The average annual salary of protective service occupations is shown in Table 1. Table 2 compares the median salaries across all protective service occupations in the United States. The protective service occupations salary statistics are from the national compensation survey published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) in April 2023 [1].
| Percentile Bracket | Average Annual Salary |
|---|---|
| 10th Percentile Wage | $27,830 |
| 25th Percentile Wage | $33,700 |
| 50th Percentile Wage | $45,450 |
| 75th Percentile Wage | $66,300 |
| 90th Percentile Wage | $95,220 |
Table 1 shows the average annual salary for protective service occupations. The salary is shown in 5 percentile scales. The average annual salary for the 90th percentile (the top 10 percent of the highest paid) protective service occupations is $95,220. The median annual salary is $45,450. The average annual salary for the bottom 10 percent is $27,830.
The table and chart below show the trend of the median salary of protective service occupations from 2012 to 2022.
| Year | Median Salary | Yearly Growth | 10-Year Growth |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | $45,450 | -2.51% | 19.43% |
| 2021 | $46,590 | 6.18% | - |
| 2020 | $43,710 | 4.87% | - |
| 2019 | $41,580 | 2.26% | - |
| 2018 | $40,640 | 2.68% | - |
| 2017 | $39,550 | 2.25% | - |
| 2016 | $38,660 | 2.41% | - |
| 2015 | $37,730 | 1.46% | - |
| 2014 | $37,180 | 1.10% | - |
| 2013 | $36,770 | 0.41% | - |
| 2012 | $36,620 | - | - |
Table 2 shows the median annual wage for each Protective Service Occupations in the United States. Note that the median annual salaries vary considerably among protective service professions, ranging from $27,270 to $96,290. The highest-paid protective service occupations are first-line supervisors of police and detectives with a median annual salary of $96,290. The lowest-paid protective service occupations in the United States are lifeguards, ski patrol, and other recreational protective service workers with a median annual salary of $27,270. For more salary information about a specific protective service profession, use the links in the table.