High paying security and protective service jobs in Kentucky

Every security and protective service occupation below is ranked by its median annual wage in Kentucky. 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 Kentucky run 9.8% below the national average (2024), so a Kentucky salary is worth about 1.11× its face value in national terms. That scales every wage here by the same factor — it changes what the numbers mean, not their order. To see where a job pays a real premium, use jobs that pay more in Kentucky.

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

Find security jobs in Kentucky

OccupationMedian, Kentucky · Employed

1First-Line Supervisors of Police and Detectives$80,390
High school diploma or equivalent
$54,580 – $122,7701,600
2Detectives and Criminal Investigators$71,670
High school diploma or equivalent
$51,640 – $149,280720
3First-Line Supervisors of Correctional Officers$62,780
High school diploma or equivalent
$36,280 – $87,580780
4First-Line Supervisors of Firefighting and Prevention Workers$60,850
Postsecondary nondegree award
$41,470 – $105,6301,250
5Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers$60,490
High school diploma or equivalent
$38,780 – $77,9707,890
6First-Line Supervisors of Security Workers$50,260
High school diploma or equivalent
$36,640 – $78,790810
7Correctional Officers and Jailers$42,310
High school diploma or equivalent
$29,910 – $61,8206,770
8Firefighters$37,150
Postsecondary nondegree award
$27,870 – $60,7205,150
9Security Guards$35,420
High school diploma or equivalent
$28,450 – $50,80013,580
10Bailiffs$30,760
High school diploma or equivalent
$28,920 – $44,340760
11Lifeguards, Ski Patrol, and Other Recreational Protective Service Workers$28,520
No formal educational credential
$20,280 – $33,2501,820

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

#	Occupation	MedianKentucky	10th–90th percentilemiddle half shaded darker	Employed
1	First-Line Supervisors of Police and DetectivesHigh school diploma or equivalent	$80,390	$54,580 – $122,770	1,600
2	Detectives and Criminal InvestigatorsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$71,670	$51,640 – $149,280	720
3	First-Line Supervisors of Correctional OfficersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$62,780	$36,280 – $87,580	780
4	First-Line Supervisors of Firefighting and Prevention WorkersPostsecondary nondegree award	$60,850	$41,470 – $105,630	1,250
5	Police and Sheriff's Patrol OfficersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$60,490	$38,780 – $77,970	7,890
6	First-Line Supervisors of Security WorkersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$50,260	$36,640 – $78,790	810
7	Correctional Officers and JailersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$42,310	$29,910 – $61,820	6,770
8	FirefightersPostsecondary nondegree award	$37,150	$27,870 – $60,720	5,150
9	Security GuardsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$35,420	$28,450 – $50,800	13,580
10	BailiffsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$30,760	$28,920 – $44,340	760
11	Lifeguards, Ski Patrol, and Other Recreational Protective Service WorkersNo formal educational credential	$28,520	$20,280 – $33,250	1,820

Ranked among the occupations common enough to employ roughly one in every three thousand workers in Kentucky. 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.

More for Kentucky

Metro areas in Kentucky

Pay varies more between metros than between states — the spread inside one state is often wider than the gap between two.

By field in Kentucky

Without a degree

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

High paying security and protective service jobs in Kentucky

More for Kentucky

Metro areas in Kentucky

By field in Kentucky

Without a degree

High paying security and protective service jobs in each state