Job Title · City Detail
Game Warden Salary in Austin, Texas
In Austin, the State of Texas reports 13 public employees holding the GAME WARDEN classification. Average annual base pay is $86,265, with a median of $89,789 and a range from $65,851 to $98,085. The largest employer of this title in Austin is PARKS AND WILDLIFE DEPARTMENT.
How Austin compares for the GAME WARDEN role
Across all of Texas state government, the average base pay for the GAME WARDEN classification is $86,265, calculated from 13 employees in 1+ agencies statewide. In Austin specifically the average sits at $86,265, which runs about 0% above the statewide figure for this role — a difference of $0.00 per year between an average Austin incumbent and an average Texas incumbent in the same classification. That gap is consistent with what you would expect given the mix of employers active in Austin and the cost-of-living posture of the metro relative to other Texas cities.
Compared to all public-sector employees in Austin (regardless of title), the GAME WARDEN role pays about 30% less than the citywide average of $122,907. That places this title below the citywide average, which is common for support, technical, and entry-level state classifications — the citywide figure is pulled upward by the state's senior medical, judicial, executive, and academic-leadership salaries. For an apples-to-apples comparison against other roles in Austin, see our city profile for Austin or compare against the same title in other Texas cities via the GAME WARDEN hub.
Within Austin, the GAME WARDEN classification appears at 1 different state employer: PARKS AND WILDLIFE DEPARTMENT. The single largest employer is PARKS AND WILDLIFE DEPARTMENT, which accounts for 13 of the 13 reported records in this combination. Where multiple agencies employ the same classification, pay variation is normal — agencies set individual pay within the state classification plan's salary band based on tenure, market conditions, and any agency-specific salary supplements that have been authorized by the Legislature or by the agency's governing board.
Top Game Wardens in Austin by pay
| Name | Agency | Annual pay | Hire date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kirk Jenkins | PARKS AND WILDLIFE DEPARTMENT | $98,085 | January 1, 2004 |
| Jimmy Woolley | PARKS AND WILDLIFE DEPARTMENT | $98,085 | March 1, 2002 |
| Michael Dushay | PARKS AND WILDLIFE DEPARTMENT | $93,937 | November 1, 2008 |
| Daniel Kessel | PARKS AND WILDLIFE DEPARTMENT | $93,937 | November 1, 2008 |
| Mark Braddock | PARKS AND WILDLIFE DEPARTMENT | $89,789 | February 15, 2009 |
| Brendan Shoars | PARKS AND WILDLIFE DEPARTMENT | $89,789 | January 7, 2013 |
| Patrick True | PARKS AND WILDLIFE DEPARTMENT | $89,789 | February 1, 2012 |
| Tyler Reed | PARKS AND WILDLIFE DEPARTMENT | $89,789 | January 1, 2010 |
| Anthony Cimini | PARKS AND WILDLIFE DEPARTMENT | $85,989 | January 11, 2016 |
| Michael Foster | PARKS AND WILDLIFE DEPARTMENT | $80,274 | January 8, 2018 |
| Wesley Driskill | PARKS AND WILDLIFE DEPARTMENT | $80,274 | October 3, 2019 |
| Chad Fletcher | PARKS AND WILDLIFE DEPARTMENT | $65,851 | October 1, 2023 |
| Joseph Gonzales | PARKS AND WILDLIFE DEPARTMENT | $65,851 | October 1, 2022 |
Reading this number in context
The annual pay column on this page reflects what the State of Texas reports as the employee’s annualized base salary at the time of the most recent payroll snapshot. It does not include benefits, retirement contributions (such as TRS or ERS employer contributions), longevity pay, hazardous-duty pay, paid leave cash-outs, contract buyouts, or any supplements paid out of foundation, athletic, or grant funds — categories that can add materially to total compensation, especially in academic medical centers and senior university roles. Use the figures here as an apples-to-apples baseline for comparison; treat them as the starting point of a conversation, not the final word.
Two employees in Austin with the same GAME WARDEN title can earn very different amounts for legitimate reasons. The State of Texas operates a position classification plan in which most titles map to a salary group with a defined minimum, midpoint, and maximum, and agencies are free to set individual pay anywhere within that band. Universities and elected-officials’ offices are exempt from the standard plan altogether and set pay independently. Tenure, prior agency service, market-pay adjustments approved under Texas Government Code Chapter 659, and acting-leadership stipends all contribute to within-title variation. For the full set of caveats, see our methodology.
If you want to compare what the GAME WARDEN role pays in other Texas cities, the GAME WARDEN hub aggregates every reported incumbent statewide. To see what other classifications pay in Austin, the Austin city profile breaks down the local mix of employers and titles. For peer roles, the job-titles index is the master list.