Security & Public Safety Jobs in Nashville, TN

Observed government data puts Nashville protective service occupations at $25.87 per hour on average in May 2025, with annual pay around $37,010 at the 25th percentile, $47,250 at the median, $53,800 at the mean, and $80,720 at the 90th percentile. By contrast, current local postings in the Callings.ai database center on about $16 to $19 / hour, with a broader 25th-75th band of about $15 to $25 / hour, which suggests many live online openings are on the lower-paid private-security side of the category.

Full September 2026 market report

Advertised pay

Across the 16 openings that disclose pay, the advertised range midpoint runs $37,710 at the 25th percentile, $42,640 at the median and $47,840 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.

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What our analysts see this month

Balanced market | next 3-6 months

Nashville is a workable but selective market for protective-services and public-safety work right now. Metro unemployment was 3.1% in August, protective service occupations accounted for 2.3% of metro employment in May 2025, and city leaders said more than 300 police officers had been sworn in since the current mayor took office, which shows real local activity. But the visible local posting sample was still only more than 30 postings across more than 20 companies over the last 90 days, and statewide protective-services employment and active postings were both slightly down year over year in September, so hiring looks steadier for credentialed candidates than for general applicants.

Best positioned: Your best odds are if you are ready for fully on-site work and already bring Tennessee P.O.S.T., CPR, an armed registration card, or proven emergency-response and report-writing experience, especially in the entry-heavy part of the market.

Main caution: The biggest mistake is assuming all public-safety jobs here pay like sworn police or fire roles; many current postings cluster around about $16 to $19 / hour, while higher pay is concentrated in specific occupations and career stages.

From the September 2026 market report

Who is hiring here

Counted across all 23 openings in this market. 3 of the employers below are hiring for more than one role right now.

1. AUS: 7 open roles
2. In-N-Out Burger: 2 open roles
3. Waste Management, Inc.: 2 open roles
4. ABM: 1 open role
5. Brentwood: 1 open role
6. Cheekwood: 1 open role
7. GardaWorld: 1 open role
8. ICEE Co.: 1 open role
9. Kerberos International: 1 open role
10. Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools: 1 open role

Where the openings are

• Nashville: 13
• Franklin: 3
• Smyrna: 2
• Lakewood: 1
• Brentwood: 1
• La Vergne: 1
• Mount Juliet: 1
• Belle Meade: 1

Work arrangement

on-site 22 (100%)

Where the demand is

Actual openings look spread across a long tail rather than dominated by one giant hirer. Over the last 90 days the local sample showed more than 30 postings across more than 20 companies, with named employers including AUS, The TJX Companies, Inc., Vanderbilt, Tennessee Board of Regents, Macy's, and others. That mix points to three main pockets: contract security, retail loss prevention, and institutional safety roles tied to campuses, hospitals, and public entities. The work itself is strongly operational. About 95% or more of the sample is on-site, about 70% is entry-level, and the most common skill asks are emergency response, loss prevention, surveillance, access control, report writing, incident reporting, first aid, and conflict resolution. Education asks skew practical rather than academic, with high school diploma, equivalent, or GED much more common than bachelor's requirements. Local public-sector signals reinforce that demand is tied to live safety operations, not abstract planning work: Nashville reported more than 300 newly sworn police officers under the current mayor, detectives were working active homicide leads in late September, and the Fire Marshal’s Office launched October outreach on lithium-ion battery hazards. For job seekers, that means employers value candidates who can handle field response, documentation, and community-facing prevention work from day one.

• Contract and private security (high): This is the clearest broad-access lane, helped by the entry-heavy mix, on-site nature of work, and repeated requests for emergency response, access control, surveillance, and report writing.
• Retail loss prevention and asset protection (high): Retail-linked employers are present in the active employer mix, and loss prevention appears among the most common skill asks, making this a realistic target for switchers from stores, hospitality, or customer-facing operations.
• Sworn law enforcement, corrections, and specialized public roles (moderate): Local public-safety activity is real, but these roles are more credential-gated and less broadly represented in the visible online sample, so they are better targets for already qualified candidates than for first-time entrants.

Where to focus: Focus first on on-site institutional or contract-security roles that explicitly reward emergency response, surveillance, report writing, and CPR, then use that foothold to move into more selective sworn or specialized tracks.

