75+ Security & Public Safety Jobs in Philadelphia, PA

Government wage data for the broader protective-service family in the Philadelphia metro shows a $61,450 annual mean, a $48,240 median, and a $36,960-to-$83,780 middle range in 2025. A separate BLS metro summary pegs protective-service hourly pay at $29.54, while current hourly postings cluster much lower at about $16 to $18 / hour. For one higher-paying lane, Philadelphia police recruits are being marketed at starting pay just under $70,000 annually, rising to about $104,000 after five years.

Full September 2026 market report

Advertised pay

Across the 64 openings that disclose pay, the advertised range midpoint runs $37,440 at the 25th percentile, $41,600 at the median and $48,064 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 90 openings.

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What our analysts see this month

Balanced market | next 3-6 months

This is a balanced market: Philadelphia-area public safety has real openings and visible shortages, but the easiest jobs to land are not the highest-paying ones. The metro unemployment rate was 4.4% in August 2026, and metro nonfarm employment was up 0.8284% year over year, so the regional economy is not weak. Within the category, BLS counted 73,290 protective-service workers in the metro, and recent local job ads were concentrated in retail, security and investigations, hospitals and healthcare, and sports and recreation. At the same time, Philadelphia Police remained more than 1,000 officers short, ran a current recruitment window through October 11, and cut application-to-academy processing to as little as 54 business days.

Best positioned: Candidates with a clean background, shift flexibility, and either fast-entry credentials such as a security guard license or first-aid credentials, or readiness for sworn screening and academy training, have the best odds right now.

Main caution: Do not assume a public-safety shortage means easy access to sworn jobs or universally strong pay; much of the open-market volume sits in lower-paid on-site security and seasonal safety work.

From the September 2026 market report

Who is hiring here

Counted across all 90 openings in this market. 9 of the employers below are hiring for more than one role right now.

1. AUS: 20 open roles
2. Harvard Protection Services, LLC.: 14 open roles
3. Securitas Security Services USA, Inc.: 3 open roles
4. Acadia Healthcare Company: 2 open roles
5. Acts Retirement-Life Communities, Inc.: 2 open roles
6. Securitas: 2 open roles
7. Sibanye-Stillwater Limited: 2 open roles
8. St. Moritz Security Services, Inc.: 2 open roles
9. Temple Health: 2 open roles
10. 4donnellys: 1 open role

Where the openings are

• Philadelphia: 34
• Florence: 4
• Camden: 4
• Wilmington: 3
• Hatfield: 2
• Norristown: 2
• King of Prussia: 2
• Lower Merion Township: 2

Work arrangement

on-site 89 (100%)

Where the demand is

Real opportunity is split between two very different lanes. The public-sector lane includes police and sheriff hiring, where understaffing is real: Philadelphia Police were more than 1,000 officers below full complement with a vacancy rate above 19%, NBC reported a staffing gap of more than 18% against the budgeted complement, and the current police recruitment drive runs from September 14 to October 11 with a $2,000 signing bonus. These jobs can pay materially better than the category's lower end, but they also bring background investigations, academy time, and in Philadelphia's case a residency requirement within 18 months for out-of-city hires and 38 weeks of academy training. Most of the broader online opportunity is on the private or nonprofit side. In the recent posting sample, retail made up about 25% of openings, security and investigations about 15%, hospitals and health care plus healthcare about 25%, and sports and recreation about 10%; the most active named employers included Harvard Protection Services, LLC., AUS, Greater Philadelphia YMCA, Eaglevillehospital, and the City of Philadelphia. That mix lines up with the skills employers ask for most often—emergency response, surveillance, access control, incident reporting, first aid, lifeguarding, and loss prevention—and with pay bands that center on about $16 to $18 / hour for many hourly roles. A smaller but useful lane is pipeline and training-driven entry. Camden County College graduated 19 police recruits in September, and the Community College of Philadelphia-Allied Universal public safety pipeline had welcomed eight people since launch, which signals structured entry points for candidates who are not yet academy-ready.

• Municipal sworn and sheriff roles (high): High need is visible in city agencies, especially policing and sheriff operations, but these roles carry the heaviest screening and training barriers.
• Private security, hospital security, and retail loss prevention (high): This is where most broad-market online demand sits, especially across retail, security firms, hospitals, and healthcare settings.
• Aquatic and recreation safety (moderate): YMCA and recreation-related demand is a real but narrower lane, and it rewards lifeguard and first-aid credentials more than prior law-enforcement experience.

Where to focus: Choose one lane first: either credentialed private-side roles you can enter quickly, or sworn/public-agency routes that justify a longer screening process.

