50+ Security & Public Safety Jobs in Columbus, OH

The strongest observed local pay signal is BLS: Columbus protective-service median pay was $29.63 an hour in 2026, with a 25th-percentile wage of $24.86; police and sheriff's patrol officers were materially higher in the older May 2023 data, with a $37.16 median and $42.92 at the 75th percentile. In contrast, the Callings.ai posting sample for hourly-paid roles centers on about $17 to $20 / hour, and the mean offered salary on new Ohio protective-services openings was ~$53,323 in July 2026 based on a statewide sample of n=349 from Revelio Public Labor Statistics.

Full July 2026 market report

Advertised pay

Across the 43 openings that disclose pay, the advertised range midpoint runs $39,666 at the 25th percentile, $44,200 at the median and $46,800 at the 75th. These are advertised ranges, not earned pay.

Active openings as of September 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 63 openings.

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What our analysts see this month

Balanced market | next 3-6 months

Columbus is a workable but segmented market for protective-services job seekers right now. Metro unemployment was 3.3% in June 2026, and BLS reported the local protective-service group had a location quotient of 2.4 in May 2025 with median hourly pay at $29.63 in 2026, so this is a real local market rather than a thin niche. But the visible opening mix is not broad-based public-sector hiring: the Callings.ai job database saw more than 50 postings across more than 20 companies over the last 90 days, with about 90% of sampled roles at entry level and about 95% or more on-site. If you have shift flexibility and either ready-to-use safety skills or formal public-safety credentials, you can get traction; if you are waiting only for sworn or specialized roles, expect a slower search.

Best positioned: Candidates with shift flexibility, a clean screening package, and either immediate-readiness skills such as emergency response, first aid, surveillance, incident reporting, and access control or formal academy-based public-safety training have the best odds right now.

Main caution: Do not assume police-officer pay reflects the whole market; most sampled local hourly postings center on about $17 to $20 / hour, even though higher-paying sworn roles exist.

From the July 2026 market report

Who is hiring here

Counted across all 63 openings in this market. 6 of the employers below are hiring for more than one role right now.

1. AUS: 26 open roles
2. Securitas Security Services USA, Inc.: 6 open roles
3. Defense Logistics Agency: 4 open roles
4. Securitas: 3 open roles
5. Columbus Blue Jackets: 2 open roles
6. FailSafe Communications: 2 open roles
7. Access 2 Interpreters: 1 open role
8. Adcock Brothers Inc.: 1 open role
9. City of Westerville: 1 open role
10. C&K Trucking, LLC: 1 open role

Where the openings are

• Columbus: 25
• Johnstown: 7
• Groveport: 6
• Westerville: 5
• Whitehall: 4
• Violet Township: 3
• Sunbury: 3
• Grove City: 2

Work arrangement

on-site 62 (100%)

Where the demand is

Real opportunity is concentrated less in one dominant employer and more in a mix of retail loss prevention, contract and building security, recreation safety, and a smaller government channel. In the local posting sample, retail accounted for about 30% of activity, building and personnel services about 15%, sports and recreation about 15%, government and public sector about 15%, and security and safety about 10%. The named-employer mix was fragmented, led by AUS, Goldfish Swim School Franchising, LLC, and Hobby Lobby rather than one dominant recruiter. That split changes how you should search. Private-sector roles line up with the most-requested local skills—emergency response, first aid, surveillance, incident reporting, access control, customer service, loss prevention, and report writing—while police and firefighter paths usually require academy or occupation-specific training before you are truly competitive. If you need a job inside 90 days, the quicker path is broad on-site safety work; if you want higher long-run upside, stay in the slower public-sector testing and credential pipeline at the same time.

• Retail loss prevention / asset protection (high): Retail drives about 30% of sampled activity, making this the largest visible lane for quick-entry openings.
• Contract and building security (high): Building and personnel services contributed about 15% of sampled activity, and local role descriptions emphasize access control, patrols, and incident response.
• Aquatics and recreation safety (moderate): Sports and recreation made up about 15% of sampled activity, with Goldfish Swim School Franchising, LLC among the most active named employers and lifeguard certification appearing as the most common named credential.
• Government and civil-service public safety (moderate): Government and public sector roles were about 15% of sampled activity, and the City of Columbus had a full-time civil-service exam opening tied to public safety with an exam expected in September 2026.

