High paying security and protective service jobs in Tennessee

Every security and protective service occupation below is ranked by its median annual wage in Tennessee. 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 Tennessee run 8.1% below the national average (2024), so a Tennessee salary is worth about 1.09× 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 Tennessee.

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

Find security jobs in Tennessee

OccupationMedian, Tennessee · Employed

1First-Line Supervisors of Firefighting and Prevention Workers$77,920
Postsecondary nondegree award
$45,680 – $100,2502,210
2Detectives and Criminal Investigators$77,090
High school diploma or equivalent
$49,660 – $149,2801,860
3First-Line Supervisors of Police and Detectives$74,770
High school diploma or equivalent
$47,720 – $122,6204,430
4Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers$59,280
High school diploma or equivalent
$43,520 – $79,48015,630
5Correctional Officers and Jailers$50,940
High school diploma or equivalent
$38,690 – $62,7906,990
6First-Line Supervisors of Security Workers$50,830
High school diploma or equivalent
$37,480 – $100,3501,850
7Firefighters$49,300
Postsecondary nondegree award
$33,910 – $70,4607,020
8Security Guards$36,000
High school diploma or equivalent
$29,310 – $51,68027,690
9Crossing Guards and Flaggers$35,960
No formal educational credential
$32,610 – $48,5301,460
10Lifeguards, Ski Patrol, and Other Recreational Protective Service Workers$28,200
No formal educational credential
$22,080 – $34,3302,330

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

#	Occupation	MedianTennessee	10th–90th percentilemiddle half shaded darker	Employed
1	First-Line Supervisors of Firefighting and Prevention WorkersPostsecondary nondegree award	$77,920	$45,680 – $100,250	2,210
2	Detectives and Criminal InvestigatorsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$77,090	$49,660 – $149,280	1,860
3	First-Line Supervisors of Police and DetectivesHigh school diploma or equivalent	$74,770	$47,720 – $122,620	4,430
4	Police and Sheriff's Patrol OfficersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$59,280	$43,520 – $79,480	15,630
5	Correctional Officers and JailersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$50,940	$38,690 – $62,790	6,990
6	First-Line Supervisors of Security WorkersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$50,830	$37,480 – $100,350	1,850
7	FirefightersPostsecondary nondegree award	$49,300	$33,910 – $70,460	7,020
8	Security GuardsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$36,000	$29,310 – $51,680	27,690
9	Crossing Guards and FlaggersNo formal educational credential	$35,960	$32,610 – $48,530	1,460
10	Lifeguards, Ski Patrol, and Other Recreational Protective Service WorkersNo formal educational credential	$28,200	$22,080 – $34,330	2,330

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

Metro areas in Tennessee

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

By field in Tennessee

Without a degree

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

High paying security and protective service jobs in Tennessee

More for Tennessee

Metro areas in Tennessee

By field in Tennessee

Without a degree

High paying security and protective service jobs in each state