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Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission — Park Ranger Law Enforcement 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 State Parks and Recreation Commission — Park Ranger Law Enforcement starts at $59,760 a year — about $28.73 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $8,630 below the median of the 1,681 agencies on this list, and $5,238 below the median for state agencies.
Cost of livingPrices in Washington run about 7% above the national average, so this is worth roughly $55,844 somewhere at average prices — $3,916 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.
About Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission — Park Ranger Law Enforcement
Washington Park Ranger 2 positions independently perform journey-level ranger duties as either fully commissioned law-enforcement rangers or limited-commission law-enforcement rangers. The official OFM specification expressly identifies both commission types.
Where the figure comes from
Checked 8 August 2026. Washington Office of Financial Management — Park Ranger 2 classification and salary — 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 State Parks and Recreation Commission — Park Ranger Law Enforcement 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. Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission — Park Ranger Law Enforcement starts at $59,760, so $5,238 below the state middle.
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How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission — Park Ranger Law Enforcement officer make?
Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission — Park Ranger Law Enforcement starts a new officer on $59,760 a year, about $28.73 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 Office of Financial Management — Park Ranger 2 classification and salary.
Is that good pay for a police officer in Washington?
It ranks #75 of 76 agencies we have verified in Washington — 1 pay less, 74 pay more in the state — and #1,258 of 1,681 nationally. Against the national median it is $8,630 below, and against other state agencies $5,238 below.
Compare with another department
Put Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission — Park Ranger Law Enforcement 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 | +$58,032 | #35 |
| 2 | Redmond Police Department | Municipal | 81 | $110,435 | +$50,675 | #52 |
| 3 | Auburn Police Department | Municipal | 120 | $108,386 | +$48,626 | #57 |
| 4 | Everett Police Department | Municipal | 207 | $102,516 | +$42,756 | #81 |
| 5 | Vancouver Police Department | Municipal | 226 | $101,832 | +$42,072 | #85 |
| 6 | Kirkland Police Department | Municipal | 108 | $101,218 | +$41,458 | #92 |
| 7 | Tukwila Police Department | Municipal | 76 | $101,064 | +$41,304 | #94 |
| 8 | Mount Vernon Police Department | Municipal | 43 | $100,836 | +$41,076 | #97 |
| 9 | Edmonds Police Department | Municipal | 48 | $99,168 | +$39,408 | #108 |
| 10 | Tacoma Police Department | Municipal | 343 | $98,571 | +$38,811 | #111 |
| 11 | Issaquah Police Department | Municipal | 36 | $98,150 | +$38,390 | #114 |
| 12 | Renton Police Department | Municipal | 132 | $97,692 | +$37,932 | #117 |
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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