High paying security and protective service jobs in Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV

Every security and protective service occupation below is ranked by its median annual wage in Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV. 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 Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV run 8.9% above the national average (2024), so a Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV salary is worth about 0.92× 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 Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV

OccupationMedian, Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV · Employed

1Detectives and Criminal Investigators$156,750
High school diploma or equivalent
$90,310 – $195,1904,830
2First-Line Supervisors of Police and Detectives$125,960
High school diploma or equivalent
$89,770 – $195,1905,050
3First-Line Supervisors of Firefighting and Prevention Workers$118,570
Postsecondary nondegree award
$75,260 – $147,9602,420
4Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers$84,000
High school diploma or equivalent
$63,530 – $119,24014,630
5First-Line Supervisors of Security Workers$73,490
High school diploma or equivalent
$46,010 – $104,2502,400
6Correctional Officers and Jailers$70,570
High school diploma or equivalent
$54,560 – $97,3403,200
7Transportation Security Screeners$69,910
High school diploma or equivalent
$52,230 – $76,9001,360
8Firefighters$66,980
Postsecondary nondegree award
$48,360 – $98,7707,610
9Protective Service Workers, All Other$58,780
High school diploma or equivalent
$30,800 – $166,3901,350
10Security Guards$46,830
High school diploma or equivalent
$36,530 – $78,79040,950
11School Bus Monitors$41,720
High school diploma or equivalent
$31,930 – $47,5602,220
12Crossing Guards and Flaggers$40,800
No formal educational credential
$36,400 – $55,9802,060
13Lifeguards, Ski Patrol, and Other Recreational Protective Service Workers$34,710
No formal educational credential
$29,120 – $44,0004,600

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

#	Occupation	MedianWashington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV	10th–90th percentilemiddle half shaded darker	Employed
1	Detectives and Criminal InvestigatorsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$156,750	$90,310 – $195,190	4,830
2	First-Line Supervisors of Police and DetectivesHigh school diploma or equivalent	$125,960	$89,770 – $195,190	5,050
3	First-Line Supervisors of Firefighting and Prevention WorkersPostsecondary nondegree award	$118,570	$75,260 – $147,960	2,420
4	Police and Sheriff's Patrol OfficersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$84,000	$63,530 – $119,240	14,630
5	First-Line Supervisors of Security WorkersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$73,490	$46,010 – $104,250	2,400
6	Correctional Officers and JailersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$70,570	$54,560 – $97,340	3,200
7	Transportation Security ScreenersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$69,910	$52,230 – $76,900	1,360
8	FirefightersPostsecondary nondegree award	$66,980	$48,360 – $98,770	7,610
9	Protective Service Workers, All OtherHigh school diploma or equivalent	$58,780	$30,800 – $166,390	1,350
10	Security GuardsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$46,830	$36,530 – $78,790	40,950
11	School Bus MonitorsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$41,720	$31,930 – $47,560	2,220
12	Crossing Guards and FlaggersNo formal educational credential	$40,800	$36,400 – $55,980	2,060
13	Lifeguards, Ski Patrol, and Other Recreational Protective Service WorkersNo formal educational credential	$34,710	$29,120 – $44,000	4,600

Ranked among the occupations common enough to employ roughly one in every three thousand workers in Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV. 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 Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV

By field in Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV

Without a degree

The same fields, narrowed to what you can enter without one. Fields missing here have too few such occupations in Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV to rank honestly.

High paying security and protective service jobs in Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV

More for Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV

By field in Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV

Without a degree

High paying security and protective service jobs in each state