Where to focus: If you need a role in the next 30-90 days, focus first on private on-site employers where immediate availability and core incident-response skills matter, while separately staying in the testing pipeline for city or state roles.

Roles worth searching next

• Community Engagement & Media Specialist: Franklin County Children Services posted this role in Columbus in mid-July 2026, and it sits close to child-safety and public-agency work while using agency knowledge rather than patrol or guard duties.
• Public Health Program Coordinator: Ohio public-health employers were still advertising jobs in August 2026, offering a neighboring path for candidates who want mission-driven safety work without staying in guard or patrol roles.
• Facilities or Workplace Safety Coordinator: The local skill mix centers on emergency response, first aid, incident reporting, access control, and customer service, which transfer well into facilities and workplace-safety operations.

What postings ask for

• Emergency response (table_stakes | immediate): It was the most-requested hard skill in the local posting sample at about 40%, so it shows up across guard, recreation, and safety-monitor roles. Who: Entry-level candidates and switchers who need proof they can respond calmly on site.
• First aid (table_stakes | immediate): First aid appeared in about 30% of local postings and fits the overwhelmingly on-site nature of this market. Who: Anyone targeting recreation, campus, or general-duty safety roles.
• Surveillance (differentiator | near-term): Surveillance showed up in about 30% of sampled postings, making it especially useful for retail, campus, and building-security work. Who: Applicants coming from retail, customer service, or monitoring-heavy environments.
• Incident reporting and report writing (differentiator | immediate): Incident reporting appeared in about 25% of postings and report writing in about 15%, so documentation skill is a real screening factor, not resume filler. Who: Mid-career candidates and switchers who need to prove judgment and professionalism.
• Access control (table_stakes | immediate): Access control appeared in about 25% of local postings and also showed up in a Columbus Allied Universal role description alongside patrols and incident response. Who: Candidates targeting building security, contract guard, or corporate-campus roles.
• Lifeguard certification (table_stakes | immediate): Lifeguard certification through Goldfish Swim School was the most frequently named certification in the local sample, appearing in about 10% of postings, which shows the recreation-safety lane is real in Columbus. Who: Entry-level candidates open to aquatics and youth recreation settings.

Questions about this market

What do Protective Services & Public Safety roles pay in Columbus, OH?

The strongest observed local pay signal is BLS: Columbus protective-service median pay was $29.63 an hour in 2026, with a 25th-percentile wage of $24.86; police and sheriff's patrol officers were materially higher in the older May 2023 data, with a $37.16 median and $42.92 at the 75th percentile. In contrast, the Callings.ai posting sample for hourly-paid roles centers on about $17 to $20 / hour, and the mean offered salary on new Ohio protective-services openings was ~$53,323 in July 2026 based on a statewide sample of n=349 from Revelio Public Labor Statistics. Columbus effectively has two pay lanes: broad-access security and recreation roles that often pay like hourly service work, and harder-to-enter public-safety tracks that pay better once you clear the credential barrier.

Where is demand for Protective Services & Public Safety roles in Columbus, OH concentrated?

Real opportunity is concentrated less in one dominant employer and more in a mix of retail loss prevention, contract and building security, recreation safety, and a smaller government channel. In the local posting sample, retail accounted for about 30% of activity, building and personnel services about 15%, sports and recreation about 15%, government and public sector about 15%, and security and safety about 10%. The named-employer mix was fragmented, led by AUS, Goldfish Swim School Franchising, LLC, and Hobby Lobby rather than one dominant recruiter. That split changes how you should search. Private-sector roles line up with the most-requested local skills—emergency response, first aid, surveillance, incident reporting, access control, customer service, loss prevention, and report writing—while police and firefighter paths usually require academy or occupation-specific training before you are truly competitive. If you need a job inside 90 days, the quicker path is broad on-site safety work; if you want higher long-run upside, stay in the slower public-sector testing and credential pipeline at the same time.

Which employers are hiring the most Protective Services & Public Safety talent in Columbus, OH?

Recent postings show the most activity from AUS (10 postings), Goldfish Swim School Franchising, LLC (5 postings), Hobby Lobby (5 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.

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