High paying security and protective service jobs in Missouri with no degree

The best paid security and protective service occupations in Missouri that require no bachelor's degree — a high school diploma, a certificate, or an associate's degree is the typical entry. This is the narrowest cut on the site, so it is also the shortest list: where a field has only two or three such occupations, there is no page at all rather than a page pretending otherwise.

Cost of living: prices in Missouri run 9.2% below the national average (2024), so a Missouri salary is worth about 1.10× 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 Missouri.

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

Find security jobs in Missouri

OccupationMedian, Missouri · Employed

1First-Line Supervisors of Police and Detectives$94,440
High school diploma or equivalent
$59,610 – $125,0003,490
2First-Line Supervisors of Firefighting and Prevention Workers$75,970
Postsecondary nondegree award
$45,210 – $125,9401,950
3Detectives and Criminal Investigators$75,650
High school diploma or equivalent
$49,190 – $151,7201,600
4Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers$59,460
High school diploma or equivalent
$43,210 – $90,77013,570
5First-Line Supervisors of Security Workers$58,200
High school diploma or equivalent
$44,660 – $103,0301,090
6Transportation Security Screeners$51,210
High school diploma or equivalent
$40,850 – $68,910930
7Firefighters$49,080
Postsecondary nondegree award
$31,140 – $79,3606,580
8First-Line Supervisors of Correctional Officers$46,840
High school diploma or equivalent
$46,840 – $73,0301,090
9Correctional Officers and Jailers$42,620
High school diploma or equivalent
$37,210 – $63,9406,670
10Security Guards$40,390
High school diploma or equivalent
$31,040 – $68,86018,630
11School Bus Monitors$34,220
High school diploma or equivalent
$28,600 – $36,6001,530
12Lifeguards, Ski Patrol, and Other Recreational Protective Service Workers$29,260
No formal educational credential
$28,600 – $33,9603,100

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

#	Occupation	MedianMissouri	10th–90th percentilemiddle half shaded darker	Employed
1	First-Line Supervisors of Police and DetectivesHigh school diploma or equivalent	$94,440	$59,610 – $125,000	3,490
2	First-Line Supervisors of Firefighting and Prevention WorkersPostsecondary nondegree award	$75,970	$45,210 – $125,940	1,950
3	Detectives and Criminal InvestigatorsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$75,650	$49,190 – $151,720	1,600
4	Police and Sheriff's Patrol OfficersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$59,460	$43,210 – $90,770	13,570
5	First-Line Supervisors of Security WorkersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$58,200	$44,660 – $103,030	1,090
6	Transportation Security ScreenersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$51,210	$40,850 – $68,910	930
7	FirefightersPostsecondary nondegree award	$49,080	$31,140 – $79,360	6,580
8	First-Line Supervisors of Correctional OfficersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$46,840	$46,840 – $73,030	1,090
9	Correctional Officers and JailersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$42,620	$37,210 – $63,940	6,670
10	Security GuardsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$40,390	$31,040 – $68,860	18,630
11	School Bus MonitorsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$34,220	$28,600 – $36,600	1,530
12	Lifeguards, Ski Patrol, and Other Recreational Protective Service WorkersNo formal educational credential	$29,260	$28,600 – $33,960	3,100

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

Metro areas in Missouri

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

By field in Missouri

Without a degree

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

High paying security and protective service jobs in Missouri with no degree

More for Missouri

Metro areas in Missouri

By field in Missouri

Without a degree

High paying security and protective service jobs in each state with no degree