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Nevada Department of Wildlife — 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.
Nevada Department of Wildlife — Law Enforcement Division starts at $57,637 a year — about $27.71 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $10,753 below the median of the 1,681 agencies on this list, and $7,360 below the median for state agencies.
About Nevada Department of Wildlife — Law Enforcement Division
Nevada Game Wardens protect the state's wildlife and fisheries resources and the boating public. They enforce wildlife, boating, criminal and natural-resource laws, patrol land and water, investigate violations, issue citations, execute arrests and transport violators.
Where the figure comes from
Checked 8 August 2026. Nevada Department of Administration, Division of Human Resource Management — Sworn Law Enforcement classifications and 2026 compensation schedules — open the source document
Their source is effective 1 July 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 Nevada Department of Wildlife — 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. Nevada Department of Wildlife — Law Enforcement Division starts at $57,637, so $7,361 below the state middle.
How it ranks
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Common questions
How much does a Nevada Department of Wildlife — Law Enforcement Division officer make?
Nevada Department of Wildlife — Law Enforcement Division starts a new officer on $57,637 a year, about $27.71 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 Nevada Department of Administration, Division of Human Resource Management — Sworn Law Enforcement classifications and 2026 compensation schedules.
Is that good pay for a police officer in Nevada?
It ranks #13 of 19 agencies we have verified in Nevada — 6 pay less, 12 pay more in the state — and #1,353 of 1,681 nationally. Against the national median it is $10,753 below, and against other state agencies $7,360 below.
Compare with another department
Put Nevada Department of Wildlife — 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 NV
| # | Agency | Level | Sworn # | Entry pay | Vs Nevada | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nevada Gaming Control Board — Enforcement Division | State | 63 | $102,692 | +$45,055 | #79 |
| 2 | Boulder City Police Department | Municipal | 35 | $75,941 | +$18,303 | #522 |
| 3 | Washoe County Sheriff's Office | County | 465 | $75,296 | +$17,659 | #546 |
| 4 | Henderson Police Department | Municipal | 534 | $71,885 | +$14,247 | #672 |
| 5 | Reno Police Department | Municipal | 336 | $68,890 | +$11,252 | #820 |
| 6 | North Las Vegas Police Department | Municipal | 315 | $68,099 | +$10,462 | #856 |
| 7 | Nevada State Police — Highway Patrol | State | — | $67,939 | +$10,302 | #866 |
| 8 | Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department | Municipal | 3,226 | $67,662 | +$10,025 | #881 |
| 9 | Douglas County Sheriff's Office | County | 104 | $66,851 | +$9,214 | #926 |
| 10 | Clark County Office of Public Safety | Municipal | — | $64,022 | +$6,385 | #1,059 |
| 11 | Nevada Department of Agriculture — Agricultural Police | State | — | $60,636 | +$2,998 | #1,206 |
| 12 | City of Las Vegas Department of Public Safety | Municipal | 109 | $58,912 | +$1,275 | #1,291 |
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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