High paying security and protective service jobs in Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL

Every security and protective service occupation below is ranked by its median annual wage in Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL. 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 Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL run 0.9% above the national average (2024), so a Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL salary is worth about 0.99× 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

Find security jobs in Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL

OccupationMedian, Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL · Employed

1First-Line Supervisors of Police and Detectives$114,400
High school diploma or equivalent
$84,470 – $162,3601,040
2First-Line Supervisors of Correctional Officers$100,740
High school diploma or equivalent
$52,870 – $120,580450
3First-Line Supervisors of Firefighting and Prevention Workers$95,670
Postsecondary nondegree award
$74,690 – $120,7901,010
4Detectives and Criminal Investigators$92,420
High school diploma or equivalent
$52,160 – $158,0601,150
5Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers$75,710
High school diploma or equivalent
$59,390 – $106,3905,190
6Correctional Officers and Jailers$65,340
High school diploma or equivalent
$44,660 – $95,2102,170
7Transportation Security Screeners$63,130
High school diploma or equivalent
$42,100 – $69,240830
8Firefighters$59,660
Postsecondary nondegree award
$39,650 – $80,6103,220
9Private Detectives and Investigators$51,390
High school diploma or equivalent
$36,650 – $76,840660
10First-Line Supervisors of Security Workers$45,950
High school diploma or equivalent
$37,280 – $74,710770
11Security Guards$36,010
High school diploma or equivalent
$28,800 – $47,70012,200
12Crossing Guards and Flaggers$35,780
No formal educational credential
$29,260 – $47,1601,020
13Lifeguards, Ski Patrol, and Other Recreational Protective Service Workers$31,720
No formal educational credential
$28,170 – $45,430620

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

#	Occupation	MedianTampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL	10th–90th percentilemiddle half shaded darker	Employed
1	First-Line Supervisors of Police and DetectivesHigh school diploma or equivalent	$114,400	$84,470 – $162,360	1,040
2	First-Line Supervisors of Correctional OfficersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$100,740	$52,870 – $120,580	450
3	First-Line Supervisors of Firefighting and Prevention WorkersPostsecondary nondegree award	$95,670	$74,690 – $120,790	1,010
4	Detectives and Criminal InvestigatorsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$92,420	$52,160 – $158,060	1,150
5	Police and Sheriff's Patrol OfficersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$75,710	$59,390 – $106,390	5,190
6	Correctional Officers and JailersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$65,340	$44,660 – $95,210	2,170
7	Transportation Security ScreenersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$63,130	$42,100 – $69,240	830
8	FirefightersPostsecondary nondegree award	$59,660	$39,650 – $80,610	3,220
9	Private Detectives and InvestigatorsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$51,390	$36,650 – $76,840	660
10	First-Line Supervisors of Security WorkersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$45,950	$37,280 – $74,710	770
11	Security GuardsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$36,010	$28,800 – $47,700	12,200
12	Crossing Guards and FlaggersNo formal educational credential	$35,780	$29,260 – $47,160	1,020
13	Lifeguards, Ski Patrol, and Other Recreational Protective Service WorkersNo formal educational credential	$31,720	$28,170 – $45,430	620

Ranked among the occupations common enough to employ roughly one in every three thousand workers in Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL. 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.

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By field in Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL

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The same fields, narrowed to what you can enter without one. Fields missing here have too few such occupations in Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL to rank honestly.

High paying security and protective service jobs in Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL

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