Park ranger vs wildlife officer

The differences between park rangers and wildlife officers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a wildlife officer has an average salary of $42,944, 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 wildlife officer are patrol, law enforcement agencies, and natural resources.

Park ranger vs wildlife officer overview

	Park Ranger	Wildlife Officer
Yearly salary	$40,801	$42,944
Hourly rate	$19.62	$20.65
Growth rate	5%	3%
Number of jobs	2,380	55,766
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 62%	Bachelor's Degree, 61%
Average age	42	41
Years of experience	2	-

Park ranger vs wildlife officer salary

Park rangers and wildlife officers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Park Ranger	Wildlife Officer
Average salary	$40,801	$42,944
Salary range	Between $22,000 And $72,000	Between $28,000 And $63,000
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 wildlife officer education

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

	Park Ranger	Wildlife Officer
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 62%	Bachelor's Degree, 61%
Most common major	Criminal Justice	Biology
Most common college	SUNY at Binghamton	University of Washington

Park ranger vs wildlife officer demographics

Here are the differences between park rangers' and wildlife officers' demographics:

	Park Ranger	Wildlife Officer
Average age	42	41
Gender ratio	Male, 66.2% Female, 33.8%	Male, 80.4% Female, 19.6%
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, 13.1% Unknown, 1.8% Hispanic or Latino, 10.9% Asian, 10.9% White, 59.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 3.6%
LGBT Percentage	8%	24%

Differences between park ranger and wildlife officer 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.

Wildlife officer example responsibilities.

Document trails using GPS; photograph and record condition of infrastructure within management areas; responsible for operating state vehicles.
Operate machinery require to package sort currency.

Park ranger vs wildlife officer skills

Common park ranger skills

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

Common wildlife officer skills

Patrol, 67%
Law Enforcement Agencies, 17%
Natural Resources, 16%

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Park Ranger vs Wildlife Officer

Updated January 8, 2025

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