25+ Security & Public Safety Jobs in Denver, CO

The best local observed pay is in sworn public roles: Denver-area police openings were advertised at $80,730-$123,192 a year, and Arapahoe County's Deputy Sheriff Patrol role posted $84,302-$114,608 a year, or $40.53-$55.10 an hour. Broader metro wage data is much lower: BLS put the May 2024 median for Protective Service occupations at $61,120 a year, with a 25th-percentile wage of $22.20 an hour and a 75th-percentile wage of $36.58 an hour. Proxy posting data sits lower still, with sampled hourly postings centered on about $19 to $21 an hour and Revelio Public Labor Statistics showing a Colorado mean offered salary on new openings of about $66,894 in July 2026 based on n=475.

Full July 2026 market report

Advertised pay

Across the 39 openings that disclose pay, the advertised range midpoint runs $44,200 at the 25th percentile, $48,880 at the median and $55,120 at the 75th. These are advertised ranges, not earned pay.

Active openings as of September 7, 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 48 openings.

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What our analysts see this month

Competitive market | next 3-6 months

This is a workable but selective market right now: Denver-area employers still show live sworn hiring, including police openings listed by Colorado POST and a Deputy Sheriff Patrol role in Centennial, while the metro unemployment rate was 4.1% in June 2026. Statewide occupation data sharpens the picture: Revelio Public Labor Statistics says Colorado protective-services employment was down 2.5% year over year in July 2026 even as active postings were up 27.7%. That usually points to replacement hiring rather than broad expansion, so qualified applicants can land roles, but the process is not loose or fast.

Best positioned: Applicants who can clear background and driving checks, work on-site, and show first aid, CPR, emergency-response, and report-writing basics have the best odds.

Main caution: Do not assume the headline pay from sworn public roles applies across the whole field; Denver-area police and sheriff postings reached $80,730-$123,192 and $84,302-$114,608, but sampled hourly postings overall centered on about $19 to $21 an hour.

From the July 2026 market report

Who is hiring here

Counted across all 48 openings in this market. 5 of the employers below are hiring for more than one role right now.

1. AUS: 14 open roles
2. FailSafe Communications: 2 open roles
3. GardaWorld: 2 open roles
4. Mark VII Equipment Inc.: 2 open roles
5. Railfriend: 2 open roles
6. Acme Distribution: 1 open role
7. Arapahoe Co: 1 open role
8. Arizona Charlie’s Decatur and Boulder: 1 open role
9. Aston Carter, Inc.: 1 open role
10. Bark & Mane: 1 open role

Where the openings are

• Denver: 20
• Arvada: 7
• Aurora: 6
• Commerce City: 4
• Boulder: 2
• Brighton: 2
• Henderson: 1
• Thornton: 1

Work arrangement

on-site 45 (94%), remote 2 (4%), hybrid 1 (2%)

Where the demand is

The broadest day-to-day opportunity is not evenly spread across the category. In the recent local sample, there were more than 100 postings across more than 50 companies, hiring was fragmented, and the heaviest industry activity sat in retail at about 35%, building and personnel services at about 20%, government and public sector at about 15%, security and safety at about 10%, and sports and recreation at about 10%. Named employers in that sample were led by AUS at around 20 postings, Costco Wholesale Corp. at around 10, and The TJX Companies, Inc. at around 5. The higher-upside lane is narrower. Colorado POST showed multiple Denver-area police openings, and Arapahoe County advertised a Deputy Sheriff Patrol role in Centennial with an $84,302-$114,608 range, which is materially above the middle of the market. There is also evidence of investigative security demand rather than only uniformed patrol, with Allied Universal listing a Denver Surveillance Investigator opening in July 2026.

• Private security, patrol, and loss prevention (high): This is the highest-volume lane in the local sample, with retail at about 35% of postings and building and personnel services at about 20%; AUS, Costco Wholesale Corp., and The TJX Companies, Inc. are the most consistently active named employers.
• Sworn policing and sheriff tracks (moderate): Public agencies continue to post openings, and compensation is materially higher, with Denver-area police roles at $80,730-$123,192 and Arapahoe County Deputy Sheriff Patrol at $84,302-$114,608.
• Investigative security (moderate): Allied Universal's Denver Surveillance Investigator opening shows a lane for candidates with observation, documentation, and case-building skills beyond uniformed guard work.
• Lifeguard and recreation safety (limited): Sports and recreation accounts for about 10% of sampled posting activity, and lifeguarding appears among the more common local skills.

