High paying security and protective service jobs in North Carolina

Every security and protective service occupation below is ranked by its median annual wage in North Carolina. 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 North Carolina run 5.7% below the national average (2024), so a North Carolina salary is worth about 1.06× 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 North Carolina.

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

Find security jobs in North Carolina

OccupationMedian, North Carolina · Employed

1First-Line Supervisors of Police and Detectives$91,100
High school diploma or equivalent
$61,750 – $124,1204,820
2Detectives and Criminal Investigators$63,280
High school diploma or equivalent
$50,260 – $137,5503,360
3First-Line Supervisors of Firefighting and Prevention Workers$59,560
Postsecondary nondegree award
$44,800 – $110,7905,050
4Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers$59,300
High school diploma or equivalent
$46,040 – $80,24022,370
5First-Line Supervisors of Security Workers$57,390
High school diploma or equivalent
$34,800 – $85,2302,730
6Private Detectives and Investigators$52,890
High school diploma or equivalent
$36,600 – $98,5601,710
7Correctional Officers and Jailers$50,550
High school diploma or equivalent
$38,850 – $63,15011,900
8Firefighters$37,940
Postsecondary nondegree award
$29,360 – $61,94019,410
9Security Guards$35,010
High school diploma or equivalent
$29,260 – $56,02029,830
10Crossing Guards and Flaggers$33,730
No formal educational credential
$29,500 – $36,1502,760
11Lifeguards, Ski Patrol, and Other Recreational Protective Service Workers$27,310
No formal educational credential
$21,830 – $36,3904,850

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

#	Occupation	MedianNorth Carolina	10th–90th percentilemiddle half shaded darker	Employed
1	First-Line Supervisors of Police and DetectivesHigh school diploma or equivalent	$91,100	$61,750 – $124,120	4,820
2	Detectives and Criminal InvestigatorsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$63,280	$50,260 – $137,550	3,360
3	First-Line Supervisors of Firefighting and Prevention WorkersPostsecondary nondegree award	$59,560	$44,800 – $110,790	5,050
4	Police and Sheriff's Patrol OfficersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$59,300	$46,040 – $80,240	22,370
5	First-Line Supervisors of Security WorkersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$57,390	$34,800 – $85,230	2,730
6	Private Detectives and InvestigatorsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$52,890	$36,600 – $98,560	1,710
7	Correctional Officers and JailersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$50,550	$38,850 – $63,150	11,900
8	FirefightersPostsecondary nondegree award	$37,940	$29,360 – $61,940	19,410
9	Security GuardsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$35,010	$29,260 – $56,020	29,830
10	Crossing Guards and FlaggersNo formal educational credential	$33,730	$29,500 – $36,150	2,760
11	Lifeguards, Ski Patrol, and Other Recreational Protective Service WorkersNo formal educational credential	$27,310	$21,830 – $36,390	4,850

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

Metro areas in North Carolina

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

By field in North Carolina

Without a degree

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

High paying security and protective service jobs in North Carolina

More for North Carolina

Metro areas in North Carolina

By field in North Carolina

Without a degree

High paying security and protective service jobs in each state