Protective service occupations

Minor Occupation Group

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2020 Workforce

3.33M

Average Age

40.6

Average Salary

$54,903

Average Male Salary

$58,820

Average Female Salary

$41,561

About

Protective service occupations are most often employed by the Justice, public order, & safety activities industry. The average yearly wage for Protective service occupations was $54,903 in 2016. The top 3 most similar occupations to Protective service occupations by wage are Education, legal, community service, arts, & media occupations, Installation, maintenance, & repair occupations, and Sales & related occupations.

Protective service occupations are part of the Service Occupations, along with Healthcare Support Occupations, Protective service occupations, Food Preparation & Serving Related Occupations, Building & Grounds Cleaning & Maintenance Occupations, and Personal Care & Service Occupations.

The top 3 locations that employ the most Protective service occupations are Dale City, Lake Ridge & Woodbridge PUMA, VA, Ashburn, Washington Heights, Morgan Park & Beverly PUMA, IL, and Jamaica, Hollis & St. Albans PUMA, NY. The top 3 locations with a relatively high concentration of Protective service occupations are Carr 2 (Sur) PUMA, PR, Ashburn, Washington Heights, Morgan Park & Beverly PUMA, IL, and Carr 52-Carr 150 PUMA, PR.

Photo by USAG- Humphreys

Service Occupations Protective service occupations

Information on the businesses and industries that employ Protective service occupations and on wages and locations for those in the field. Justice, public order, & safety activities is the industry that employs the most Protective service occupations, both by share and by number, though the highest paid industry for Protective service occupations, by average wage, is Software publishing. Protective service occupations are paid most in Arlington County (South) PUMA, VA but are relatively concentrated in Carr 2 (Sur) PUMA, PR.

Wages

Yearly Wage

$54,903

AVERAGE SALARY

± $573

In 2020, Protective service occupations earned an average of $54,903, $1,051 less than than the average national salary of $55,954.

Education, legal, community service, arts, & media occupations make somewhat more than Protective service occupations while Installation, maintenance, & repair occupations make somewhat less. This chart shows the various occupations closest to Protective service occupations as measured by average annual salary in the US.

Wage Distribution

0.389

WAGE GINI

In 2015, Protective service occupations had a wage GINI coefficient of 0.389, which is lower than than the national average of 0.478. In other words, wages are distributed more evenly for Protective service occupations (shown in red) than for the overall labor force (shown in gray).

Wage by Location

HIGHEST PAYING PUMAS

This map shows the Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMAs) in the United States shaded by average annual wage for Protective service occupations.

Spatial Concentration

PUMAs with a Relatively High Concentration of Protective service occupations

This map displays which Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMAs) in the United States have a relatively high population of Protective service occupations.

Industries

Most Common

The most common industries employing Protective service occupations, by number of employees, are Justice, public order, & safety activities , Investigation & security services, Amusement & Recreation, National security & international affairs, Elementary & secondary schools, Colleges, universities & professional schools, including junior colleges, General medical and surgical hospitals, and specialty (except psychiatric and substance abuse) hospitals, Executive offices & legislative bodies, Museums, art galleries, historical sites, & similar institutions, Traveler accommodation, and Banking & related activities.

Highest Paying

The highest paying industries for Protective service occupations, by average wage, are Software publishing, Convenience Stores, and Aluminum production & processing.

Industries by Share

3.33M

2020 Workforce

± 44,324

0.762%

1 YEAR GROWTH

± 1.87%

The number of people employed as Protective service occupations has been growing at a rate of 0.762%, from 3,309,156 people in 2019 to 3,334,362 people in 2020.

This graphic shows the share of Protective service occupations employed by various industries. Justice, public order, & safety activities employs the largest share of Protective service occupations at 52%, followed by Investigation & security services with 16.4% and Amusement & Recreation with 4.36%.

Diversity

Demographic information on Protective service occupations in the US. The average age of male Protective service occupations in the workforce is 41 and of female Protective service occupations is 39.3, and the most common race/ethnicity for Protective service occupations is White (Non-Hispanic).

Composition by Sex

2.58M

MALE WORKFORCE

± 39,073

757k

FEMALE WORKFORCE

± 21,303

77.3% of Protective service occupations are Male, making them the more common sex in the occupation. This chart shows the sex breakdown of Protective service occupations.

Race & Ethnicity

Most Common Race or Ethnicity of Protective service occupations

White (Non-Hispanic)
Black (Non-Hispanic)
White (Hispanic)

59.1% of Protective service occupations are White (Non-Hispanic), making that the most common race or ethnicity in the occupation. Representing 19.2% of Protective service occupations, Black (Non-Hispanic) is the second most common race or ethnicity in this occupation. This chart shows the racial and ethnic breakdown of Protective service occupations.

Age by Sex

AVERAGE MALE AGE

± 0.21

39.3

AVERAGE FEMALE AGE

± 0.412

The median age of Protective service occupations is 40.6, and Male employees are generally 1.66 years older than than their Female counterparts.

Education

Data on higher education choices for Protective service occupations from The Department of Education and Census Bureau. The most common major for Protective service occupations is Protective Services but a relatively high number of Protective service occupations hold a major in Protective Services.

Majors

ACS PUMS data only shows the major for bachelor's degrees. However, we can filter the data based on highest degree obtained.

MOST COMMON MAJORS

MOST SPECIALIZED MAJORS

Skills

Data on the critical and distinctive skills necessary for Protective service occupations from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Protective service occupations need many skills, but most especially Active Listening. The revealed comparative advantage (RCA) shows that Protective service occupations need more than the average amount of Negotiation, Social Perceptiveness, and Persuasion.