Running from 2009 to 2015, Parks and Recreation ended up being more of a critical favorite than a ratings juggernaut. It was the quirky indie to The Office's Summer Blockbuster. While that show has a surplus of information in regards to how much Jim, Pam, Michael, and the gang were paid, Parks and Rec can't exactly say the same.
Still, with the information available, how much was the cast of NBC's Parks and Recreation paid during the first season? How much were they paid for the final episodes? Were they able to negotiate better or worse contracts than the cast of NBC's main workplace-based comedy?
8 Amy Poehler
Leslie Knope is a character that changed a lot from the first episode to the last. And just as the writing changed considerably, so did Ms. Poehler's salary. It is standard for sitcom stars, even if they are leads, to not hit paydirt until well after the end of the first season.
Parks and Recreation was a niche show, especially in comparison to its sister show, The Office. Thus, the actors' salaries are not going to be commensurate with, say, Steve Carell. In the case of the always busy Amy Poehler, her salary is unknown for the first few seasons. However, she ended up earning about $200,000 per episode in 2013 (around Season 4 or Season 5). When the final season rolled around, she earned $250,000 for each episode.
7 Nick Offerman
Fans of the show will probably be surprised just how little series mainstay Ron Swanson earned per episode. While, again, details on the early years for this show are sketchy, it is reported that Offerman received a meager sum of $30,000 for each episode during the show's peak (and, ostensibly, the final season as well).
But, considering he has reunited with Poehler in NBC's creative competition show Making It, it's almost certain that money wasn't everything to Offerman, it was about spending time with work family.
6 Aubrey Plaza
Save for Chris Pratt, Aubrey Plaza (as April Ludgate) probably received the show's biggest career boost. Since the closing of the sitcom, Plaza has gone on to lead several independent features, most of which were well-reviewed, as well as co-star in studio comedies, most of which were not well-received.
With a net worth of $6 million, it stands to reason that she didn't earn the same amount of money as Amy Poehler, but her seven years on the show were a big part of why she is now a millionaire.
5 Chris Pratt
While Pratt is worth a staggering $60 million, it stands to reason that figure is mostly due to the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Jurassic World series. For the first Jurassic World alone he earned $10 million.
Originally intended to be a simple guest role, the Parks and Recreation creators listened and kept Andy Dwyer on throughout the course of the series run. While his salary for the show isn't known, it was a far cry from Pratt's past standing as a homeless waiter.
4 Rashida Jones
While Rashida Jones is worth $25 million, most of that didn't come from her stint on Parks and Rec. While her exact salary from the show is unknown, she stayed on for quite a bit.
A cast member in the very first episode, she stayed until midway through Season 6, at which point she and Rob Lowe's character made a mutual exit. While Anne Perkins was a well-like character, Jones had her sights on a lead role in the terrific Angie Tribeca.
3 Adam Scott
While Ben Wyatt didn't enter the world of Pawnee, Indiana until the end of Season 2, he immediately felt like a natural inclusion. A lot of this is owed to the man of endless charm, Adam Scott. With a net worth of only $8 million, despite having been in the industry for nearly 30 years, it stands to reason that Scott didn't exactly break the bank with Parks & Recreation.
Though, considering he'd go on to take the role of another Ben across Amy Poehler in Wet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later (taking over for Bradley Cooper), it stands to reason that friends in the cast were more important than money.
2 Rob Lowe
Another character meant to serve as a guest role, Rob Lowe's Chris Traeger quickly became a fan favorite. Mostly owing to one of Lowe's best performances to date, Chris Traeger entered the series late in Season 2 and stuck around until midway through Season 6.
When he and castmate Nick Offerman were interviewed about their salaries, Lowe said this: "We do fine. Nobody needs to hold a benefit for either one of us. But I think people would be shocked to know that, for the most part, Ron Swanson and Chris Traegar are not really participating [in the shared revenue for the show]." While the exact figure isn't known, Perhaps it's fair to say that Lowe's salary was comparable to Offerman's.
1 Aziz Ansari
While Parks and Recreation was the show that pushed Aziz Ansari from recognizable to famous, his salary is unknown throughout the duration of the series' run.
However, he has since gone on to reteam with Parks and Recreation writer Alan Yang on the Emmy-winning Netflix series Master of None. It seems, like Offerman, Ansari was in the cast for more than the money.
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June 15, 2021 at 12:00AM