Where to focus: Run a two-track search: use higher-volume private security and loss-prevention roles for speed, while separately pursuing sworn public roles for pay upside.

Roles worth searching next

• Public safety dispatcher / emergency communications specialist: It uses calm-under-pressure judgment, incident logging, and shift tolerance without requiring a patrol-first background.
• Safety coordinator / EHS technician: It reuses emergency response, incident reporting, and compliance habits in a less enforcement-heavy setting.
• Fraud or claims investigator: Observation, note-taking, interviewing, and evidence handling transfer well from surveillance or investigation-oriented public-safety work.
• Facilities or access-control coordinator: This keeps you in on-site operations while shifting toward site administration, vendor control, and workplace procedures.

What postings ask for

• First aid (table_stakes | immediate): First aid showed up both as a credential in about 15% of local postings and as a skill in about 30%, so it helps across security, recreation, and patrol-style roles. Who: Entry-level applicants and career switchers.
• CPR (table_stakes | immediate): CPR appeared as a required credential in about 10% of postings and as a skill in about 20%, making it a simple screen-clearer for many frontline roles. Who: Anyone targeting guard, lifeguard, or emergency-response-adjacent work.
• Valid driver's license (table_stakes | immediate): A valid driver's license appeared in about 10% of local postings, which matters for patrol, mobile security, and field-based public roles. Who: Patrol applicants, lateral movers, and anyone seeking county or site-based work.
• Emergency response (differentiator | immediate): Emergency response was the single most-requested hard skill in the local sample at about 35%, so candidates who can prove real response experience stand out quickly. Who: Applicants with military, hospitality security, campus safety, or recreation-safety backgrounds.
• Incident reporting and report writing (differentiator | near-term): Incident reporting showed up in about 25% of sampled postings and report writing in about 20%, which makes documentation skill one of the clearest transferable assets in this market. Who: Career switchers and mid-career applicants trying to move above basic guard work.
• Conflict resolution (differentiator | near-term): Conflict resolution appeared in about 25% of local postings, which fits the parts of the market tied to retail, site safety, and public-facing patrol work. Who: Applicants coming from customer service, education, hospitality, or corrections-adjacent work.

Questions about this market

What do Protective Services & Public Safety roles pay in Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO?

The best local observed pay is in sworn public roles: Denver-area police openings were advertised at $80,730-$123,192 a year, and Arapahoe County's Deputy Sheriff Patrol role posted $84,302-$114,608 a year, or $40.53-$55.10 an hour. Broader metro wage data is much lower: BLS put the May 2024 median for Protective Service occupations at $61,120 a year, with a 25th-percentile wage of $22.20 an hour and a 75th-percentile wage of $36.58 an hour. Proxy posting data sits lower still, with sampled hourly postings centered on about $19 to $21 an hour and Revelio Public Labor Statistics showing a Colorado mean offered salary on new openings of about $66,894 in July 2026 based on n=475. This is a split market. You can find decent-to-strong compensation here, but much of it is locked behind sworn hiring, agency screening, or more specialized public-safety tracks.

Where is demand for Protective Services & Public Safety roles in Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO concentrated?

The broadest day-to-day opportunity is not evenly spread across the category. In the recent local sample, there were more than 100 postings across more than 50 companies, hiring was fragmented, and the heaviest industry activity sat in retail at about 35%, building and personnel services at about 20%, government and public sector at about 15%, security and safety at about 10%, and sports and recreation at about 10%. Named employers in that sample were led by AUS at around 20 postings, Costco Wholesale Corp. at around 10, and The TJX Companies, Inc. at around 5. The higher-upside lane is narrower. Colorado POST showed multiple Denver-area police openings, and Arapahoe County advertised a Deputy Sheriff Patrol role in Centennial with an $84,302-$114,608 range, which is materially above the middle of the market. There is also evidence of investigative security demand rather than only uniformed patrol, with Allied Universal listing a Denver Surveillance Investigator opening in July 2026.

Which employers are hiring the most Protective Services & Public Safety talent in Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO?

Recent postings show the most activity from AUS (20 postings), Costco Wholesale Corp. (10 postings), The TJX Companies, Inc. (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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