Protective Service Occupations
BLS May 2025 wages O*NET task lead SOC 33-3031

Fish and Game Wardens

O*NET task statements lead this Fish and Game Wardens card before OEWS pay; neighboring titles include First-Line Supervisors of Police and Detectives, First-Line Supervisors of Security Workers, Firefighters, Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers.

Full salary details → About this data

Same-major-group titles next to Fish and Game Wardens: First-Line Supervisors of Police and Detectives ($106K) , First-Line Supervisors of Security Workers ($56K) , Firefighters ($59K) , Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers ($76K) . Hash-ordered per card so residual SOC siblings do not share an identical peer sentence.

What Fish and Game Wardens publish as work

O*NET task statements for SOC 33-3031 - occupation-level descriptions, not every employer's posting. Sibling cards diverge here because the task set is entity-keyed.

  1. 1. Patrol assigned areas by car, boat, airplane, horse, or on foot to enforce game, fish, or boating laws or to manage wildlife programs, la…
  2. 2. Compile and present evidence for court actions
  3. 3. Investigate hunting accidents or reports of fish or game law violations
  4. 4. Protect and preserve native wildlife, plants, or ecosystems
  5. 5. Issue warnings or citations and file reports as necessary
  6. 6. Serve warrants and make arrests
  7. 7. Provide assistance to other local law enforcement agencies as required
  8. 8. Promote or provide hunter or trapper safety training
  9. 9. Participate in search-and-rescue operations
  10. 10. Arrange for disposition of fish or game illegally taken or possessed
  11. 11. Seize equipment used in fish and game law violations
  12. 12. Address schools, civic groups, sporting clubs, or the media to disseminate information concerning wildlife conservation and regulations

Fish and Game Wardens: O*NET ranks Active Listening first

Importance-ranked O*NET profile for SOC 33-3031 - lead skill Active Listening at 3.9 ; lead knowledge Law and Government. Sibling cards diverge here even when peer titles overlap.

Top skills

  1. 1. Active Listening 3.9
  2. 2. Critical Thinking 3.9
  3. 3. Speaking 3.8
  4. 4. Reading Comprehension 3.6
  5. 5. Judgment and Decision Making 3.5
  6. 6. Monitoring 3.4
  7. 7. Social Perceptiveness 3.4
  8. 8. Persuasion 3.4

Knowledge areas

  1. 1. Law and Government 4.6
  2. 2. Public Safety and Security 4.5
  3. 3. Biology 4.1
  4. 4. English Language 4.1
  5. 5. Customer and Personal Service 4.1
  6. 6. Psychology 3.8
National median after O*NET task lead
$74,060
/year · 12 published task lines above
Lead task: Patrol assigned areas by car, boat, airplane, horse, or on foot to enforce game, fish, or boating laws or to manage wildlife programs, la…
$74K
National median
↓ -6%
Growth 2024-2034
500
Annual openings
5,770
Estimated US jobs
First-Line Supervisors of Police and Detectives
Highest-pay peer · $106K

Typical Entry and Preparation Assignments

Entry education Bachelor's degree

Top Paying States for Fish and Game Wardens

1. New York $80,060
2. California $100,090
3. Wisconsin $89,110
4. Nevada $91,750
5. Iowa $98,260
6. Maryland $89,300
7. Indiana $93,990
8. Michigan $87,460
9. Texas $85,980
10. North Dakota $79,520

Other Protective Service Occupations titles

  1. 1. First-Line Supervisors of Police and Detectives $106,040
  2. 2. First-Line Supervisors of Security Workers $55,940
  3. 3. Firefighters $59,280
  4. 4. Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers $76,210
  5. 5. First-Line Supervisors of Protective Service Workers, All Other $76,400
  6. 6. Transit and Railroad Police $90,230

O*NET publishes 12 leading task statements for Fish and Game Wardens (SOC 33-3031). The national OEWS median is $74,060 inside Protective Service Occupations. Same-group neighbors: First-Line Supervisors of Police and Detectives, First-Line Supervisors of Security Workers, Firefighters, Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers. Lead published task: Patrol assigned areas by car, boat, airplane, horse, or on foot to enforce game, fish, or boating laws or to manage wildlife programs, la….

Employment Projections expect -6% change between 2024 and 2034 (declining vs baseline 3.1%). About 500 annual openings are projected. BLS assigns Bachelor's degree as typical education needed for entry. These are occupation-level assignments, not universal requirements. BLS does not publish a separate occupation-specific safety rate for this role; its broad SOC-group rate is excluded from this career card's grade.