Roles worth searching next

• Safety coordinator / EHS specialist: The overlap is strong because local public-safety postings repeatedly ask for emergency response, first aid, report writing, and incident reporting.
• Access-control or facilities operations coordinator: This is a natural bridge for candidates whose strongest skills are surveillance, access control, documentation, and site procedures.
• Emergency communications technology analyst: Nashville’s Department of Emergency Communications promoted a former call taker and dispatcher into a Technology Analyst role, showing a local path from public-safety operations into tech-enabled support work.
• Compliance investigator or corporate investigations analyst: Loss prevention, incident reporting, conflict resolution, and documentation are already common in the local skill mix.

What postings ask for

• Emergency response (table_stakes | immediate): It is the most common hard skill in the local sample at about 40%, so employers want proof that you can assess incidents, react calmly, and follow procedure. Who: Everyone in this category, especially entry-level applicants and switchers.
• Report writing and incident reporting (differentiator | immediate): Report writing and incident reporting show up repeatedly in local postings, and strong documentation is one of the easiest ways to separate yourself from generic applicants. Who: Applicants with field experience, supervisors, and career switchers trying to prove transferability.
• Surveillance and access control (table_stakes | immediate): These are recurring requirements in the Nashville sample and map directly to many contract, campus, and retail safety jobs. Who: Entry-level security candidates and anyone targeting institutional coverage.
• CPR certification (differentiator | immediate): CPR certification is one of the certifications most often named in local postings and pairs well with first-aid expectations in the skill mix. Who: Entry-level applicants, career switchers, and anyone aiming at campus or public-facing safety roles.
• Tennessee P.O.S.T. certification (premium | near-term): It appears among the named credentials in local postings and is one of the clearest signals that you are qualified for the sworn side of the market. Who: Candidates targeting law enforcement or other sworn public-safety tracks.
• Armed registration card issued by the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance (premium | near-term): This credential shows up in local postings and can move you from basic security eligibility into better-screened armed roles. Who: Applicants who already have foundational security experience and are comfortable with higher-responsibility assignments.

Questions about this market

What do Protective Services & Public Safety roles pay in Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN?

Observed government data puts Nashville protective service occupations at $25.87 per hour on average in May 2025, with annual pay around $37,010 at the 25th percentile, $47,250 at the median, $53,800 at the mean, and $80,720 at the 90th percentile. By contrast, current local postings in the Callings.ai database center on about $16 to $19 / hour, with a broader 25th-75th band of about $15 to $25 / hour, which suggests many live online openings are on the lower-paid private-security side of the category. This is a mixed-pay market. Nashville protective-services pay trails the metro-wide all-occupation average of $31.92 per hour, and Tennessee mean offered salary on new openings for this category was about $46,121 in September 2026 versus about $61,309 across all occupations, so entry-level applicants should expect cost pressure unless they land a specialized or sworn track.

Where is demand for Protective Services & Public Safety roles in Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN concentrated?

Actual openings look spread across a long tail rather than dominated by one giant hirer. Over the last 90 days the local sample showed more than 30 postings across more than 20 companies, with named employers including AUS, The TJX Companies, Inc., Vanderbilt, Tennessee Board of Regents, Macy's, and others. That mix points to three main pockets: contract security, retail loss prevention, and institutional safety roles tied to campuses, hospitals, and public entities. The work itself is strongly operational. About 95% or more of the sample is on-site, about 70% is entry-level, and the most common skill asks are emergency response, loss prevention, surveillance, access control, report writing, incident reporting, first aid, and conflict resolution. Education asks skew practical rather than academic, with high school diploma, equivalent, or GED much more common than bachelor's requirements. Local public-sector signals reinforce that demand is tied to live safety operations, not abstract planning work: Nashville reported more than 300 newly sworn police officers under the current mayor, detectives were working active homicide leads in late September, and the Fire Marshal’s Office launched October outreach on lithium-ion battery hazards. For job seekers, that means employers value candidates who can handle field response, documentation, and community-facing prevention work from day one.

Which employers are hiring the most Protective Services & Public Safety talent in Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN?

Recent postings show the most activity from AUS (5 postings), The TJX Companies, Inc. (5 postings), Vanderbilt (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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