High paying security and protective service jobs in Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO

Every security and protective service occupation below is ranked by its median annual wage in Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO. Read the percentile range, not just the median: the gap between the 10th and 90th inside a single security and protective service job is usually wider than the gap between two different ones, so where you land in a field matters more than which field you pick.

Cost of living: prices in Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO run 5.8% above the national average (2024), so a Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO salary is worth about 0.95× its face value in national terms. That scales every wage here by the same factor — it changes what the numbers mean, not their order.

Local wage estimates are suppressed more often than state ones — BLS withholds any figure too few local employers report — so an occupation missing here simply has no published local estimate.

Wages: BLS OEWS, May 2025 · Cost of living: BEA regional price parities, 2024

Find security jobs in Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO

OccupationMedian, Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO · Employed

1First-Line Supervisors of Police and Detectives$127,250
High school diploma or equivalent
$116,190 – $158,5101,430
2First-Line Supervisors of Firefighting and Prevention Workers$119,500
Postsecondary nondegree award
$87,420 – $145,310890
3Detectives and Criminal Investigators$113,340
High school diploma or equivalent
$78,870 – $171,3501,230
4Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers$101,970
High school diploma or equivalent
$76,640 – $113,6304,990
5Firefighters$87,980
Postsecondary nondegree award
$60,980 – $122,7503,010
6Transportation Security Screeners$71,530
High school diploma or equivalent
$58,530 – $78,690990
7Correctional Officers and Jailers$65,660
High school diploma or equivalent
$52,370 – $93,0301,820
8First-Line Supervisors of Security Workers$56,200
High school diploma or equivalent
$44,600 – $95,910950
9Security Guards$45,420
High school diploma or equivalent
$36,780 – $57,33010,910
10Protective Service Workers, All Other$43,720
High school diploma or equivalent
$36,670 – $64,5602,550
11Lifeguards, Ski Patrol, and Other Recreational Protective Service Workers$36,620
No formal educational credential
$32,640 – $39,2802,820
12Crossing Guards and Flaggers$35,620
No formal educational credential
$34,910 – $49,7001,790

Bars run from the 10th to the 90th percentile; the middle half is shaded darker, and the tick is the median.

#	Occupation	MedianDenver-Aurora-Centennial, CO	10th–90th percentilemiddle half shaded darker	Employed
1	First-Line Supervisors of Police and DetectivesHigh school diploma or equivalent	$127,250	$116,190 – $158,510	1,430
2	First-Line Supervisors of Firefighting and Prevention WorkersPostsecondary nondegree award	$119,500	$87,420 – $145,310	890
3	Detectives and Criminal InvestigatorsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$113,340	$78,870 – $171,350	1,230
4	Police and Sheriff's Patrol OfficersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$101,970	$76,640 – $113,630	4,990
5	FirefightersPostsecondary nondegree award	$87,980	$60,980 – $122,750	3,010
6	Transportation Security ScreenersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$71,530	$58,530 – $78,690	990
7	Correctional Officers and JailersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$65,660	$52,370 – $93,030	1,820
8	First-Line Supervisors of Security WorkersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$56,200	$44,600 – $95,910	950
9	Security GuardsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$45,420	$36,780 – $57,330	10,910
10	Protective Service Workers, All OtherHigh school diploma or equivalent	$43,720	$36,670 – $64,560	2,550
11	Lifeguards, Ski Patrol, and Other Recreational Protective Service WorkersNo formal educational credential	$36,620	$32,640 – $39,280	2,820
12	Crossing Guards and FlaggersNo formal educational credential	$35,620	$34,910 – $49,700	1,790

Ranked among the occupations common enough to employ roughly one in every three thousand workers in Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO. The rarer ones are real jobs — but a 1,190-person occupation at the top of a list answers a different question than the one most readers are asking.

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Without a degree

The same fields, narrowed to what you can enter without one. Fields missing here have too few such occupations in Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO to rank honestly.

High paying security and protective service jobs in Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO

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