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In May 2014, nearly 3.3 million workers were employed in protective service occupations, a group that includes police officers, firefighters, correctional officers, security guards, and related workers. Of of all workers in protective service occupations, 50 percent earned more and 50 percent earned less than $37,180 per year (the annual median wage).
Occupation | Employment | Annual wage | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Mean | 10th percentile | 25th percentile | 50th percentile (median) | 75th percentile | 90th percentile | ||
Protective Service Occupations |
3,297,180 | $43,980 | $19,090 | $24,510 | $37,180 | $57,270 | $80,360 |
First-Line Supervisors of Police and Detectives |
101,420 | 84,260 | 47,720 | 61,480 | 80,930 | 104,150 | 128,970 |
Detectives and Criminal Investigators |
108,720 | 80,540 | 40,780 | 53,280 | 79,870 | 101,940 | 127,400 |
First-Line Supervisors of Fire Fighting and Prevention Workers |
59,870 | 73,550 | 41,930 | 54,570 | 70,670 | 90,920 | 112,420 |
First-Line Supervisors of Correctional Officers |
45,150 | 61,790 | 37,090 | 43,120 | 57,970 | 77,520 | 93,470 |
Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers |
638,810 | 59,560 | 33,030 | 42,260 | 56,810 | 74,870 | 92,450 |
Fire Inspectors and Investigators |
11,370 | 58,980 | 34,010 | 42,990 | 56,130 | 73,050 | 90,330 |
Transit and Railroad Police |
3,380 | 53,170 | 33,280 | 42,100 | 51,690 | 61,790 | 78,020 |
Fish and Game Wardens |
5,820 | 53,260 | 32,660 | 40,700 | 50,880 | 62,320 | 75,690 |
Firefighters |
308,790 | 48,750 | 22,130 | 31,340 | 45,970 | 61,950 | 81,450 |
First-Line Supervisors of Protective Service Workers, All Other |
67,310 | 48,440 | 26,420 | 34,120 | 45,830 | 58,500 | 74,810 |
Private Detectives and Investigators |
26,880 | 52,880 | 27,000 | 34,530 | 44,570 | 63,370 | 85,560 |
Correctional Officers and Jailers |
434,420 | 44,910 | 27,280 | 32,390 | 39,780 | 55,670 | 72,790 |
Bailiffs |
16,310 | 42,360 | 20,630 | 28,390 | 38,150 | 56,120 | 70,970 |
Transportation Security Screeners |
43,220 | 38,600 | 32,770 | 35,470 | 38,090 | 41,090 | 45,560 |
Parking Enforcement Workers |
8,680 | 37,750 | 22,040 | 27,830 | 36,570 | 46,930 | 56,200 |
Forest Fire Inspectors and Prevention Specialists |
1,630 | 43,230 | 24,550 | 28,920 | 36,430 | 53,510 | 74,050 |
Animal Control Workers |
13,450 | 34,370 | 20,390 | 25,800 | 32,560 | 41,010 | 51,630 |
Gaming Surveillance Officers and Gaming Investigators |
10,030 | 32,290 | 20,850 | 25,120 | 29,840 | 37,810 | 47,740 |
Crossing Guards |
66,310 | 27,040 | 17,520 | 19,440 | 24,750 | 32,060 | 38,540 |
Security Guards |
1,077,520 | 28,040 | 17,720 | 20,060 | 24,410 | 32,650 | 44,200 |
Lifeguards, Ski Patrol, and Other Recreational Protective Service Workers |
135,070 | 21,030 | 16,460 | 17,560 | 19,090 | 22,880 | 29,300 |
Annual wages less than $24,510 were earned by 25 percent of all protective service workers, while another 25 percent had annual wages of more than $57,270. Thus, the middle 50 percent of all those working in protective service occupations had wages between these amounts.
At the extremes, the lowest-paid 10 percent of workers in protective service occupations had annual wages less than $19,090, while the highest-paid 10 percent had annual wages over $80,360; thus, 80 percent of all protective service workers had wages between these amounts.
Within the protective service group, first-line supervisors of police and detectives and detective and criminal investigators had the highest wages. Median annual wages of first-line supervisors of police and detectives were $80,930 in May 2014. The middle 50 percent of these supervisors earned between $61,480 and $104,150 per year. Median annual wages of detective and criminal investigators were slightly lower, $79,870. The middle 50 percent of detective and criminal investigators earned between $53,280 and $101,940.
Crossing guards and security guards were among the protective service occupations with the lowest wages. Median annual wages for these occupations were below $25,000; the middle 50 percent of workers in these occupations earned between approximately $19,000 and $32,000. Wages for lifeguards, ski patrol, and other recreational protective service workers were even lower: the middle 50 percent of these workers earned between $17,560 and $22,880.
These data are from the Occupational Employment Statistics program. To learn more, see, Protective Service Occupations.
Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, The Economics Daily, Wages of middle 50 percent of protective service workers between $24,510 and $57,270 per year at https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2015/wages-of-middle-50-percent-of-protective-service-workers-between-24510-and-57270-per-year.htm (visited November 05, 2024).