Fish & Game Warden earn $74,060 nationally at the median. The middle 50% of workers fall between $61,430 and $89,110. Where you land depends on specialization, employer, and experience.
This page sets out what the federal data says about working as a fish & game warden: what the job pays, how fast it is growing, and what it takes to get in. Most people arrive through a degree in Environmental/Natural Resources Management and Policy and what it leads to, though it is not the only route.
Patrol assigned area to prevent fish and game law violations. Investigate reports of damage to crops or property by wildlife. Compile biological data.
Also known as:
Most fish & game wardens take home around $74,060 a year, above what most college graduates make. Half earn somewhere between $61,430 and $89,110, so where you land depends a lot on employer, specialty and city. A solid living in most parts of the country. Source: BLS.
A wage on its own says nothing about whether the degree behind it pays for itself, which is a question of lifetime earnings set against the total cost of getting there.
Above the national median for college graduates.
25th to 75th percentile. Most workers earn within this band.
This is what the job actually looks like on a Tuesday: 5 core activities and 5 skills the work depends on. Read it before the salary, because pay matters less than whether you would want to spend your days doing this. Source: O*NET.
Hands-on tasks, physical activity, or working with tools and real materials are central parts of the daily work here.
Success depends on precision and structured processes, where detail-oriented people who work consistently within established systems perform best.
This career demands analytical thinking: researching problems, interpreting data, and applying logical reasoning to find practical solutions.
What the physical and mental conditions of this job actually look like day to day, based on O*NET Work Context data collected from people working in this occupation.
Split between indoor and outdoor or field settings.
Mix of sitting and movement throughout the day.
High time pressure and significant consequences for errors. Deadline-driven or high-stakes decisions are common.
Through 2035 the BLS expects this field to change by -5.7%, meaning it is shrinking, so expect more competition for fewer roles. Around 500 roles open up each year, which is the number that matters most if you are starting out. Source: BLS.
Growth rates are only meaningful next to other occupations, and the full list of careers with their projected growth puts this one in context.
Declining employment projected.
New positions plus replacements for retirees and career-changers.
Total US employment as of BLS May 2025.
Source: BLS Employment Projections 2025–2035 and Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics May 2025.
The five states below employ the most Fish & Game Warden professionals nationwide. State-level wages can differ significantly from the $74,060 national median. Research your specific market before committing to a program.
| # | State | Jobs | Median Wage | vs. National |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Texas | 490 | $85,980 | +16.1% |
| 2 | New York | 390 | $80,060 | +8.1% |
| 3 | California | 330 | $100,090 | +35.1% |
| 4 | Florida | 290 | $31,200 | -57.9% |
| 5 | Tennessee | 220 | $75,930 | +2.5% |
Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. Employment figures rounded. Read our methodology →
To get hired here you will usually need a bachelor's degree. The program below is the most common route in, ordered by how many people actually graduate from each one.
These positions typically require a bachelor's degree and several years of related experience before advancing into senior roles.
| # | Program | Graduates/yr | 4yr Median | Colleges |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Environmental/Natural Resources Management and Policy | 3,147 | $56,185 | 185 |
Colleges offering the degree programs that lead to this career, ranked by UCD Score. A strong program plus solid outcomes is a good place to begin your search.
| # | College | UCD Score | Net Price | Salary 10yr |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | University of Michigan-Ann Arbor Ann Arbor, MI | 91 | $13,138 | $83,648 |
| 2 | University of Chicago Chicago, IL | 91 | $14,860 | $91,885 |
| 3 | Harvard University Cambridge, MA | 89 | $19,066 | $101,817 |
| 4 | University of Maryland-College Park College Park, MD | 88 | $15,678 | $82,860 |
| 5 | California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo, CA | 88 | $16,665 | $90,768 |
| 6 | University of Georgia Athens, GA | 88 | $13,936 | $68,726 |
Once you've sized up Fish & Game Warden, these tools turn the numbers into a plan. Estimate the real cost of a degree that leads here, weigh the long-term payoff, compare specific colleges side-by-side, and find programs that match your profile.
See if the degree that leads to Fish & Game Warden pays off. Weighs each college's cost against the earnings graduates see.
Enter a budget and see the colleges whose net price fits, with the out-of-pocket cost and likely loan load for each.
Put any 2–4 colleges side-by-side. Admissions, cost, outcomes, and earnings, all on one screen, no tab-hopping.
Answer six quick questions and see your best-fit colleges ranked by budget, field of study, and what matters most to you.
Fish & Game Warden has real financial strengths, but declining employment projections deserve careful consideration. The 1 upsides and 2 concerns below are all data-sourced.
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Group every career by the degree it requires and master's-level jobs pay a median of about $91,000, statistically tied with bachelor's-level work. The premium hides in a few fields.
Only 106 of 393 federal careers both pay a median above $80,000 and grow faster than the typical job. Here is the rare set that clears both bars.
Browse our full directory: every college, major, program, and career we track, all built from verified government data.
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