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North Dakota Game and Fish Department — 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 Dakota Game and Fish Department — Enforcement Division starts at $65,808 a year — about $31.64 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $2,582 below the median of the 1,681 agencies on this list, and $810 above the median for state agencies.
Cost of livingPrices in North Dakota run about 11% below the national average, so this goes about as far as $73,976 would somewhere at average prices — $8,168 more than the headline figure. Most of that is rent, at 71 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.
About North Dakota Game and Fish Department — Enforcement Division
The North Dakota Game and Fish Department's Enforcement Division polices the state's wildlife, habitat and waters with around 38 full-time game wardens — the third smallest wildlife law enforcement force in the country after Delaware and Rhode Island — each patrolling a district covering an estimated 2,438 square miles. Wardens work from headquarters in Bismarck and district offices at Devils Lake, Dickinson, Jamestown, Harvey, Riverdale and Williston, under district supervisors reporting to a chief game warden, with separate investigations and operations supervisors and a warden pilot. They patrol by vehicle, boat, ATV and snowmobile across all four seasons, enforce hunting and fishing law, boating and watercraft regulation and invasive species law, and made 53,411 field contacts in 2023 — license, equipment and bag limit checks that the department describes as friendly interactions rather than enforcement stops.
Where the figure comes from
Checked 8 August 2026. North Dakota Game and Fish Department — District Game Warden Testing Announcement — open the source document
$65,808. 2026 recruitment; closing date 27 May 2026; anticipated start 3 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 Dakota Game and Fish Department — 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. North Dakota Game and Fish Department — Enforcement Division starts at $65,808, so $810 above the state middle.
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How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a North Dakota Game and Fish Department — Enforcement Division officer make?
North Dakota Game and Fish Department — Enforcement Division starts a new officer on $65,808 a year, about $31.64 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 Dakota Game and Fish Department — District Game Warden Testing Announcement.
Is that good pay for a police officer in North Dakota?
It ranks #4 of 9 agencies we have verified in North Dakota — 5 pay less, 3 pay more in the state — and #977 of 1,681 nationally. Against the national median it is $2,582 below, and against other state agencies $810 above.
Compare with another department
Put North Dakota Game and Fish Department — 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 ND
| # | Agency | Level | Sworn # | Entry pay | Vs North | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | North Dakota Highway Patrol | State | 165 | $73,332 | +$7,524 | #614 |
| 2 | Grand Forks Police Department | Municipal | 91 | $69,326 | +$3,518 | #797 |
| 3 | Fargo Police Department | Municipal | 185 | $68,494 | +$2,686 | #836 |
| 5 | Williston Police Department | Municipal | 64 | $65,520 | −$288 | #990 |
| 6 | West Fargo Police Department | Municipal | 83 | $64,376 | −$1,432 | #1,046 |
| 7 | Bismarck Police Department | Municipal | 128 | $63,123 | −$2,685 | #1,104 |
| 8 | Richland County Sheriff's Office | County | 18 | $62,213 | −$3,595 | #1,148 |
| 9 | Dickinson Police Department | Municipal | 44 | $60,345 | −$5,463 | #1,220 |
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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