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Michigan Department of Natural Resources 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.
Michigan Department of Natural Resources starts at $54,267 a year — about $26.09 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $14,123 below the median of the 1,681 agencies on this list, and $10,730 below the median for state agencies.
Cost of livingPrices in Michigan run about 4% below the national average, so this goes about as far as $56,401 would somewhere at average prices — $2,134 more than the headline figure. Most of that is rent, at 82 against a national average of 100, where goods are 96. 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.
What Michigan Department of Natural Resources says about itself
Michigan DNR conservation officers protect Michigan's natural resources, the environment, and the health and safety of the public through effective law enforcement and education.
What Michigan Department of Natural Resources does
Michigan DNR Conservation Officers are fully licensed state law-enforcement officers who patrol all 83 counties. They enforce natural-resource, recreational and other state laws, protect the environment and public safety, respond to emergencies and perform search-and-rescue and general law-enforcement duties.
Where the figure comes from
Checked 15 August 2026. Michigan Civil Service Commission — Compensation Plan Section A, October 2024, class CNSVOFRE — open the source document
Michigan conservation officer pay is set by the Michigan Civil Service Commission, not the Department of Natural Resources. On the Commission's Compensation Plan Section A, a Conservation Officer (class CNSVOFRE, grade 10, schedule A02-043) is paid hourly from $26.09 to $34.17. The separate Conservation Officer Recruit class (CNVOFRE, grade 10, schedule A02-031) runs $20.30 to $26.64 while the recruit attends the academy. Michigan conservation officers are fully commissioned peace officers empowered to enforce all the laws of the state.
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 Michigan Department of Natural Resources 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. Michigan Department of Natural Resources starts at $54,267, so $10,731 below the state middle.
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How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a Michigan Department of Natural Resources officer make?
Michigan Department of Natural Resources starts a new officer on $54,267 a year, about $26.09 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 Michigan Civil Service Commission — Compensation Plan Section A, October 2024, class CNSVOFRE.
Is that good pay for a police officer in Michigan?
It ranks #31 of 38 agencies we have verified in Michigan — 7 pay less, 30 pay more in the state — and #1,457 of 1,681 nationally. Against the national median it is $14,123 below, and against other state agencies $10,730 below.
Compare with another department
Put Michigan Department of Natural Resources 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 MI
| # | Agency | Level | Sworn # | Entry pay | Vs Michigan | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Troy Police Department | Municipal | 110 | $78,224 | +$23,957 | #452 |
| 2 | Grand Rapids Police Department | Municipal | 299 | $77,467 | +$23,200 | #471 |
| 3 | Wyoming Police Department | Municipal | 97 | $75,400 | +$21,133 | #539 |
| 4 | Sumpter Township Police Department | Municipal | 18 | $71,732 | +$17,465 | #684 |
| 5 | Lincoln Charter Township Police Department | Municipal | — | $71,696 | +$17,429 | #686 |
| 6 | Macomb County Sheriff's Office | County | 274 | $71,098 | +$16,831 | #718 |
| 7 | Muskegon Police Department | Municipal | 70 | $69,888 | +$15,621 | #781 |
| 8 | Livonia Police Department | Municipal | 117 | $69,784 | +$15,517 | #783 |
| 9 | Dearborn Police Department | Municipal | 186 | $69,080 | +$14,813 | #810 |
| 10 | Plymouth Township Police Department | Municipal | 33 | $68,140 | +$13,873 | #852 |
| 11 | Oscoda Township Police Department | Municipal | 12 | $68,140 | +$13,873 | #853 |
| 12 | Northville Police Department | Municipal | 12 | $65,956 | +$11,689 | #969 |
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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