High paying security and protective service jobs in Pennsylvania

Every security and protective service occupation below is ranked by its median annual wage in Pennsylvania. 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 Pennsylvania run 2.4% below the national average (2024), so a Pennsylvania salary is worth about 1.02× 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 Pennsylvania.

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

Find security jobs in Pennsylvania

OccupationMedian, Pennsylvania · Employed

1First-Line Supervisors of Police and Detectives$102,400
High school diploma or equivalent
$72,840 – $137,9805,690
2Detectives and Criminal Investigators$97,580
High school diploma or equivalent
$63,770 – $154,3603,370
3Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers$85,470
High school diploma or equivalent
$48,680 – $109,78026,510
4Firefighters$73,460
Postsecondary nondegree award
$48,620 – $89,1905,020
5Correctional Officers and Jailers$63,460
High school diploma or equivalent
$46,840 – $85,63015,560
6First-Line Supervisors of Security Workers$47,510
High school diploma or equivalent
$36,580 – $79,8403,160
7Security Guards$37,050
High school diploma or equivalent
$30,050 – $54,83043,610
8Crossing Guards and Flaggers$35,810
No formal educational credential
$30,680 – $59,1909,410
9School Bus Monitors$35,290
High school diploma or equivalent
$29,040 – $41,7203,180
10Protective Service Workers, All Other$34,320
High school diploma or equivalent
$24,320 – $54,6205,720
11Lifeguards, Ski Patrol, and Other Recreational Protective Service Workers$29,480
No formal educational credential
$22,650 – $35,9005,450

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

#	Occupation	MedianPennsylvania	10th–90th percentilemiddle half shaded darker	Employed
1	First-Line Supervisors of Police and DetectivesHigh school diploma or equivalent	$102,400	$72,840 – $137,980	5,690
2	Detectives and Criminal InvestigatorsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$97,580	$63,770 – $154,360	3,370
3	Police and Sheriff's Patrol OfficersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$85,470	$48,680 – $109,780	26,510
4	FirefightersPostsecondary nondegree award	$73,460	$48,620 – $89,190	5,020
5	Correctional Officers and JailersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$63,460	$46,840 – $85,630	15,560
6	First-Line Supervisors of Security WorkersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$47,510	$36,580 – $79,840	3,160
7	Security GuardsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$37,050	$30,050 – $54,830	43,610
8	Crossing Guards and FlaggersNo formal educational credential	$35,810	$30,680 – $59,190	9,410
9	School Bus MonitorsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$35,290	$29,040 – $41,720	3,180
10	Protective Service Workers, All OtherHigh school diploma or equivalent	$34,320	$24,320 – $54,620	5,720
11	Lifeguards, Ski Patrol, and Other Recreational Protective Service WorkersNo formal educational credential	$29,480	$22,650 – $35,900	5,450

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

Metro areas in Pennsylvania

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

By field in Pennsylvania

Without a degree

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

High paying security and protective service jobs in Pennsylvania

More for Pennsylvania

Metro areas in Pennsylvania

By field in Pennsylvania

Without a degree

High paying security and protective service jobs in each state