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Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks — Law Enforcement Division entry pay
What this agency pays a new officer to start, and how that compares with the rest of the country.
Entry pay onlyEvery salary here is what an officer is paid on day one, out of the academy — base pay on a 40-hour week, with no overtime, shift differential, specialty or education pay counted. Nobody stays on it.
Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks — Law Enforcement Division starts at $53,414 a year — about $25.68 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $14,976 below the median of the 1,681 agencies on this list, and $11,583 below the median for state agencies.
Cost of livingPrices in Kansas run about 10% below the national average, so this goes about as far as $59,305 would somewhere at average prices — $5,890 more than the headline figure. Most of that is rent, at 71 against a national average of 100, where goods are 94. Based on state-wide price levels, because this agency is not tied to a single metro area, from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, 2024. The salary above is what the employer publishes; this line is our arithmetic on it, and nothing on this site is ranked on it.
About Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks — Law Enforcement Division
Kansas Game Wardens are certified law-enforcement officers in KDWP's Law Enforcement Division. They enforce state and federal fish and wildlife laws, boating laws and public-land regulations on public and private lands across Kansas and assist federal, state and local law-enforcement agencies.
Where the figure comes from
Checked 8 August 2026. Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks — 2026 Natural Resource Officer I Entry-Level Recruitment — open the source document
$53,414.40. Spring 2026 recruitment; verified 8 August 2026
Entry-level base salary only. Overtime, bonuses, education incentives, shift
differentials, locality pay and lateral rates are excluded, so most officers earn more
than this.
How this level compares
Where Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks — Law Enforcement Division sits is partly about the agency and partly about which level of policing it belongs to. The three levels do not pay the same.
| Level | Lowest | Median | Highest | Agencies |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Municipal | $35,006 | $71,287 | $163,619 | 1046 |
| County | $36,492 | $65,374 | $132,263 | 416 |
| Special jurisdiction | $31,200 | $60,195 | $107,954 | 69 |
| State | $33,994 | $64,998 | $102,692 | 143 |
| Federal | $70,477 | $73,502 | $86,530 | 5 |
| Territory | $16,640 | $28,236 | $43,354 | 9 |
Federal agencies pay the most to start
The middle federal agency starts at $73,502 — about $2,200 more than the middle municipal agency and about $8,100 more than the middle county agency and about $13,300 more than the middle special jurisdiction agency and about $8,500 more than the middle state agency and about $45,300 more than the middle territory agency. Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks — Law Enforcement Division starts at $53,414, so $11,584 below the state middle.
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How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks — Law Enforcement Division officer make?
Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks — Law Enforcement Division starts a new officer on $53,414 a year, about $25.68 an hour on a 2,080-hour year. That is base salary before overtime, bonuses, education incentives, shift differentials and locality pay, so most serving officers earn more. The figure comes from Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks — 2026 Natural Resource Officer I Entry-Level Recruitment.
Is that good pay for a police officer in Kansas?
It ranks #10 of 13 agencies we have verified in Kansas — 3 pay less, 9 pay more in the state — and #1,488 of 1,681 nationally. Against the national median it is $14,976 below, and against other state agencies $11,583 below.
Compare with another department
Put Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks — Law Enforcement Division side by side with any other agency on the site — the two salaries, what each is worth once local prices are counted, and which comes out ahead.
The agencies either side of it
Other agencies in KS
| # | Agency | Level | Sworn # | Entry pay | Vs Kansas | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wichita Police Department | Municipal | 663 | $70,970 | +$17,555 | #724 |
| 2 | Kansas Highway Patrol | State | 467 | $68,182 | +$14,768 | #851 |
| 3 | Lenexa Police Department | Municipal | 93 | $66,013 | +$12,599 | #965 |
| 4 | Olathe Police Department | Municipal | 210 | $65,050 | +$11,636 | #1,018 |
| 5 | University of Kansas Police Department | Special jurisdiction | 28 | $60,180 | +$6,766 | #1,229 |
| 6 | Saline County Sheriff's Office | County | 41 | $57,866 | +$4,451 | #1,333 |
| 7 | Salina Police Department | Municipal | 71 | $57,741 | +$4,327 | #1,343 |
| 8 | Garden City Police Department | Municipal | 61 | $56,451 | +$3,037 | #1,385 |
| 9 | Junction City Police Department | Municipal | 47 | $53,747 | +$333 | #1,480 |
| 11 | Wichita State University Police Department | Special jurisdiction | 28 | $49,254 | −$4,160 | #1,583 |
| 12 | Arkansas City Police Department | Municipal | 23 | $44,491 | −$8,923 | #1,636 |
| 13 | Kansas State University Police Department | Special jurisdiction | — | $42,494 | −$10,920 | #1,647 |
Base pay is only part of the year
Whatever the figure above, the rotation is what decides your year — which weekends you lose, when the changeovers land, what you can plan around. Save yours once and BlueShifts shows it a year ahead, with the off-duty jobs you take and what each one paid.
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