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North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission — 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.
North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission — Law Enforcement Division starts at $50,000 a year — about $24.04 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $16,685 below the median of the 2,288 agencies on this list, and $15,166 below the median for state agencies.
Cost of livingPrices in North Carolina run about 6% below the national average, so this goes about as far as $53,008 would somewhere at average prices — $3,008 more than the headline figure. Most of that is rent, at 81 against a national average of 100, where goods are 97. 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 North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission — Law Enforcement Division says about itself
The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission (NCWRC) is the state government agency created by the General Assembly in 1947 to conserve and sustain the state's fish and wildlife resources through research, scientific management, wise use and public input. The NCWRC is the regulatory agency responsible for the enforcement of North Carolina's fishing, hunting, trapping and boating laws.
What North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission — Law Enforcement Division does
North Carolina Wildlife Law Enforcement Officers enforce state hunting, fishing, boating and wildlife laws, investigate violations, patrol lands and waterways, provide boating and outdoor public-safety services and protect the state's wildlife resources.
Where the figure comes from
Checked 8 August 2026. North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission — Wildlife Law Enforcement Officer Careers — open the source document
$50,000. Current official state recruiting information 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 North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission — 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 | $33,280 | $68,140 | $163,619 | 1549 |
| County | $35,000 | $63,565 | $132,263 | 516 |
| Special jurisdiction | $31,200 | $60,204 | $107,954 | 71 |
| State | $33,994 | $65,166 | $110,916 | 145 |
| 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 $5,400 more than the middle municipal agency and about $9,900 more than the middle county agency and about $13,300 more than the middle special jurisdiction agency and about $8,300 more than the middle state agency and about $45,300 more than the middle territory agency. North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission — Law Enforcement Division starts at $50,000, so $15,166 below the state middle.
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How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission — Law Enforcement Division officer make?
North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission — Law Enforcement Division starts a new officer on $50,000 a year, about $24.04 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 North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission — Wildlife Law Enforcement Officer Careers.
Is that good pay for a police officer in North Carolina?
It ranks #45 of 53 agencies we have verified in North Carolina — 8 pay less, 44 pay more in the state — and #2,074 of 2,288 nationally. Against the national median it is $16,685 below, and against other state agencies $15,166 below.
Compare with another department
Put North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission — 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 NC
| # | Agency | Level | Sworn # | Entry pay | Vs North | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Knightdale Police Department | Municipal | 45 | $67,363 | +$17,363 | #1,104 |
| 2 | Cary Police Department | Municipal | 194 | $65,104 | +$15,104 | #1,247 |
| 3 | Wake Forest Police Department | Municipal | 96 | $65,093 | +$15,093 | #1,248 |
| 4 | Appalachian State University Police Department | Special jurisdiction | 36 | $64,084 | +$14,084 | #1,312 |
| 5 | North Carolina State Highway Patrol | State | — | $63,250 | +$13,250 | #1,368 |
| 6 | Huntersville Police Department | Municipal | 92 | $62,647 | +$12,647 | #1,400 |
| 7 | Apex Police Department | Municipal | 104 | $62,524 | +$12,524 | #1,408 |
| 8 | Fuquay-Varina Police Department | Municipal | 70 | $62,291 | +$12,291 | #1,430 |
| 9 | Johnston County Sheriff's Office | County | 124 | $62,213 | +$12,213 | #1,436 |
| 10 | Chapel Hill Police Department | Municipal | 82 | $61,451 | +$11,451 | #1,477 |
| 11 | Raleigh Police Department | Municipal | 713 | $61,417 | +$11,417 | #1,478 |
| 12 | Duke University Police Department | Special jurisdiction | 57 | $60,195 | +$10,195 | #1,551 |
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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