Highest published state median in this ranking: New York at $80,060. The table records differences without proving causes. Highest-pay peer shown here: First-Line Supervisors of Police and Detectives at $106,040. Compare the same statistic in the relevant local wage area before treating the national median as a personal benchmark; OEWS excludes employer benefits.

Fish and Game Wardens pay-rank #9 in Protective Service Occupations

Fish and Game Wardens sits at pay-rank #9 of 24 detailed Protective Service Occupations, the middle third of the major-group median table. ROW_NUMBER on median; title breaks ties.

Other mid-table titles · closest medians

Full Salary Details Compare this role

Data from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025. Projections from BLS Employment Projections program, 2024-2034.

SOC 33-3031 · national median $74,060 · middle third of Protective Service Occupations (#9/24). Open the full OEWS map or a named state before treating the card median as a local ask.

Fish and Game Wardens salary map

State, metro, and percentile for SOC 33-3031

New York · top state for Fish and Game Wardens

$80K published median

California · #2 state pay

$100K · behind New York

First-Line Supervisors of Police and Detectives

Highest-pay peer vs Fish and Game Wardens · $106K

First-Line Supervisors of Security Workers

Lower-pay peer beside Fish and Game Wardens · $56K

Compare Fish and Game Wardens

Head-to-head OEWS medians with another SOC
Compare Fish and Game Wardens with another occupation →

Role and task next reads

Fish and Game Wardens full salary map

State and metro OEWS after the task lead

Compare tasks and pay

Side-by-side with another occupation

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Fish and Game Wardens mid-table among Protective Service Occupations? ▼
Yes: pay-rank #9 of 24 detailed Protective Service Occupations, the middle third. Mid-table neighbors: Transportation Security Screeners ($67K), Firefighters ($59K), Correctional Officers and Jailers ($59K), Forest Fire Inspectors and Prevention Specialists ($57K). ROW_NUMBER on median; title breaks ties.
What do fish and game wardens do day to day? ▼
O*NET lists published task statements for Fish and Game Wardens. Leading ones include: Patrol assigned areas by car, boat, airplane, horse, or on foot to enforce game, fish, or boating laws or to manage wildlife programs, la…; Compile and present evidence for court actions; Investigate hunting accidents or reports of fish or game law violations; Protect and preserve native wildlife, plants, or ecosystems. These are occupation-level task descriptions, not every employer's job description.
Which O*NET skills rank highest for fish and game wardens? ▼
For SOC 33-3031, O*NET importance scores lead with Active Listening (3.9), Critical Thinking (3.9), Speaking (3.8), Reading Comprehension (3.6). Knowledge areas emphasize Law and Government, Public Safety and Security, Biology. These are occupation-level profiles, not a hiring checklist for every employer.
What is the OEWS national median for Fish and Game Wardens? ▼
May 2025 OEWS reports $74,060 as the national median for Fish and Game Wardens. The published 10th-90th range is $50,990 to $100,980. Beside First-Line Supervisors of Police and Detectives ($106,040), this is the occupation-level national figure, not a local offer.
What employment change does BLS publish for Fish and Game Wardens? ▼
The 2024-2034 projection for Fish and Game Wardens is -6%. Projected annual openings: about 500. Relative to the current all-occupations baseline of 3.1%: declining.
What typical entry education does BLS assign to Fish and Game Wardens? ▼
BLS assigns Bachelor's degree as the typical-education-needed-for-entry category for Fish and Game Wardens. These are occupation-level labels, not every employer's hiring rule.
Which three states show the highest OEWS medians for Fish and Game Wardens? ▼
New York ($80,060), California ($100,090), Wisconsin ($89,110) lead this ranking. The table does not identify why those state estimates differ.

Source data and WageDex calculations are identified in context on this page. Wage and state figures use BLS OEWS May 2025; growth and education use BLS Employment Projections for 2024-2034; safety fields cite BLS CFOI/SOII; task statements cite O*NET where shown. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.

Disclaimer: Wage and outlook figures on this page are provided for informational purposes only and do not constitute career, financial, or salary-negotiation advice. Actual pay varies by employer, experience, and local conditions; consult a career counselor or the hiring employer for guidance specific to your situation.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OES Occupational wage estimates by area and industry · 2025

Federal sources on this Fish and Game Wardens card
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS / OES) - national median and percentiles for SOC 33-3031. bls.gov/oes
  • O*NET OnLine - task and skill statements for Fish and Game Wardens. onetcenter.org
  • BLS Employment Projections - 2024-2034 change and openings for this occupation. bls.gov/emp
  • U.S. Census Bureau ACS - demographic and labor-force context for state and metro geography. census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
  • IRS Statistics of Income (SOI) - payroll-tax aggregate context for wage comparisons. irs.gov/statistics