Security Jobs in Chicago, IL

Observed government data puts the broad Chicago protective-services group at a $51,410 annual median, a $66,950 annual mean, and a $32.19 mean hourly wage in 2025. A police-and-sheriff example sits much higher at a $92,630 annual mean, but that figure is from May 2023 and applies to one sub-role, not the whole category. Current posting data is mixed: salaried listings center on about $75k, while hourly listings center on about $21 to $23 / hour.

Full September 2026 market report

Advertised pay

Across the 124 openings that disclose pay, the advertised range midpoint runs $39,582 at the 25th percentile, $46,696 at the median and $54,080 at the 75th. These are advertised ranges, not earned pay.

Active openings as of November 10, 2026

Senior roles | Entry level | Remote | Posted this week

Live from the Callings.ai index of over 13 million postings, refreshed hourly and re-checked here nightly. Roles that close are dropped at the next refresh.

Showing 30 of 135 openings.

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What our analysts see this month

Balanced market | next 3-6 months

This is a workable but segmented market, not an easy one. Chicago's recent sample shows more than 200 Protective Services & Public Safety postings across more than 75 companies, but Illinois openings for the field were down 29.2% year-over-year in September 2026 and field employment was down 2.5% year-over-year. The clearest opportunities are in entry-level, on-site roles tied to retail asset protection and contract security, while sworn police and fire routes remain real but slower and more process-heavy. Metro unemployment was 5.2% in August 2026 versus 4.2% nationally in September, so employers still have applicants to choose from.

Best positioned: Candidates with flexible shifts, clean-background readiness, first-aid or emergency-response basics, and either loss-prevention experience or willingness to enter an academy pipeline have the best odds right now.

Main caution: The biggest trap is assuming this is mostly a police-and-fire market when about 60% of sampled openings sit in retail and many accessible jobs look more like asset protection than sworn public service.

From the September 2026 market report

Who is hiring here

Counted across all 135 openings in this market. 10 of the employers below are hiring for more than one role right now.

1. AUS: 48 open roles
2. Securitas Security Services USA, Inc.: 14 open roles
3. Metro Paramedic Services: 5 open roles
4. AirMedCare Network: 2 open roles
5. AIT Worldwide Logistics, Inc.: 2 open roles
6. Aston Carter, Inc.: 2 open roles
7. Mr. Handyman LLC.: 2 open roles
8. Pace: 2 open roles
9. Securitas: 2 open roles
10. Stark Security Inc.: 2 open roles

Where the openings are

• Chicago: 28
• Waukegan: 16
• Joliet: 6
• Carol Stream: 5
• Forest Park: 5
• Lockport: 4
• Bolingbrook: 3
• Des Plaines: 3

Work arrangement

on-site 129 (98%), remote 2 (2%)

Where the demand is

Real opportunity is concentrated much more narrowly than the category name suggests. In the last 90 days, the local sample shows more than 200 postings across more than 75 companies, but about 60% of sampled postings are in retail, while public safety, military and protective services, and hospitals and health care each account for about 5% apiece. The skill mix tracks that reality: loss prevention appears in about 40% of postings, while asset protection, emergency response, customer service, surveillance, and safety compliance recur across the sample. Public-agency demand is real, but it is not the bulk of visible volume. Chicago Police Department is actively recruiting for 2026 academy classes and major public employers in the metro include CPD, Cook County Sheriff's Office, and Illinois State Police. Fire roles are harder to read from current vacancy data, and the city's Inspector General says Chicago Fire applicants face a complex, variable, and lengthy process. For most job seekers, the practical strategy is to treat retail or contract security as the fast lane and sworn public-service applications as the slower parallel lane.

• Retail and grocery asset protection (high): About 60% of sampled postings fall in retail, with Albertsons Companies, Inc. and Jewel-Osco Inc. the most active named employers in the sample.
• Contract security and large-site protection (moderate): AUS is among the most active named employers, and about 55% of postings come from large employers, which supports a steady stream of site-based security work.
• Sworn police pipelines (moderate): Chicago Police Department is actively recruiting for 2026 academy classes, and major public employers in the metro include CPD, Cook County Sheriff's Office, and Illinois State Police.
• Firefighter track (limited): Interest and opportunity exist, but the city's Inspector General said the hiring process can be complex and lengthy, and the recent audit did not provide current vacancy counts.

Where to focus: If your goal is to get employed in the next 90 days, focus first on retail asset protection or contract security and run sworn-agency applications as a second track.

