sheriff (elected) ×1 | $66,295 |
The filing lists deputies as one pooled salary line inside the Jail Operating fund, so a per-deputy figure cannot be honestly stated from this document. Source: Ouachita County 2026 Budget (transparency portal filing), page 120.
Population ~10,000 (Census estimate) · figures from 2024 filing
| Position | Stated pay | |
|---|---|---|
| Deputy Sheriff ×8 | $43,202 | |
| Jailer ×8 | $37,325 | |
| Jail Administrator ×1 | $41,496 | |
| Dispatcher | $36,171 – $37,586 | incl. supervisor |
2024 salary survey — the county's 2026 filing is a scanned image without machine-readable text, so 2024 is the newest readable source. Source: Pike County Salary Survey (2024, transparency portal), page 3.
Population ~8,000 (Census estimate) · figures from 2026 filing
| Position | Stated pay | |
|---|---|---|
| Deputy ×11 | $32,400 | flat rate across listed deputies |
| Sheriff (elected, ½ — also Collector) ×1 | $25,917 | per half-office |
From the county's filed 2026 salary listing. Source: Nevada County 2026 Budget (transparency portal filing), page 3.
Population ~33,000 (Census estimate)
Both stored filings (2026 budget, 2024 salary survey) are scanned images without a machine-readable text layer. An OCR pass is pending; until then this column stays honestly empty. (Lead, not a source: the Malvern Daily Record reported the county's 2026 budget included a 4% employee raise.)
This comparison is Docket #6 (in progress).