High paying security and protective service jobs in Memphis, TN-MS-AR

Every security and protective service occupation below is ranked by its median annual wage in Memphis, TN-MS-AR. 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 Memphis, TN-MS-AR run 7.8% below the national average (2024), so a Memphis, TN-MS-AR salary is worth about 1.08× 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 Memphis, TN-MS-AR

OccupationMedian, Memphis, TN-MS-AR · Employed

1Private Detectives and Investigators$99,680
High school diploma or equivalent
$37,450 – $101,030310
2First-Line Supervisors of Firefighting and Prevention Workers$82,320
Postsecondary nondegree award
$47,690 – $84,010530
3First-Line Supervisors of Police and Detectives$79,050
High school diploma or equivalent
$56,790 – $105,690940
4Detectives and Criminal Investigators$78,920
High school diploma or equivalent
$51,900 – $149,280280
5Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers$75,410
High school diploma or equivalent
$47,060 – $79,4803,630
6Firefighters$62,910
Postsecondary nondegree award
$36,290 – $70,4601,660
7Correctional Officers and Jailers$53,210
High school diploma or equivalent
$40,250 – $62,7901,370
8First-Line Supervisors of Security Workers$50,830
High school diploma or equivalent
$37,210 – $103,280580
9Protective Service Workers, All Other$45,040
High school diploma or equivalent
$34,540 – $82,970210
10Security Guards$35,100
High school diploma or equivalent
$29,060 – $45,9308,450
11Crossing Guards and Flaggers$32,610
No formal educational credential
$15,080 – $42,780450
12Lifeguards, Ski Patrol, and Other Recreational Protective Service Workers$27,260
No formal educational credential
$22,420 – $30,200460

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

#	Occupation	MedianMemphis, TN-MS-AR	10th–90th percentilemiddle half shaded darker	Employed
1	Private Detectives and InvestigatorsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$99,680	$37,450 – $101,030	310
2	First-Line Supervisors of Firefighting and Prevention WorkersPostsecondary nondegree award	$82,320	$47,690 – $84,010	530
3	First-Line Supervisors of Police and DetectivesHigh school diploma or equivalent	$79,050	$56,790 – $105,690	940
4	Detectives and Criminal InvestigatorsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$78,920	$51,900 – $149,280	280
5	Police and Sheriff's Patrol OfficersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$75,410	$47,060 – $79,480	3,630
6	FirefightersPostsecondary nondegree award	$62,910	$36,290 – $70,460	1,660
7	Correctional Officers and JailersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$53,210	$40,250 – $62,790	1,370
8	First-Line Supervisors of Security WorkersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$50,830	$37,210 – $103,280	580
9	Protective Service Workers, All OtherHigh school diploma or equivalent	$45,040	$34,540 – $82,970	210
10	Security GuardsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$35,100	$29,060 – $45,930	8,450
11	Crossing Guards and FlaggersNo formal educational credential	$32,610	$15,080 – $42,780	450
12	Lifeguards, Ski Patrol, and Other Recreational Protective Service WorkersNo formal educational credential	$27,260	$22,420 – $30,200	460

Ranked among the occupations common enough to employ roughly one in every three thousand workers in Memphis, TN-MS-AR. 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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By field in Memphis, TN-MS-AR

Without a degree

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

High paying security and protective service jobs in Memphis, TN-MS-AR

More for Memphis, TN-MS-AR

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By field in Memphis, TN-MS-AR

Without a degree

High paying security and protective service jobs in each state