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New York State Park Police 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.
New York State Park Police starts at $73,796 a year — about $35.48 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $5,406 above the median of the 1,681 agencies on this list, and $8,798 above the median for state agencies.
Cost of livingPrices in New York run about 8% above the national average, so this is worth roughly $68,380 somewhere at average prices — $5,416 less than the headline figure. Most of that is utilities, at 134 against a national average of 100, where goods are 107. 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 isNew York State Park Police reported 269 sworn officers and 47 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.
What New York State Park says about itself
The mission of the New York State Park Police is to provide total police services in support of the mission of the agency, and where possible, to extend those services to every citizen of the State as needed.
What New York State Park does
The New York State Park Police is a statewide police organization within the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. Officers protect visitors, employees, natural and historic resources and state park property, enforce state laws, investigate crimes and crashes, respond to emergencies and provide police services across New York’s park system.
Where the figure comes from
Checked 15 August 2026. New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation — Park Police new applicants, salary chart — open the source document
A New York State Park Police Officer Trainee starts at Grade 13, $61,587, and serves a one-year traineeship: six months at the residential academy in Rensselaerville, then assignment to one of eleven Park Police Zones for field training and the rest of probation. On completing the traineeship the officer advances to Grade 14 Park Police Officer at $73,796. State Park Police Officers are permanent full-time armed officers with statewide jurisdiction, not confined to the parks.
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.
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How this level compares
Where New York State Park 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. New York State Park starts at $73,796, so $8,798 above the state middle.
How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a New York State Park Police officer make?
New York State Park Police starts a new officer on $73,796 a year, about $35.48 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 New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation — Park Police new applicants, salary chart.
Is that good pay for a police officer in New York?
It ranks #3 of 23 agencies we have verified in New York — 20 pay less, 2 pay more in the state — and #602 of 1,681 nationally. Against the national median it is $5,406 above, and against other state agencies $8,798 above.
Compare with another department
Put New York State Park Police 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 NY
| # | Agency | Level | Sworn # | Entry pay | Vs New | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New York State Department of Financial Services — Investigations | State | — | $86,681 | +$12,885 | #269 |
| 2 | New York State Police | State | 5,373 | $85,292 | +$11,496 | #288 |
| 4 | Onondaga County Sheriff's Office | County | 217 | $71,764 | −$2,032 | #681 |
| 5 | Yonkers Police Department | Municipal | 625 | $70,229 | −$3,567 | #755 |
| 6 | Erie County Sheriff's Office | County | 175 | $69,274 | −$4,522 | #800 |
| 7 | Livingston County Sheriff's Office | County | 66 | $67,808 | −$5,988 | #871 |
| 8 | New York State Department of Environmental Conservation — Forest Rangers | State | — | $67,796 | −$6,000 | #872 |
| 9 | Yates County Sheriff's Office | County | 27 | $66,389 | −$7,407 | #956 |
| 10 | Albany Police Department | Municipal | 269 | $65,066 | −$8,730 | #1,017 |
| 11 | Rochester Police Department | Municipal | 622 | $63,812 | −$9,984 | #1,068 |
| 12 | Nassau County Sheriff's Department | County | 2,591 | $62,657 | −$11,139 | #1,123 |
| 13 | Monroe County Sheriff's Office | County | 346 | $62,086 | −$11,710 | #1,153 |
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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