Bailiffs vs Parking Enforcement Workers: $57K vs $47K Median Pay

Bailiffs vs Parking Enforcement Workers: what changes?

Consider Bailiffs if you want to maintain order in courts of law. Consider Parking Enforcement Workers if you would rather patrol assigned area, such as public parking lot or city streets to issue tickets to overtime parking violators and illegally parked vehicles. Both list high school diploma or equivalent; compare training and prior experience separately.

Try this next: Compare three local entry-level postings for Bailiffs and Parking Enforcement Workers. List the duties, credentials, prior experience, and paid training each employer actually asks for. Try a supervised class or sample project from each field before choosing a program.

BLS 2025 wages and 2025–2035 projections. National medians are not starting offers. Occupation size is not a count of vacancies. View the BLS data.

Compare the practical differences

Bailiffs

National median pay (2025): $56,600
Route into the job: High school diploma or equivalent; More than one month and up to 12 months of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing
Prior related experience: No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.
Training and licensing: More than one month and up to 12 months of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing.
Work to investigate: Screen persons entering courthouse using magnetometers, x-ray machines, and other devices to collect and retain unauthorized firearms and other contraband.
Annual openings (2025–2035): 1,600

Know before you choose

BLS projects employment to shrink 1.9% from 2025 to 2035. Openings can still occur when existing workers leave.

See the full Bailiffs brief

Parking Enforcement Workers

National median pay (2025): $46,730
Route into the job: High school diploma or equivalent; One month or less of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing
Prior related experience: No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.
Training and licensing: One month or less of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing.
Work to investigate: Enter and retrieve information pertaining to vehicle registration, identification, and status, using hand-held computers.
Annual openings (2025–2035): 800

Know before you choose

BLS projects employment to shrink 1.1% from 2025 to 2035. Openings can still occur when existing workers leave.

See the full Parking Enforcement Workers brief

How the national numbers differ

Bailiffs has the edge on median pay

Bailiffs is at $56,600, compared with $46,730 for Parking Enforcement Workers.

Typical preparation differs.

Bailiffs: High school diploma or equivalent; More than one month and up to 12 months of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing Parking Enforcement Workers: High school diploma or equivalent; One month or less of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing Preparation categories do not establish admission difficulty, calendar time, tuition, time without earnings, or licensing difficulty.

Bailiffs has the edge on annual openings

Bailiffs is at 1,600 annual openings, compared with 800 annual openings for Parking Enforcement Workers.

Parking Enforcement Workers has the edge on projected growth

Parking Enforcement Workers is at -1.1% projected growth, compared with -1.9% projected growth for Bailiffs.

33.6/ 100

Bailiffs

29/ 100

Parking Enforcement Workers

Each available metric is ranked from 0 to 100 against the careers on ChooseField. The weighted average uses this profile: pay 30%, growth 25%, openings 30%, preparation level 15%. Missing values are not scored as zero; their weights are redistributed across available metrics. Occupation size has zero weight: employment is not accessible vacancies. Preparation categories do not measure admission difficulty or years without earnings. The score summarizes national measures; local opportunities and personal fit still need separate consideration.

Detailed evidence