Edited release
02/10/26
Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird released her formal opinion on county sheriff salaries in response to a formal opinion request by county attorneys in Ringgold and Wayne Counties.
In 2021, the Iowa Legislature enacted the Back the Blue Law, which says salaries for county sheriffs need to be compared to their counterparts in city police departments and state law enforcement agencies. In 2024, the law was refined to ensure that sheriff salaries remained competitive.
For years, there was a significant disparity among the salaries of Iowa’s elected sheriffs and other law enforcement leaders such as the command officers of the Iowa State Patrol and the Division of Criminal Investigation and police chiefs who serve similar populations as those of the county sheriffs.
In the official opinion, Bird explains that the Back the Blue law requires county compensation boards—and county board of supervisors—to set the salaries of sheriffs so that they are comparable to their counterparts within city and state government.
Salary surveys reported by the Iowa State Association of Counties show after the enactment of the Back the Blue law the average salary of a county sheriff has increased 44% from state fiscal year 2020 to state fiscal year 2026. However, not all counties are paying their sheriffs the amount that is required under the law.