Park ranger vs game warden

The differences between park rangers and game wardens can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a game warden has an average salary of $52,101, which is higher than the $40,801 average annual salary of a park ranger.

The top three skills for a park ranger include patrol, customer service and CPR. The most important skills for a game warden are patrol, law enforcement agencies, and public safety.

Park ranger vs game warden overview

	Park Ranger	Game Warden
Yearly salary	$40,801	$52,101
Hourly rate	$19.62	$25.05
Growth rate	5%	3%
Number of jobs	2,380	55,088
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 62%	Bachelor's Degree, 53%
Average age	42	41
Years of experience	2	-

Park ranger vs game warden salary

Park rangers and game wardens have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Park Ranger	Game Warden
Average salary	$40,801	$52,101
Salary range	Between $22,000 And $72,000	Between $24,000 And $110,000
Highest paying City	New York, NY	-
Highest paying state	Delaware	-
Best paying company	National Park Foundation	-
Best paying industry	Government	-

Differences between park ranger and game warden education

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

	Park Ranger	Game Warden
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 62%	Bachelor's Degree, 53%
Most common major	Criminal Justice	Criminal Justice
Most common college	SUNY at Binghamton	North Carolina State University

Park ranger vs game warden demographics

Here are the differences between park rangers' and game wardens' demographics:

	Park Ranger	Game Warden
Average age	42	41
Gender ratio	Male, 66.2% Female, 33.8%	Male, 89.8% Female, 10.2%
Race ratio	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%	Black or African American, 12.3% Unknown, 1.7% Hispanic or Latino, 14.8% Asian, 11.2% White, 56.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 3.6%
LGBT Percentage	8%	24%

Differences between park ranger and game warden duties and responsibilities

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.

Game warden example responsibilities.

Perform public programs using PowerPoint.
Handle and review investigative reports, EEO, fraud and discrimination violations.

Park ranger vs game warden skills

Common park ranger skills

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

Common game warden skills

Patrol, 25%
Law Enforcement Agencies, 25%
Public Safety, 21%
Emergency Management Functions, 4%
Law Enforcement Training, 4%
Wildlife Conservation, 4%

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Park Ranger vs Game Warden

Updated January 8, 2025

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