Best Cities for Fish and Game Wardenss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where fish and game wardenss get the most value from their salary after accounting for cost of living. A score above 1.00 means better than national average.

How we calculate this: City Score = (Local Salary ÷ National Median) ÷ (Local Cost ÷ National Avg Cost). A score of 1.20 means 20% better purchasing power than average.

#	Location	Score	Raw Salary	Adjusted Salary	Rent/Income
1	IowaState	1.49	$98,260	$110,157	12%
2	IndianaState	1.40	$93,990	$103,856	13%
3	WisconsinState	1.30	$89,110	$96,544	15%
4	MichiganState	1.28	$87,460	$94,756	15%
5	NevadaState	1.24	$91,750	$91,567	19%
6	CaliforniaState	1.22	$100,090	$90,416	27%
7	TexasState	1.21	$85,980	$89,937	19%
8	North DakotaState	1.16	$79,520	$85,875	15%
9	AlabamaState	1.15	$74,290	$85,293	15%
10	GeorgiaState	1.15	$79,440	$85,054	21%
11	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	1.14	$81,490	$84,709	23%
12	ArkansasState	1.13	$72,200	$83,662	15%
13	OhioState	1.13	$75,880	$83,938	17%
14	TennesseeState	1.12	$75,930	$82,984	20%
15	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.11	$79,440	$82,066	24%
16	MarylandState	1.10	$89,300	$81,777	23%
17	WyomingState	1.08	$74,060	$79,634	16%
18	MissouriState	1.07	$70,030	$79,041	18%
19	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.07	$89,300	$79,167	27%
20	OklahomaState	1.05	$69,120	$78,102	17%
21	IdahoState	1.02	$73,200	$75,855	20%
22	South DakotaState	1.02	$68,810	$75,782	17%
23	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	1.01	$87,140	$74,798	31%
24	West VirginiaState	1.00	$62,530	$74,264	16%
25	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.00	$76,290	$73,710	25%
26	MaineState	0.99	$73,260	$73,407	21%
27	VermontState	0.99	$74,940	$73,112	23%
28	New YorkState	0.96	$80,060	$71,164	28%
29	KansasState	0.93	$61,840	$68,711	20%
30	NebraskaState	0.93	$63,000	$68,852	20%
31	LouisianaState	0.90	$59,940	$66,526	21%
32	New JerseyState	0.90	$72,920	$67,022	30%
33	North CarolinaState	0.88	$61,430	$65,074	25%
34	VirginiaState	0.87	$66,540	$64,290	28%
35	HawaiiState	0.85	$69,250	$62,955	41%
36	KentuckyState	0.83	$54,570	$61,661	21%
37	MontanaState	0.83	$59,490	$61,712	23%
38	ConnecticutState	0.82	$65,400	$60,781	29%
39	PennsylvaniaState	0.70	$50,250	$51,804	31%
40	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.43	$31,200	$31,675	66%
41	FloridaState	0.42	$31,200	$30,739	66%

Data Sources: Salary: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS). Cost of Living: BEA Regional Price Parities (2024). Rent: HUD Fair Market Rents (FY2025).