High paying security and protective service jobs in New Jersey

Every security and protective service occupation below is ranked by its median annual wage in New Jersey. 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 New Jersey run 8.8% above the national average (2024), so a New Jersey salary is worth about 0.92× 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 New Jersey.

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

Find security jobs in New Jersey

OccupationMedian, New Jersey · Employed

1First-Line Supervisors of Police and Detectives$142,990
High school diploma or equivalent
$114,480 – $181,0107,650
2First-Line Supervisors of Firefighting and Prevention Workers$133,210
Postsecondary nondegree award
$105,990 – $164,6102,210
3Detectives and Criminal Investigators$116,300
High school diploma or equivalent
$73,100 – $165,5703,080
4Correctional Officers and Jailers$94,770
High school diploma or equivalent
$51,410 – $106,5707,570
5Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers$92,610
High school diploma or equivalent
$57,740 – $134,26021,780
6Firefighters$84,130
Postsecondary nondegree award
$47,920 – $123,9407,500
7First-Line Supervisors of Security Workers$61,590
High school diploma or equivalent
$42,340 – $93,0002,200
8Protective Service Workers, All Other$54,950
High school diploma or equivalent
$33,280 – $80,3303,520
9Crossing Guards and Flaggers$41,600
No formal educational credential
$32,830 – $50,8907,270
10Security Guards$38,880
High school diploma or equivalent
$32,230 – $60,42041,540
11School Bus Monitors$36,100
High school diploma or equivalent
$32,220 – $43,5706,100
12Lifeguards, Ski Patrol, and Other Recreational Protective Service Workers$34,760
No formal educational credential
$32,220 – $42,8605,460

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

#	Occupation	MedianNew Jersey	10th–90th percentilemiddle half shaded darker	Employed
1	First-Line Supervisors of Police and DetectivesHigh school diploma or equivalent	$142,990	$114,480 – $181,010	7,650
2	First-Line Supervisors of Firefighting and Prevention WorkersPostsecondary nondegree award	$133,210	$105,990 – $164,610	2,210
3	Detectives and Criminal InvestigatorsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$116,300	$73,100 – $165,570	3,080
4	Correctional Officers and JailersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$94,770	$51,410 – $106,570	7,570
5	Police and Sheriff's Patrol OfficersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$92,610	$57,740 – $134,260	21,780
6	FirefightersPostsecondary nondegree award	$84,130	$47,920 – $123,940	7,500
7	First-Line Supervisors of Security WorkersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$61,590	$42,340 – $93,000	2,200
8	Protective Service Workers, All OtherHigh school diploma or equivalent	$54,950	$33,280 – $80,330	3,520
9	Crossing Guards and FlaggersNo formal educational credential	$41,600	$32,830 – $50,890	7,270
10	Security GuardsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$38,880	$32,230 – $60,420	41,540
11	School Bus MonitorsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$36,100	$32,220 – $43,570	6,100
12	Lifeguards, Ski Patrol, and Other Recreational Protective Service WorkersNo formal educational credential	$34,760	$32,220 – $42,860	5,460

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

Metro areas in New Jersey

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

By field in New Jersey

Without a degree

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

High paying security and protective service jobs in New Jersey

More for New Jersey

Metro areas in New Jersey

By field in New Jersey

Without a degree

High paying security and protective service jobs in each state