There was heavy speculation that Leslie Knope was filthy rich in Parks and Recreation, but she really isn't. The character, played by Amy Poehler for all seven seasons of the sitcom, lived a somewhat lavish lifestyle and there was evidence that suggested she didn't worry about money. That said, there weren't any confirmations regarding the theory that Leslie was secretly wealthy.
At the start of Parks and Rec, Leslie was the Deputy Director of the Pawnee City Department of Parks and Recreation, a mid-level position in the public sector. Over the course of the series, Leslie became the City Councilor before making her way to being the Regional Director of National Park Service Midwest Region and eventually, the Deputy Director of Operations at the United States Department of Interior. Her earlier gigs certainly wouldn't have been overwhelmingly profitable, especially in a small town like Pawnee, Indiana.
Despite the belief of Leslie's average-paying jobs, the character had no frugality when it came to money. She often bought gifts for her loved ones on her personally made-up holidays, paid for expensive trips taken by her coworkers, and made charitable donations. A Redditor even estimated her salary at about $53,000 a year during her time at the Parks Department which doesn't match with her lifestyle. There was a belief that Leslie may have inherited a large sum of money after her father passed away or possibly lived off of a trust fund. There were clues, however, that Leslie dealt with money struggles just like anyone would with an average-paying job.
Why The Theory About Leslie's Wealth Isn't True
Even though Leslie lived as a proud citizen of Pawnee, she was technically an Eagletonian. Her mom didn't want her to be born in a Pawnee hospital and there are reasons to believe that her family held beliefs that swayed more to the side of Eagleton. Perhaps Leslie's parents had money and supported her through various aspects of her life. This could be why Leslie tried so hard to prove herself to get out of her mother's shadow. But that doesn't imply that she had unlimited cash at her fingertips during the series.
There were also multiple occasions that Leslie and Ben hinted that they didn't have as much money as many had thought. When Leslie learned that she was having triplets, Ben calculated the costs of raising three kids and stressed about how they would afford the number. If Leslie was secretly rich, she would have shared this information with her husband to lessen his stress. In that same scene, Ben claimed that they recently spent all of their savings on a trip to Paris. Spontaneous trips can be very pricey but this didn't say much about their saving habits. It's more likely that the sitcom paid no attention to Leslie's paycheck and how it would affect her lifestyle until it was pertinent to the plot. Just because Leslie was very generous during Parks and Recreation, it doesn't mean she was swimming in wealth all of her life. TV shows don't often show the reality of income and this was just another example.