High paying security and protective service jobs in Washington

Every security and protective service occupation below is ranked by its median annual wage in Washington. 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 run 7.0% above the national average (2024), so a Washington salary is worth about 0.93× 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 Washington.

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

Find security jobs in Washington

OccupationMedian, Washington · Employed

1First-Line Supervisors of Police and Detectives$136,280
High school diploma or equivalent
$105,710 – $180,7702,750
2First-Line Supervisors of Firefighting and Prevention Workers$129,350
Postsecondary nondegree award
$79,440 – $160,6303,350
3Detectives and Criminal Investigators$115,790
High school diploma or equivalent
$84,500 – $162,8601,850
4Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers$102,080
High school diploma or equivalent
$79,120 – $132,2009,160
5First-Line Supervisors of Correctional Officers$98,910
High school diploma or equivalent
$82,560 – $124,5301,400
6Firefighters$94,520
Postsecondary nondegree award
$47,640 – $123,9807,560
7Correctional Officers and Jailers$79,460
High school diploma or equivalent
$64,460 – $95,4306,800
8First-Line Supervisors of Security Workers$62,510
High school diploma or equivalent
$46,730 – $98,5401,800
9Crossing Guards and Flaggers$48,940
No formal educational credential
$40,280 – $78,4303,340
10Security Guards$47,100
High school diploma or equivalent
$37,720 – $68,39025,800
11Protective Service Workers, All Other$42,170
High school diploma or equivalent
$34,650 – $59,2104,530
12Lifeguards, Ski Patrol, and Other Recreational Protective Service Workers$37,770
No formal educational credential
$34,650 – $45,9404,720

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

#	Occupation	MedianWashington	10th–90th percentilemiddle half shaded darker	Employed
1	First-Line Supervisors of Police and DetectivesHigh school diploma or equivalent	$136,280	$105,710 – $180,770	2,750
2	First-Line Supervisors of Firefighting and Prevention WorkersPostsecondary nondegree award	$129,350	$79,440 – $160,630	3,350
3	Detectives and Criminal InvestigatorsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$115,790	$84,500 – $162,860	1,850
4	Police and Sheriff's Patrol OfficersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$102,080	$79,120 – $132,200	9,160
5	First-Line Supervisors of Correctional OfficersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$98,910	$82,560 – $124,530	1,400
6	FirefightersPostsecondary nondegree award	$94,520	$47,640 – $123,980	7,560
7	Correctional Officers and JailersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$79,460	$64,460 – $95,430	6,800
8	First-Line Supervisors of Security WorkersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$62,510	$46,730 – $98,540	1,800
9	Crossing Guards and FlaggersNo formal educational credential	$48,940	$40,280 – $78,430	3,340
10	Security GuardsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$47,100	$37,720 – $68,390	25,800
11	Protective Service Workers, All OtherHigh school diploma or equivalent	$42,170	$34,650 – $59,210	4,530
12	Lifeguards, Ski Patrol, and Other Recreational Protective Service WorkersNo formal educational credential	$37,770	$34,650 – $45,940	4,720

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

Metro areas in Washington

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

By field in Washington

Without a degree

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

High paying security and protective service jobs in Washington

More for Washington

Metro areas in Washington

By field in Washington

Without a degree

High paying security and protective service jobs in each state