High paying security and protective service jobs in West Virginia

Every security and protective service occupation below is ranked by its median annual wage in West 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 West Virginia run 10.5% below the national average (2024), so a West Virginia salary is worth about 1.12× 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 West Virginia.

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

Find security jobs in West Virginia

OccupationMedian, West Virginia · Employed

1First-Line Supervisors of Police and Detectives$74,280
High school diploma or equivalent
$51,380 – $88,880490
2Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers$56,960
High school diploma or equivalent
$41,950 – $69,9802,900
3First-Line Supervisors of Correctional Officers$56,490
High school diploma or equivalent
$39,850 – $96,100230
4Correctional Officers and Jailers$52,890
High school diploma or equivalent
$45,390 – $75,6102,980
5First-Line Supervisors of Security Workers$45,850
High school diploma or equivalent
$30,850 – $65,750390
6Firefighters$37,350
Postsecondary nondegree award
$29,020 – $51,390900
7Crossing Guards and Flaggers$32,800
No formal educational credential
$29,720 – $80,2801,190
8Security Guards$28,800
High school diploma or equivalent
$20,800 – $47,3705,200
9Lifeguards, Ski Patrol, and Other Recreational Protective Service Workers$24,670
No formal educational credential
$20,570 – $30,160450

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

#	Occupation	MedianWest Virginia	10th–90th percentilemiddle half shaded darker	Employed
1	First-Line Supervisors of Police and DetectivesHigh school diploma or equivalent	$74,280	$51,380 – $88,880	490
2	Police and Sheriff's Patrol OfficersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$56,960	$41,950 – $69,980	2,900
3	First-Line Supervisors of Correctional OfficersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$56,490	$39,850 – $96,100	230
4	Correctional Officers and JailersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$52,890	$45,390 – $75,610	2,980
5	First-Line Supervisors of Security WorkersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$45,850	$30,850 – $65,750	390
6	FirefightersPostsecondary nondegree award	$37,350	$29,020 – $51,390	900
7	Crossing Guards and FlaggersNo formal educational credential	$32,800	$29,720 – $80,280	1,190
8	Security GuardsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$28,800	$20,800 – $47,370	5,200
9	Lifeguards, Ski Patrol, and Other Recreational Protective Service WorkersNo formal educational credential	$24,670	$20,570 – $30,160	450

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

Metro areas in West 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 West Virginia

Without a degree

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

High paying security and protective service jobs in West Virginia

More for West Virginia

Metro areas in West Virginia

By field in West Virginia

Without a degree

High paying security and protective service jobs in each state