High paying security and protective service jobs in Wisconsin

Every security and protective service occupation below is ranked by its median annual wage in Wisconsin. 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 Wisconsin run 5.9% below the national average (2024), so a Wisconsin salary is worth about 1.06× 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 Wisconsin.

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

Find security jobs in Wisconsin

OccupationMedian, Wisconsin · Employed

1First-Line Supervisors of Police and Detectives$97,120
High school diploma or equivalent
$77,250 – $125,9502,080
2Detectives and Criminal Investigators$91,040
High school diploma or equivalent
$70,060 – $103,1301,640
3First-Line Supervisors of Firefighting and Prevention Workers$83,310
Postsecondary nondegree award
$55,060 – $119,2301,330
4Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers$78,090
High school diploma or equivalent
$58,530 – $94,45012,320
5Correctional Officers and Jailers$73,470
High school diploma or equivalent
$56,540 – $92,1407,360
6Firefighters$46,850
Postsecondary nondegree award
$29,390 – $77,0508,120
7Security Guards$37,440
High school diploma or equivalent
$30,410 – $54,68012,030
8Crossing Guards and Flaggers$35,580
No formal educational credential
$28,060 – $48,490990
9Lifeguards, Ski Patrol, and Other Recreational Protective Service Workers$28,570
No formal educational credential
$22,920 – $35,7103,350

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

#	Occupation	MedianWisconsin	10th–90th percentilemiddle half shaded darker	Employed
1	First-Line Supervisors of Police and DetectivesHigh school diploma or equivalent	$97,120	$77,250 – $125,950	2,080
2	Detectives and Criminal InvestigatorsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$91,040	$70,060 – $103,130	1,640
3	First-Line Supervisors of Firefighting and Prevention WorkersPostsecondary nondegree award	$83,310	$55,060 – $119,230	1,330
4	Police and Sheriff's Patrol OfficersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$78,090	$58,530 – $94,450	12,320
5	Correctional Officers and JailersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$73,470	$56,540 – $92,140	7,360
6	FirefightersPostsecondary nondegree award	$46,850	$29,390 – $77,050	8,120
7	Security GuardsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$37,440	$30,410 – $54,680	12,030
8	Crossing Guards and FlaggersNo formal educational credential	$35,580	$28,060 – $48,490	990
9	Lifeguards, Ski Patrol, and Other Recreational Protective Service WorkersNo formal educational credential	$28,570	$22,920 – $35,710	3,350

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

Metro areas in Wisconsin

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

By field in Wisconsin

Without a degree

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

High paying security and protective service jobs in Wisconsin

More for Wisconsin

Metro areas in Wisconsin

By field in Wisconsin

Without a degree

High paying security and protective service jobs in each state