High paying security and protective service jobs in South Carolina

Every security and protective service occupation below is ranked by its median annual wage in South 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 South Carolina run 6.3% below the national average (2024), so a South Carolina salary is worth about 1.07× 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 South Carolina.

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

Find security jobs in South Carolina

OccupationMedian, South Carolina · Employed

1First-Line Supervisors of Police and Detectives$73,700
High school diploma or equivalent
$56,750 – $118,2401,560
2First-Line Supervisors of Firefighting and Prevention Workers$65,160
Postsecondary nondegree award
$44,200 – $100,8601,450
3Detectives and Criminal Investigators$62,760
High school diploma or equivalent
$50,960 – $149,2801,470
4Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers$58,070
High school diploma or equivalent
$45,060 – $78,76012,930
5Correctional Officers and Jailers$47,890
High school diploma or equivalent
$40,090 – $71,3904,870
6First-Line Supervisors of Security Workers$47,100
High school diploma or equivalent
$35,280 – $80,390770
7Firefighters$42,570
Postsecondary nondegree award
$29,130 – $62,1507,780
8Security Guards$35,460
High school diploma or equivalent
$27,420 – $48,85016,610
9Crossing Guards and Flaggers$32,690
No formal educational credential
$28,690 – $76,0201,050
10School Bus Monitors$26,240
High school diploma or equivalent
$17,490 – $36,0901,180
11Lifeguards, Ski Patrol, and Other Recreational Protective Service Workers$26,210
No formal educational credential
$20,470 – $35,4301,900

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

#	Occupation	MedianSouth Carolina	10th–90th percentilemiddle half shaded darker	Employed
1	First-Line Supervisors of Police and DetectivesHigh school diploma or equivalent	$73,700	$56,750 – $118,240	1,560
2	First-Line Supervisors of Firefighting and Prevention WorkersPostsecondary nondegree award	$65,160	$44,200 – $100,860	1,450
3	Detectives and Criminal InvestigatorsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$62,760	$50,960 – $149,280	1,470
4	Police and Sheriff's Patrol OfficersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$58,070	$45,060 – $78,760	12,930
5	Correctional Officers and JailersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$47,890	$40,090 – $71,390	4,870
6	First-Line Supervisors of Security WorkersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$47,100	$35,280 – $80,390	770
7	FirefightersPostsecondary nondegree award	$42,570	$29,130 – $62,150	7,780
8	Security GuardsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$35,460	$27,420 – $48,850	16,610
9	Crossing Guards and FlaggersNo formal educational credential	$32,690	$28,690 – $76,020	1,050
10	School Bus MonitorsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$26,240	$17,490 – $36,090	1,180
11	Lifeguards, Ski Patrol, and Other Recreational Protective Service WorkersNo formal educational credential	$26,210	$20,470 – $35,430	1,900

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

Metro areas in South 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 South Carolina

Without a degree

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

High paying security and protective service jobs in South Carolina

More for South Carolina

Metro areas in South Carolina

By field in South Carolina

Without a degree

High paying security and protective service jobs in each state