National Park Service Employees

The salaries for National Park Service employees are based on their levels of responsibility and experience. Employees are assigned salary grade levels. As they gain more experience, they are promoted to higher grade levels or to higher salary steps within their grade levels.

The NPS uses two categories of levels. The first, called the General Schedule (GS), applies to professional, administrative, clerical, and technical employees and is fairly standard throughout the country. Firefighters and law enforcement are included in the General Schedule. The other, called the Wage Grade (WG), applies to employees who perform trades, crafts, or manual labor and is based on local pay scales.

Most rangers, for instance, begin at or below the GS-5 level, which, in 2025, translated to earning between $34,454 and $44,786 annually. The average ranger is generally at about the second step of the GS-7 level, which translates to a salary of $44,102. The most experienced rangers can earn $55,486, the highest salary step in the G-7 level.

To move beyond this level, most rangers must become supervisors, subdistrict rangers, district rangers, or division chiefs. At these higher levels, people can earn more than $100,000 per year. These positions are difficult to obtain, however, because the turnover rate for positions above the GS-7 level is exceptionally low.

Full-time NPS workers receive benefits such as paid vacations and holidays, sick leave, health and life insurance, and pension plans.