High paying security and protective service jobs in Virginia

Every security and protective service occupation below is ranked by its median annual wage in Virginia. 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 Virginia run 1.1% above the national average (2024), so a Virginia 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. To see where a job pays a real premium, use jobs that pay more in Virginia.

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

Find security jobs in Virginia

OccupationMedian, Virginia · Employed

1Detectives and Criminal Investigators$112,760
High school diploma or equivalent
$62,730 – $195,1903,180
2First-Line Supervisors of Police and Detectives$101,230
High school diploma or equivalent
$67,690 – $179,0303,750
3First-Line Supervisors of Firefighting and Prevention Workers$97,780
Postsecondary nondegree award
$59,510 – $124,7803,300
4Transportation Security Screeners$69,910
High school diploma or equivalent
$46,130 – $76,9001,870
5Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers$65,870
High school diploma or equivalent
$50,000 – $96,82019,970
6First-Line Supervisors of Correctional Officers$64,190
High school diploma or equivalent
$54,600 – $99,6002,230
7First-Line Supervisors of Security Workers$60,790
High school diploma or equivalent
$42,440 – $99,8202,120
8Firefighters$58,670
Postsecondary nondegree award
$38,310 – $77,31011,160
9Correctional Officers and Jailers$50,140
High school diploma or equivalent
$46,320 – $70,57011,270
10Security Guards$43,640
High school diploma or equivalent
$30,990 – $73,06034,870
11Crossing Guards and Flaggers$37,560
No formal educational credential
$30,160 – $47,0601,940
12School Bus Monitors$36,510
High school diploma or equivalent
$28,220 – $46,0201,920
13Protective Service Workers, All Other$35,230
High school diploma or equivalent
$27,120 – $79,2504,000
14Lifeguards, Ski Patrol, and Other Recreational Protective Service Workers$30,070
No formal educational credential
$26,790 – $37,4508,920

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

#	Occupation	MedianVirginia	10th–90th percentilemiddle half shaded darker	Employed
1	Detectives and Criminal InvestigatorsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$112,760	$62,730 – $195,190	3,180
2	First-Line Supervisors of Police and DetectivesHigh school diploma or equivalent	$101,230	$67,690 – $179,030	3,750
3	First-Line Supervisors of Firefighting and Prevention WorkersPostsecondary nondegree award	$97,780	$59,510 – $124,780	3,300
4	Transportation Security ScreenersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$69,910	$46,130 – $76,900	1,870
5	Police and Sheriff's Patrol OfficersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$65,870	$50,000 – $96,820	19,970
6	First-Line Supervisors of Correctional OfficersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$64,190	$54,600 – $99,600	2,230
7	First-Line Supervisors of Security WorkersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$60,790	$42,440 – $99,820	2,120
8	FirefightersPostsecondary nondegree award	$58,670	$38,310 – $77,310	11,160
9	Correctional Officers and JailersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$50,140	$46,320 – $70,570	11,270
10	Security GuardsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$43,640	$30,990 – $73,060	34,870
11	Crossing Guards and FlaggersNo formal educational credential	$37,560	$30,160 – $47,060	1,940
12	School Bus MonitorsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$36,510	$28,220 – $46,020	1,920
13	Protective Service Workers, All OtherHigh school diploma or equivalent	$35,230	$27,120 – $79,250	4,000
14	Lifeguards, Ski Patrol, and Other Recreational Protective Service WorkersNo formal educational credential	$30,070	$26,790 – $37,450	8,920

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

Metro areas in Virginia

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

By field in Virginia

Without a degree

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

High paying security and protective service jobs in Virginia

More for Virginia

Metro areas in Virginia

By field in Virginia

Without a degree

High paying security and protective service jobs in each state