Career Atlas USA

Crossing Guards and Flaggers

Median salary
$38,100
Average salary
$43,350
Employment
94,360
Projected growth
3.6% growth
Annual openings
18,000
Typical entry education
No formal educational credential

What Crossing Guards and Flaggers Do

Guide or control vehicular or pedestrian traffic at such places as streets, schools, railroad crossings, or construction sites.

See full salary breakdown & percentiles →

Career Outlook

National employment outlook, 20242034.

Related work experience
None
On-the-job training
Short-term on-the-job training
Self-employed
Not available

Source: BLS Employment Projections — 2024-2034.

How Much Preparation Does This Take?

Job Zone 2 of 5

Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some Preparation Needed

Experience
Some occupations may need little or no previous experience; others require several months to a year of experience.
Education
Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not.
Job training
Ranges from a few days to one year of on-the-job training.

Source: O*NET Job Zones.

Key Knowledge Areas

Subject-matter areas this occupation draws on most, per O*NET.

  • Public Safety and Securityimportance 3.9/5
  • Customer and Personal Serviceimportance 3.2/5
  • English Languageimportance 3.1/5
  • Law and Governmentimportance 2.4/5
  • Psychologyimportance 2.4/5
  • Education and Trainingimportance 2.0/5
  • Personnel and Human Resourcesimportance 2.0/5
  • Administration and Managementimportance 2.0/5

Work Environment

What the day-to-day work setting is like, per O*NET.

  • Outdoors, Exposed to All Weather Conditions5.0/5
  • Spend Time Standing4.8/5
  • Deal With External Customers or the Public in General4.5/5
  • Exposed to Very Hot or Cold Temperatures4.4/5
  • Exposed to Contaminants4.4/5
  • Freedom to Make Decisions4.3/5

Careers With Similar Skills

Occupations whose Transferable Skills profile most closely matches this one — a mathematical comparison, not observed data about people actually moving between these careers.

Transferable Skills

Cross-functional skills this occupation draws on most, per O*NET — the kind that carry over to other careers.

  • Social Perceptivenessimportance 3.0/5
  • Coordinationimportance 2.8/5
  • Service Orientationimportance 2.8/5
  • Judgment and Decision Makingimportance 2.8/5
  • Complex Problem Solvingimportance 2.4/5
  • Persuasionimportance 2.1/5
  • Negotiationimportance 2.1/5
  • Time Managementimportance 2.0/5

Software & Technologies

Tools and software used in this occupation, per O*NET.

Hot Technologies

Other Software Used

Work Style

Personal work characteristics that matter most for this occupation, per O*NET.

  • Dependability
  • Cautiousness
  • Cooperation
  • Integrity
  • Attention to Detail
  • Self-Control
  • Stress Tolerance

Career Interests

This occupation’s RIASEC interest profile, per O*NET — how strongly it fits each of the six Holland interest types.

  • RealisticHigh
  • ConventionalMedium
  • SocialMedium
  • EnterprisingMedium
  • InvestigativeLow
  • ArtisticLow

This page includes information from the O*NET 30.3 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.

Where This Career Is Most Concentrated

Metro areas where crossing guards and flaggers make up the largest share of local employment, relative to the national average (BLS location quotient).

  1. 1Lewiston-Auburn, ME4.88× national avg
  2. 2State College, PA4.00× national avg
  3. 3Altoona, PA3.97× national avg
  4. 4Elmira, NY3.86× national avg
  5. 5Hagerstown-Martinsburg, MD-WV3.80× national avg

Possible Career Moves

A computed starting point, not observed job-change data — see the full list for why each one might fit.

See the full career path from Crossing Guards and Flaggers

Full salary data & percentiles →Best states for this career →Highest-paying states →