Roles worth searching next

• Public safety telecommunicator: The metro already employed 1,750 public-safety telecommunicators in May 2025, and the role uses calm incident intake, documentation, and CAD-style workflow rather than patrol duties.
• Emergency management specialist: It builds on emergency response and documentation skills but shifts the work toward planning, coordination, and policy rather than patrol.
• Facilities or security systems coordinator: Access control and surveillance skills transfer well into operations roles overseeing badging, cameras, vendors, and incident logs.
• Compliance or fraud investigator: Investigative documentation and incident review translate into civilian investigative work without academy requirements.

What postings ask for

• Emergency response (table_stakes | immediate): It was the most frequently requested hard skill in local postings, showing up in about 35% of the sample. Who: Entry-level applicants, career switchers, and anyone targeting hospital or venue security.
• Surveillance and access control (table_stakes | immediate): Surveillance and access control each appeared in about 25% of local postings, especially in retail, private security, and facility roles. Who: Candidates targeting contractor security, hospitals, campuses, and corporate sites.
• Incident reporting and investigative documentation (differentiator | immediate): Incident reporting showed up in about 20% of local postings, and national law-enforcement skill profiles emphasize investigative documentation and digital evidence handling. Who: Mid-career applicants, supervisors, and anyone aiming beyond basic guard work.
• Security guard license (differentiator | immediate): A security guard license was one of the most commonly named credentials in local postings, making it a fast credibility signal for private-side roles. Who: Entry-level candidates and career switchers who want the quickest route into the market.
• First aid / CPR / AED (table_stakes | immediate): First aid appeared both as a skill and a named credential, with CPR and AED also recurring in local postings. Who: Anyone applying to hospitals, recreation, schools, community sites, or public-facing security posts.
• American Red Cross lifeguard certification (differentiator | near-term): Local postings specifically called out American Red Cross lifeguard certification for part of the aquatic-safety market. Who: Candidates targeting YMCA, pool, camp, and recreation roles.

Questions about this market

What do Protective Services & Public Safety roles pay in Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD?

Government wage data for the broader protective-service family in the Philadelphia metro shows a $61,450 annual mean, a $48,240 median, and a $36,960-to-$83,780 middle range in 2025. A separate BLS metro summary pegs protective-service hourly pay at $29.54, while current hourly postings cluster much lower at about $16 to $18 / hour. For one higher-paying lane, Philadelphia police recruits are being marketed at starting pay just under $70,000 annually, rising to about $104,000 after five years. This is a split market: category averages are lifted by sworn and specialized public roles, but many live openings are lower-wage on-site security, retail loss prevention, and seasonal safety work.

Where is demand for Protective Services & Public Safety roles in Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD concentrated?

Real opportunity is split between two very different lanes. The public-sector lane includes police and sheriff hiring, where understaffing is real: Philadelphia Police were more than 1,000 officers below full complement with a vacancy rate above 19%, NBC reported a staffing gap of more than 18% against the budgeted complement, and the current police recruitment drive runs from September 14 to October 11 with a $2,000 signing bonus. These jobs can pay materially better than the category's lower end, but they also bring background investigations, academy time, and in Philadelphia's case a residency requirement within 18 months for out-of-city hires and 38 weeks of academy training. Most of the broader online opportunity is on the private or nonprofit side. In the recent posting sample, retail made up about 25% of openings, security and investigations about 15%, hospitals and health care plus healthcare about 25%, and sports and recreation about 10%; the most active named employers included Harvard Protection Services, LLC., AUS, Greater Philadelphia YMCA, Eaglevillehospital, and the City of Philadelphia. That mix lines up with the skills employers ask for most often—emergency response, surveillance, access control, incident reporting, first aid, lifeguarding, and loss prevention—and with pay bands that center on about $16 to $18 / hour for many hourly roles. A smaller but useful lane is pipeline and training-driven entry. Camden County College graduated 19 police recruits in September, and the Community College of Philadelphia-Allied Universal public safety pipeline had welcomed eight people since launch, which signals structured entry points for candidates who are not yet academy-ready.

Which employers are hiring the most Protective Services & Public Safety talent in Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD?

Recent postings show the most activity from Harvard Protection Services, LLC. (10 postings), AUS (10 postings), Greater Philadelphia YMCA (10 postings). See the full market report for the complete employer landscape.

Can Protective Services & Public Safety roles in Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD be done remotely?

Of recent postings, 4% are remote and 4% hybrid, with 95% on-site. Use the Remote filter above to see only remote openings.

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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