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Minnesota Department of Natural Resources — 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.
Minnesota Department of Natural Resources — Enforcement Division starts at $79,469 a year — about $38.21 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $11,079 above the median of the 1,681 agencies on this list, and $14,471 above the median for state agencies.
Cost of livingPrices in Minnesota run about 1% below the national average, so this goes about as far as $80,580 would somewhere at average prices — $1,111 more than the headline figure. That average hides a wide spread: utilities at 91, where goods are 101. 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.
How big the department isMinnesota Department of Natural Resources — Enforcement Division reported 206 sworn officers and 31 civilian staff to the FBI for 2025.No rate is shown: this agency does not police a single population the FBI publishes a figure for. Reporting to the FBI is voluntary, so a count can reflect a partial return as easily as a small agency, and the FBI asks that agencies not be compared on staffing. Source: FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, Full-time Law Enforcement Employees, 2025.
About Minnesota Department of Natural Resources — Enforcement Division
Minnesota DNR Conservation Officers are licensed peace officers assigned throughout Minnesota. The Enforcement Division protects natural resources and public safety by enforcing state laws governing hunting, fishing, trapping, recreational vehicles, boating and other natural-resource activities and by providing general public-safety and emergency response.
Where the figure comes from
Checked 8 August 2026. Minnesota Department of Natural Resources — Division of Enforcement Conservation Officer Applicant FAQ — open the source document
$79,469. Official applicant FAQ current 13 February 2026; 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 Minnesota Department of Natural Resources — 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. Minnesota Department of Natural Resources — Enforcement Division starts at $79,469, so $14,471 above the state middle.
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How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a Minnesota Department of Natural Resources — Enforcement Division officer make?
Minnesota Department of Natural Resources — Enforcement Division starts a new officer on $79,469 a year, about $38.21 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 Minnesota Department of Natural Resources — Division of Enforcement Conservation Officer Applicant FAQ.
Is that good pay for a police officer in Minnesota?
It ranks #60 of 100 agencies we have verified in Minnesota — 40 pay less, 59 pay more in the state — and #420 of 1,681 nationally. Against the national median it is $11,079 above, and against other state agencies $14,471 above.
Compare with another department
Put Minnesota Department of Natural Resources — 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 MN
| # | Agency | Level | Sworn # | Entry pay | Vs Minnesota | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Blaine Police Department | Municipal | 80 | $101,733 | +$22,264 | #86 |
| 2 | Stillwater Police Department | Municipal | 26 | $94,328 | +$14,859 | #152 |
| 3 | Columbia Heights Police Department | Municipal | 29 | $93,725 | +$14,256 | #157 |
| 4 | Carver County Sheriff's Office | County | 77 | $93,683 | +$14,214 | #158 |
| 5 | Oakdale Police Department | Municipal | 39 | $93,538 | +$14,069 | #161 |
| 6 | Richfield Police Department | Municipal | 45 | $93,226 | +$13,757 | #163 |
| 7 | Maplewood Police Department | Municipal | 56 | $93,038 | +$13,569 | #167 |
| 8 | Forest Lake Police Department | Municipal | 20 | $92,789 | +$13,320 | #169 |
| 9 | Apple Valley Police Department | Municipal | 59 | $92,768 | +$13,299 | #170 |
| 10 | Coon Rapids Police Department | Municipal | 73 | $92,123 | +$12,654 | #179 |
| 11 | Saint Paul Police Department | Municipal | 562 | $91,291 | +$11,822 | #188 |
| 12 | Woodbury Police Department | Municipal | 80 | $91,187 | +$11,718 | #190 |
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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