Home › Police pay › Washington › Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife
Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife 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.
Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife starts at $92,556 a year — about $44.50 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $25,871 above the median of the 2,288 agencies on this list, and $27,390 above the median for state agencies.
Cost of livingPrices in Washington run about 7% above the national average, so this is worth roughly $86,490 somewhere at average prices — $6,066 less than the headline figure. Most of that is rent, at 126 against a national average of 100, where goods are 104. 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 Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife says about itself
The mission of the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Enforcement Program is to protect our natural resources and the public we serve. With more than 165 commissioned law enforcement personnel around the state, WDFW Police enforce laws and regulations related to human-wildlife conflict, hunting and fishing, and the protection of fish, wildlife and habitats, conducting law enforcement in state and federal waters, parks, and forest lands. Our unique capabilities, assets, and jurisdiction mean our officers also respond to public safety issues such as dangerous wildlife encounters, natural disasters, and search-and-rescue operations.
What Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife does
The Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife Enforcement Program is the state’s commissioned natural-resource law-enforcement organization. Fish and Wildlife Police Officers enforce fish, wildlife and habitat laws, protect natural resources and the public, investigate violations, patrol land and waterways and provide general peace-officer and public-safety services throughout Washington.
Where the figure comes from
Checked 8 August 2026. Washington OFM / Fish and Wildlife Officers Guild 2025–2027 CBA, Appendix A-1 — 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 Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife 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. Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife starts at $92,556, so $27,390 above the state middle.
BlueShifts. Plan Your Year. Own Your Time.
The shift calendar built for your rotation, off-duty work, and life on and off the clock.
Save your shift schedule once and BlueShifts fills the rest of the year in.
How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife officer make?
Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife starts a new officer on $92,556 a year, about $44.50 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 Washington OFM / Fish and Wildlife Officers Guild 2025–2027 CBA, Appendix A-1.
Is that good pay for a police officer in Washington?
It ranks #30 of 92 agencies we have verified in Washington — 62 pay less, 29 pay more in the state — and #216 of 2,288 nationally. Against the national median it is $25,871 above, and against other state agencies $27,390 above.
Compare with another department
Put Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife 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 WA
| # | Agency | Level | Sworn # | Entry pay | Vs Washington | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Seattle Police Department | Municipal | 1,064 | $117,792 | +$25,236 | #38 |
| 2 | Redmond Police Department | Municipal | 81 | $110,435 | +$17,879 | #59 |
| 3 | Auburn Police Department | Municipal | 120 | $108,386 | +$15,830 | #68 |
| 4 | Lynnwood Police Department | Municipal | 71 | $106,371 | +$13,815 | #81 |
| 5 | Everett Police Department | Municipal | 207 | $102,516 | +$9,960 | #106 |
| 6 | Vancouver Police Department | Municipal | 226 | $101,832 | +$9,276 | #110 |
| 7 | Kirkland Police Department | Municipal | 108 | $101,218 | +$8,662 | #118 |
| 8 | Tukwila Police Department | Municipal | 76 | $101,064 | +$8,508 | #120 |
| 9 | Bothell Police Department | Municipal | 70 | $101,055 | +$8,499 | #121 |
| 10 | Mount Vernon Police Department | Municipal | 43 | $100,836 | +$8,280 | #125 |
| 11 | Kennewick Police Department | Municipal | 107 | $100,104 | +$7,548 | #128 |
| 12 | Edmonds Police Department | Municipal | 48 | $99,168 | +$6,612 | #140 |
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.
Scan to install
