75+ Security & Public Safety Jobs in San Francisco, CA

Observed local pay is polarized: the BLS puts the metro's broad protective-service group at a $37.78 mean hourly wage, a live San Francisco Protective Services Worker posting shows $115,362-$147,212 per year, and police and sheriff's patrol officers in the San Francisco division had a $134,784 median annual wage in the latest state wage file. Proxy posting data points lower for much of the accessible market: hourly listings center on about $20 to $22 / hour in the local sample, sampled posted pay across the category centers around roughly $97,000 to $124,000, and a Bay Area executive-protection role advertised $40 to $60/hour.

Full July 2026 market report

Advertised pay

Across the 67 openings that disclose pay, the advertised range midpoint runs $50,544 at the 25th percentile, $58,240 at the median and $71,313 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 76 openings.

Open all in AI Job Search

What our analysts see this month

Balanced market | next 3-6 months

This is a workable market, but not an easy one. California protective-services postings were up 3.1% year over year in July 2026 even as statewide protective-services employment slipped 0.9%, which points to replacement hiring more than broad expansion. Locally, the metro unemployment rate was 4.2% in June 2026, metro nonfarm employment was up 0.5982% year over year, and we observed more than 100 postings across more than 50 companies over the last 90 days. The opportunity split is sharp: accessible on-site security roles tend to pay much less than selective city, police, fire, or specialized protective roles.

Best positioned: Candidates with recent first aid or CPR, strong report-writing and incident-reporting habits, and willingness to work fully on-site shifts have the best odds, especially across hospital, retail, and private-security employers.

Main caution: Many job seekers anchor on six-figure police or city pay, but the broader accessible market still centers much lower and is overwhelmingly on-site.

From the July 2026 market report

Who is hiring here

Counted across all 76 openings in this market. 10 of the employers below are hiring for more than one role right now.

1. AUS: 18 open roles
2. Armorous: 3 open roles
3. Bart: 2 open roles
4. BART: 2 open roles
5. Benicia: 2 open roles
6. GardaWorld: 2 open roles
7. Inter-Con Security: 2 open roles
8. Maersk Company: 2 open roles
9. Maersk Line Limited: 2 open roles
10. UCSF Health: 2 open roles

Where the openings are

• San Francisco: 26
• Oakland: 11
• San Leandro: 9
• South San Francisco: 5
• San Rafael: 3
• Union City: 3
• Redwood City: 3
• Alameda: 2

Work arrangement

on-site 75 (99%), hybrid 1 (1%)

Where the demand is

Most accessible openings are not evenly spread across public safety. In the local posting sample, security & safety made up about 30% of postings, retail about 25%, education about 15%, government & public sector about 10%, and military and protective services about 10%. That mix says the fastest path into the market is usually private security, hospital or campus safety, or retail loss prevention rather than waiting only on sworn-agency hiring. The named employer mix supports that reading. Among the most consistently active employers were University of California, San Francisco, The TJX Companies, Inc., Costco Wholesale Corp., Fast Retailing Co., Uniqlo Co., City and County of San Francisco, Zuckerberg San Francisco General, and UCSF Health, each appearing around 5 times in the 90-day sample. Recent postings also show private-security demand in San Francisco for a GSOC Operator and Bay Area executive-protection roles. Public-sector openings can pay far more, but they are not the broad base of volume. A current San Francisco Protective Services Worker recruitment window runs from August 7 to October 1, 2026, and the posted salary is $115,362 to $147,212 a year. That is attractive, but it is better read as a selective niche opening than as the baseline for the whole category.

• Private security and GSOC operations (high): This is the broadest entry path right now, supported by the large security & safety share in the local posting mix and a recent San Francisco GSOC Operator opening.
• Retail loss prevention and store safety (high): Retail accounts for about 25% of local category postings, and repeat employer names include The TJX Companies, Inc., Costco Wholesale Corp., Fast Retailing Co., and Uniqlo Co.
• Hospital and university public safety (moderate): University of California, San Francisco, Zuckerberg San Francisco General, and UCSF Health all appeared among the more active local employers, which points to steady institutional demand.
• Selective city and agency roles (limited): These roles can offer six-figure pay, but visible local evidence is thinner and hiring is more selective, as shown by the single live city Protective Services Worker recruitment window.

Where to focus: Run a two-track search: use hospital, retail, and private-security roles for speed, while separately pursuing selective city or agency openings for upside.

