Park guard vs park ranger

The differences between park guards and park rangers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a park ranger has an average salary of $40,801, which is higher than the $36,336 average annual salary of a park guard.

The top three skills for a park guard include patrol, customer service and two-way radio. The most important skills for a park ranger are patrol, customer service, and CPR.

Park guard vs park ranger overview

	Park Guard	Park Ranger
Yearly salary	$36,336	$40,801
Hourly rate	$17.47	$19.62
Growth rate	3%	5%
Number of jobs	16,812	2,380
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 40%	Bachelor's Degree, 62%
Average age	43	42
Years of experience	-	2

Park guard vs park ranger salary

Park guards and park rangers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Park Guard	Park Ranger
Average salary	$36,336	$40,801
Salary range	Between $28,000 And $45,000	Between $22,000 And $72,000
Highest paying City	-	New York, NY
Highest paying state	-	Delaware
Best paying company	-	National Park Foundation
Best paying industry	-	Government

Differences between park guard and park ranger education

There are a few differences between a park guard and a park ranger in terms of educational background:

	Park Guard	Park Ranger
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 40%	Bachelor's Degree, 62%
Most common major	Business	Criminal Justice
Most common college	-	SUNY at Binghamton

Park guard vs park ranger demographics

Here are the differences between park guards' and park rangers' demographics:

	Park Guard	Park Ranger
Average age	43	42
Gender ratio	Male, 75.4% Female, 24.6%	Male, 66.2% Female, 33.8%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 11.0% Unknown, 5.6% Hispanic or Latino, 14.1% Asian, 4.9% White, 62.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.8%	Black or African American, 0.5% Unknown, 2.9% Hispanic or Latino, 2.2% Asian, 1.4% White, 91.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1%
LGBT Percentage	6%	8%

Differences between park guard and park ranger duties and responsibilities

Park guard example responsibilities.

Patrol parks, keep daily log, help patrons with lodge reservations, park activities and security.
Patrol and secure building and surrounding property; monitor CCTV's and utilize radio communications.
Driver-Perform operator/crew maintenance on the ammunition resupply vehicle and trailer.

Park ranger example responsibilities.

Lead ranger-guided canoe, kayak, and bike tours as well as nature walks and hikes.
Manage rental property for RV property which include maintaining logs for permanent tenants and for visiting tenants.
Manage emergency calls, medical incidents, and SAR operations, including coordinating responses with local agencies and other park departments.
Manage and staff park entrance station facilitating camping reservations and assisting day use visitors.
Evaluate students on leadership, time management, organization and ability to accomplish missions.
Maintain POS and ticketing system.

Park guard vs park ranger skills

Common park guard skills

Patrol, 77%
Customer Service, 16%
Two-Way Radio, 6%

Common park ranger skills

Patrol, 20%
Customer Service, 7%
CPR, 5%
Public Safety, 5%
Interpretive Programs, 5%
Rangers, 5%