High paying security and protective service jobs in Pittsburgh, PA
Every security and protective service occupation below is ranked by its median annual wage in Pittsburgh, PA. 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 Pittsburgh, PA run 5.3% below the national average (2024), so a Pittsburgh, PA 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.
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
High school diploma or equivalent
$70,400 – $135,2001,140High school diploma or equivalent
$70,450 – $158,890580High school diploma or equivalent
$50,470 – $107,6305,080Postsecondary nondegree award
$49,160 – $76,070950High school diploma or equivalent
$45,390 – $85,2801,160High school diploma or equivalent
$34,990 – $81,020650High school diploma or equivalent
$24,320 – $53,900960No formal educational credential
$29,980 – $59,1902,120High school diploma or equivalent
$29,690 – $55,4109,250High school diploma or equivalent
$30,050 – $38,260830No formal educational credential
$21,890 – $34,370940
Bars run from the 10th to the 90th percentile; the middle half is shaded darker, and the tick is the median.
| # | Occupation | MedianPittsburgh, PA | 10th–90th percentilemiddle half shaded darker | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | First-Line Supervisors of Police and DetectivesHigh school diploma or equivalent | $103,060 | $70,400 – $135,200 | 1,140 |
| 2 | Detectives and Criminal InvestigatorsHigh school diploma or equivalent | $95,120 | $70,450 – $158,890 | 580 |
| 3 | Police and Sheriff's Patrol OfficersHigh school diploma or equivalent | $83,190 | $50,470 – $107,630 | 5,080 |
| 4 | FirefightersPostsecondary nondegree award | $72,230 | $49,160 – $76,070 | 950 |
| 5 | Correctional Officers and JailersHigh school diploma or equivalent | $60,540 | $45,390 – $85,280 | 1,160 |
| 6 | First-Line Supervisors of Security WorkersHigh school diploma or equivalent | $47,340 | $34,990 – $81,020 | 650 |
| 7 | Protective Service Workers, All OtherHigh school diploma or equivalent | $36,080 | $24,320 – $53,900 | 960 |
| 8 | Crossing Guards and FlaggersNo formal educational credential | $35,990 | $29,980 – $59,190 | 2,120 |
| 9 | Security GuardsHigh school diploma or equivalent | $35,850 | $29,690 – $55,410 | 9,250 |
| 10 | School Bus MonitorsHigh school diploma or equivalent | $34,970 | $30,050 – $38,260 | 830 |
| 11 | Lifeguards, Ski Patrol, and Other Recreational Protective Service WorkersNo formal educational credential | $27,640 | $21,890 – $34,370 | 940 |
Ranked among the occupations common enough to employ roughly one in every three thousand workers in Pittsburgh, PA. 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 Pittsburgh, PA
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Without a degree
The same fields, narrowed to what you can enter without one. Fields missing here have too few such occupations in Pittsburgh, PA to rank honestly.
- High paying medical jobs in Pittsburgh, PA with no degree
- High paying medical jobs in Pittsburgh, PA with no experience
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- High paying healthcare support jobs in Pittsburgh, PA with no experience
- High paying security and protective service jobs in Pittsburgh, PA with no degree
- High paying security and protective service jobs in Pittsburgh, PA with no experience
- High paying food service jobs in Pittsburgh, PA with no degree
- High paying food service jobs in Pittsburgh, PA with no experience
- High paying cleaning and grounds jobs in Pittsburgh, PA with no degree
- High paying personal care jobs in Pittsburgh, PA with no degree
- High paying personal care jobs in Pittsburgh, PA with no experience
- High paying sales jobs in Pittsburgh, PA with no degree
- High paying sales jobs in Pittsburgh, PA with no experience
- High paying office and admin jobs in Pittsburgh, PA with no degree
- High paying office and admin jobs in Pittsburgh, PA with no experience
- High paying construction jobs in Pittsburgh, PA with no degree
- High paying construction jobs in Pittsburgh, PA with no experience
- High paying repair and maintenance jobs in Pittsburgh, PA with no degree
- High paying repair and maintenance jobs in Pittsburgh, PA with no experience
- High paying production jobs in Pittsburgh, PA with no degree
- High paying production jobs in Pittsburgh, PA with no experience
- High paying transportation jobs in Pittsburgh, PA with no degree
- High paying transportation jobs in Pittsburgh, PA with no experience
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