Roles worth searching next

• Protective Services Worker (Family and Children): This is a city-government path at the edge of the category that can appeal to applicants who want public-sector work but are a better fit for protective casework than sworn enforcement.
• GSOC Operator: This is a practical bridge for candidates coming from guard, dispatch-adjacent, or surveillance-heavy work who want a more process-driven environment than patrol alone.
• Executive Protection Agent: Recent Bay Area postings show real demand for executive-protection coverage, making this a viable move for experienced security workers who want a more specialized path.
• Retail loss prevention / asset protection: Retail is a large share of the local posting mix, so this is a realistic entry or fallback path for people who can handle customer contact, observation, and incident documentation.

What postings ask for

• First aid (table_stakes | immediate): First aid appears in about 35% of local postings, making it one of the clearest baseline signals employers ask for. Who: Everyone entering the category, especially guards, campus safety, and hospital applicants.
• Emergency response (table_stakes | immediate): Emergency response also shows up in about 35% of local postings, so employers want proof that you can act calmly and follow procedure during incidents. Who: Entry-level and career-switching candidates who need to show practical readiness fast.
• CPR (differentiator | immediate): CPR is one of the most commonly named certifications locally and also appears among the most-requested skills, so it helps turn a generic application into a credible one. Who: Entry-level applicants, hospital-security candidates, and anyone competing for people-facing on-site roles.
• Report writing and incident reporting (differentiator | immediate): Report writing appears in about 25% of local postings and incident reporting in about 15%, which means documentation skill is a real hiring filter, not admin fluff. Who: Career switchers and mid-career applicants who need to prove professional discipline.
• Conflict resolution and customer service (differentiator | near-term): Conflict resolution and customer service each show up in about 20% of local postings, reflecting how much of this work is public-facing rather than purely enforcement-oriented. Who: Retail, campus, transit-adjacent, and hospital-facing applicants.
• Surveillance and operations-center monitoring (premium | near-term): Surveillance appears in about 15% of local postings, and a recent San Francisco GSOC Operator opening shows a live niche for around-the-clock monitoring work. Who: Guards, dispatch-adjacent candidates, and applicants who want to move off purely floor-based patrol work.

Questions about this market

What do Protective Services & Public Safety roles pay in San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA?

Observed local pay is polarized: the BLS puts the metro's broad protective-service group at a $37.78 mean hourly wage, a live San Francisco Protective Services Worker posting shows $115,362-$147,212 per year, and police and sheriff's patrol officers in the San Francisco division had a $134,784 median annual wage in the latest state wage file. Proxy posting data points lower for much of the accessible market: hourly listings center on about $20 to $22 / hour in the local sample, sampled posted pay across the category centers around roughly $97,000 to $124,000, and a Bay Area executive-protection role advertised $40 to $60/hour. This is a high-upside market if you can reach the public-sector or specialized end of it, but many reachable openings still pay like standard security work. Regional wages and salaries rose 3.5% over the 12 months ended June 2026, so employers are still operating under pay pressure even while screening carefully.

Where is demand for Protective Services & Public Safety roles in San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA concentrated?

Most accessible openings are not evenly spread across public safety. In the local posting sample, security & safety made up about 30% of postings, retail about 25%, education about 15%, government & public sector about 10%, and military and protective services about 10%. That mix says the fastest path into the market is usually private security, hospital or campus safety, or retail loss prevention rather than waiting only on sworn-agency hiring. The named employer mix supports that reading. Among the most consistently active employers were University of California, San Francisco, The TJX Companies, Inc., Costco Wholesale Corp., Fast Retailing Co., Uniqlo Co., City and County of San Francisco, Zuckerberg San Francisco General, and UCSF Health, each appearing around 5 times in the 90-day sample. Recent postings also show private-security demand in San Francisco for a GSOC Operator and Bay Area executive-protection roles. Public-sector openings can pay far more, but they are not the broad base of volume. A current San Francisco Protective Services Worker recruitment window runs from August 7 to October 1, 2026, and the posted salary is $115,362 to $147,212 a year. That is attractive, but it is better read as a selective niche opening than as the baseline for the whole category.

Which employers are hiring the most Protective Services & Public Safety talent in San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA?

Recent postings show the most activity from University of California, San Francisco (5 postings), The TJX Companies, Inc. (5 postings), Costco Wholesale Corp. (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.

Explore related openings

Protective Services & Public Safety jobs in other metros

• Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH
• Columbus, OH
• Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX
• Salt Lake City-Murray, UT
• Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA
• Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI
• San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA
• Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN

Other roles in San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA

• Finance & Accounting
• Administrative & Office Support
• Engineering & Scientific
• Legal, Compliance & Risk
• Personal Care & Fitness
• Data, Analytics & AI
• Marketing, Communications & Content
• Human Resources, Recruiting & People Operations

Browse all job openings | Browse all job market reports