50+ Security & Public Safety Jobs in Denver, CO

Government data shows the Denver protective-service occupational group averaged $32.57 per hour in May 2025, while the broader occupation family showed a $67,740 annual mean, a $56,360 annual median, a $93,030 annual 75th percentile, and a $114,170 annual 90th percentile. Recent active hourly postings look lower because the visible online sample centers on about $20 to $22 per hour, and Colorado's mean offered salary on new openings was about $60,912 based on 217 salary-bearing postings.

Full September 2026 market report

Advertised pay

Across the 63 openings that disclose pay, the advertised range midpoint runs $45,063 at the 25th percentile, $49,754 at the median and $54,470 at the 75th. These are advertised ranges, not earned pay.

Active openings as of October 16, 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 71 openings.

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What our analysts see this month

Balanced market | next 3-6 months

This is a usable but selective market right now. Denver-area unemployment was 4.6% in August 2026, while Colorado-wide protective-services employment was down 2.3% year over year and active postings were down 9.5%, which points to slower hiring momentum than the headline staffing-shortage narrative suggests. At the same time, core agencies still show real staffing gaps: Denver Police reported 1,565 sworn officers against 1,637 authorized positions, and Denver Sheriff staffing was reported at about 64%-65%. The constraint is intake timing, not just need: Denver plans no new police recruit academy in 2027, the sheriff expects 40-60 recruits across two academies, and Denver Fire plans an 18-person academy.

Best positioned: The best odds right now go to candidates who can clear background and motor-vehicle checks, already hold first aid or CPR, and are open to fully on-site entry roles or agency-specific academy timelines.

Main caution: The biggest trap is assuming every "public safety" opening pays like sworn police work; recent hourly postings center on about $20 to $22 per hour, while the higher pay sits in a narrower set of sworn and senior public roles.

From the September 2026 market report

Who is hiring here

Counted across all 71 openings in this market. 9 of the employers below are hiring for more than one role right now.

1. AUS: 14 open roles
2. Advanced Professional Security: 4 open roles
3. Citadel Security Inc.: 3 open roles
4. Denver International: 2 open roles
5. Falck A/S: 2 open roles
6. Firestone, CO: 2 open roles
7. GardaWorld: 2 open roles
8. Roy Jorgensen Associates, Inc.: 2 open roles
9. Tarian Group: 2 open roles
10. 1800 Radiator: 1 open role

Where the openings are

• Denver: 38
• Aurora: 8
• Golden: 4
• Broomfield: 3
• Highlands Ranch: 3
• Englewood: 2
• Lone Tree: 2
• Louisville: 2

Work arrangement

on-site 68 (99%), hybrid 1 (1%)

Where the demand is

Visible hiring is spread across a long tail rather than dominated by one employer. In the recent sample, there were more than 50 postings across more than 30 companies, and the employer mix was fragmented. The biggest pockets of opportunity are not all in sworn public jobs. The most active industry slices were retail at about 25% and government administration at about 20%, followed by military and protective services, software development, and education at about 10% each. That means many of the real openings right now are in store security, venue and campus safety, airport or facility protection, and recreation roles—not only police and fire. Public-sector demand is real but gated. Denver Police is still below authorized staffing, but the city plans no new police academy in 2027; by contrast, Denver Sheriff still plans two academies and Denver Fire still has a defined application window and recruit class plan.

• Private security, access control, and loss prevention (high): Best for speed. This is where the broadest entry-level volume appears, especially across retail and venue-style employers.
• Sheriff, police, and firefighter academy tracks (moderate): Best for long-term career value, but each lane is controlled by academy timing, screening, and limited class size; police is the tightest of the three right now.
• Recreation and community safety roles such as lifeguard and YMCA-style hiring (moderate): Useful bridge path for switchers who can stack first aid, CPR, or lifeguard credentials and want experience fast.

Where to focus: Choose between a speed lane and a career lane: use private security or recreation-safety roles if you need income quickly, or start the slower sheriff, fire, or police pipeline now if you can wait through testing and academy timing.

Roles worth searching next

• Emergency dispatcher / public safety telecommunicator: The overlap is strongest in emergency response, incident handling, and documentation discipline.
• EMT or paramedic: First aid and CPR transfer well, but this move belongs in the healthcare-practitioners track rather than protective services.
• Safety coordinator / EHS specialist: Report writing, incident reporting, and emergency-response planning are natural carryovers.
• Physical security systems coordinator: Surveillance, access control, and documentation already appear often in local protective-services postings.

What postings ask for

• First aid (table_stakes | immediate): It shows up both as a common certification requirement and as one of the most-requested practical skills in local postings. Who: Entry-level candidates, lifeguard applicants, and career switchers.
• CPR (table_stakes | immediate): CPR is a recurring requirement in local postings and gives you eligibility across several lower-barrier safety roles. Who: Anyone without prior protective-services experience.
• Background check and motor vehicle record readiness (table_stakes | immediate): Background check and motor vehicle record check are among the most common stated requirements, so paperwork problems can block otherwise qualified candidates. Who: All applicants, especially anyone targeting patrol, mobile security, or agency roles.
• Report writing and incident reporting (differentiator | immediate): These are recurring hard-skill asks locally and matter across both public and private roles because employers want people who can document clearly, not just respond physically. Who: Mid-career applicants, switchers, and anyone moving toward public-agency work.
• Surveillance and access control (differentiator | immediate): These are common operational skills in the current Denver sample and map directly to a large share of non-sworn openings. Who: Candidates targeting security officer, facility, airport, campus, or venue protection roles.
• Colorado P.O.S.T. certification (premium | near-term): It appears in the local requirements mix and is one of the clearest ways to separate yourself for sworn pathways. Who: Applicants committed to law enforcement rather than general security work.

Questions about this market

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

Government data shows the Denver protective-service occupational group averaged $32.57 per hour in May 2025, while the broader occupation family showed a $67,740 annual mean, a $56,360 annual median, a $93,030 annual 75th percentile, and a $114,170 annual 90th percentile. Recent active hourly postings look lower because the visible online sample centers on about $20 to $22 per hour, and Colorado's mean offered salary on new openings was about $60,912 based on 217 salary-bearing postings. This is really two pay markets. Sworn public roles can pay much more—police and sheriff's patrol officers had a $93,090 median in the Denver metro in May 2023—but a large share of current visible openings sit in lower-paid security, access, and seasonal-safety work.

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

Visible hiring is spread across a long tail rather than dominated by one employer. In the recent sample, there were more than 50 postings across more than 30 companies, and the employer mix was fragmented. The biggest pockets of opportunity are not all in sworn public jobs. The most active industry slices were retail at about 25% and government administration at about 20%, followed by military and protective services, software development, and education at about 10% each. That means many of the real openings right now are in store security, venue and campus safety, airport or facility protection, and recreation roles—not only police and fire. Public-sector demand is real but gated. Denver Police is still below authorized staffing, but the city plans no new police academy in 2027; by contrast, Denver Sheriff still plans two academies and Denver Fire still has a defined application window and recruit class plan.

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

Recent postings show the most activity from Hobby Lobby (5 postings), AUS (5 postings), Built for the Badge (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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