Roles worth searching next

• Public safety telecommunicator / dispatcher: Chicago has studied shifting around 600 police roles from sworn to civilian staff, and dispatch work uses calm triage, documentation, and shift discipline that overlap with protective-services experience.
• Records or evidence technician: Civilianization plans and the growing importance of documentation, body-worn camera workflows, and evidence handling make this a realistic bridge role.
• Crime analyst / geospatial analyst: Law-enforcement technology is moving toward data analytics and geospatial visualization, so analytical civilian roles are a credible pivot for candidates with reporting or operations backgrounds.
• Safety or compliance coordinator: Local employers repeatedly ask for safety compliance, emergency response, first aid, and customer service, which transfers well into safety-heavy operations roles outside strict protective-services titles.

What postings ask for

• Loss prevention (table_stakes | immediate): It is the most-requested hard skill in the local sample at about 40%, and that matches a market where about 60% of sampled postings sit in retail. Who: Entry-level candidates and career switchers coming from retail or operations.
• Surveillance and asset protection (table_stakes | immediate): Asset protection appears in about 25% of local postings and surveillance in about 20%, making this one of the clearest bridges into grocery, store, and facility protection jobs. Who: Entry-level applicants, contract-security candidates, and mid-career supervisors moving into shrink or site protection work.
• Emergency response (table_stakes | immediate): Emergency response shows up in about 25% of local postings, so employers want people who can act, document, and escalate appropriately during incidents. Who: All candidate types, especially anyone targeting hospitals, public venues, or public-agency roles.
• First aid (differentiator | immediate): First aid is the top named certification in the local sample at about 5% and also appears as a skill in about 15% of postings. Who: Entry-level applicants and career switchers who need a fast credibility boost.
• Customer service and de-escalation (differentiator | immediate): Customer service appears in about 25% of local postings, and BLS says more than basic people skills were required for 95.4% of firefighters in 2025. Who: Career switchers from hospitality, retail, transportation, and other public-facing work.
• CAD, body-worn camera, and investigative documentation (differentiator | near-term): Modern law-enforcement capability signals include CAD tools, body-worn camera data management, and investigative documentation, which matter most if you want public-agency or campus/hospital safety work. Who: Sworn-track applicants and mid-career candidates targeting public agencies.

Questions about this market

What do Protective Services & Public Safety roles pay in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN?

Observed government data puts the broad Chicago protective-services group at a $51,410 annual median, a $66,950 annual mean, and a $32.19 mean hourly wage in 2025. A police-and-sheriff example sits much higher at a $92,630 annual mean, but that figure is from May 2023 and applies to one sub-role, not the whole category. Current posting data is mixed: salaried listings center on about $75k, while hourly listings center on about $21 to $23 / hour. Chicago's broad mean hourly pay of $32.19 sits above the national broad mean of $29.19, but the local averages still hide a big split between lower-paid security roles and better-paid sworn tracks.

Where is demand for Protective Services & Public Safety roles in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN concentrated?

Real opportunity is concentrated much more narrowly than the category name suggests. In the last 90 days, the local sample shows more than 200 postings across more than 75 companies, but about 60% of sampled postings are in retail, while public safety, military and protective services, and hospitals and health care each account for about 5% apiece. The skill mix tracks that reality: loss prevention appears in about 40% of postings, while asset protection, emergency response, customer service, surveillance, and safety compliance recur across the sample. Public-agency demand is real, but it is not the bulk of visible volume. Chicago Police Department is actively recruiting for 2026 academy classes and major public employers in the metro include CPD, Cook County Sheriff's Office, and Illinois State Police. Fire roles are harder to read from current vacancy data, and the city's Inspector General says Chicago Fire applicants face a complex, variable, and lengthy process. For most job seekers, the practical strategy is to treat retail or contract security as the fast lane and sworn public-service applications as the slower parallel lane.

Which employers are hiring the most Protective Services & Public Safety talent in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN?

Recent postings show the most activity from Albertsons Companies, Inc. (40 postings), Jewel-Osco Inc. (30 postings), AUS (20 postings). See the full market report for the complete employer landscape.

How current are these listings?

Openings come from the Callings.ai live index of over 13 million jobs, refreshed hourly. This page searches postings from the last 30 days; run the search yourself to filter by anything else in plain language.

Browse Illinois openings by job title

• General Manager: 203 open roles statewide
• Senior Manager: 74 open roles statewide

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