Parking Enforcement Workers
Patrol assigned area, such as public parking lot or city streets to issue tickets to overtime parking violators and illegally parked vehicles.
- Median annual earnings
- $46,738
- Projected change
- +0.3%
- Typical education
- High school diploma or less
- Employment
- 10.49K jobs
50th percentile, United States
2025 to 2035
94.9% of the workforce
Growing to 10.52K by 2035
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Build the skills
ASU learning related to this career
These courses and certificates are connected through catalog career relationships and Lightcast skill tags.
The work
What parking enforcement workers do
Tasks reported for this occupation, ordered by how often they come up in the role.
- Enter and retrieve information pertaining to vehicle registration, identification, and status, using hand-held computers.
- Patrol an assigned area by vehicle or on foot to ensure public compliance with existing parking ordinance.
- Write warnings and citations for illegally parked vehicles.
- Respond to and make radio dispatch calls regarding parking violations and complaints.
- Maintain assigned equipment and supplies, such as hand-held citation computers, citation books, rain gear, tire-marking chalk, and street cones.
- Appear in court at hearings regarding contested traffic citations.
- Maintain close communications with dispatching personnel, using two-way radios or cell phones.
- Perform simple vehicle maintenance procedures, such as checking oil and gas, and report mechanical problems to supervisors.
- Identify vehicles in violation of parking codes, checking with dispatchers when necessary to confirm identities or to determine whether vehicles need to be booted or towed.
- Observe and report hazardous conditions, such as missing traffic signals or signs, and street markings that need to be repainted.
- Train new or temporary staff.
- Make arrangements for illegally parked or abandoned vehicles to be towed, and direct tow-truck drivers to the correct vehicles.
- Investigate and answer complaints regarding contested parking citations, determining their validity and routing them appropriately.
- Provide information to the public regarding parking regulations and facilities, and the location of streets, buildings and points of interest.
- Prepare and maintain required records, including logs of parking enforcement activities, and records of contested citations.
- Perform traffic control duties such as setting up barricades and temporary signs, placing bags on parking meters to limit their use, or directing traffic.
Pay and outlook
What the job pays and where it is heading
Annual earnings range
Reported earnings by percentile, United States
- 10th percentile
- $35,131
- 25th percentile
- $39,874
- 50th percentile
- $46,738
- 75th percentile
- $60,486
- 90th percentile
- $75,338
The gold marker shows the median. Half earn more than $46,738 and half earn less.
Employment outlook
2025 to 2035 projection
28 more positions over the decade, before replacement hiring.
Preparation
Education levels
What people currently working in the career hold. These are not entry requirements.
- High school diploma or less
- 94.9%
- Some college
- 1.8%
- Certificate
- 1.6%
- Bachelor's degree
- 1.4%
- Associate degree
- 0.3%
Skills
Skills employers ask for
Technical skills appearing most often in job postings for this occupation.
How the work gets done
Core competencies
Broad capabilities associated with strong performance in this occupation.
- Speaking
- Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- Monitoring
- Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
- Critical Thinking
- Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
- Active Listening
- Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
- Social Perceptiveness
- Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
- Service Orientation
- Actively looking for ways to help people.
- Reading Comprehension
- Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
- Coordination
- Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
- Time Management
- Managing one's own time and the time of others.
- Instructing
- Teaching others how to do something.
- Active Learning
- Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
- Writing
- Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
- Complex Problem Solving
- Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
- Negotiation
- Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
- Persuasion
- Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
- Operation and Control
- Controlling operations of equipment or systems.
- Management of Personnel Resources
- Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
- Operations Monitoring
- Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
- Learning Strategies
- Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
In the market
Job titles and employers
Recent job postings in United StatesCommon job titles
- 01Parking Enforcement Officers1,042 postings
- 02Security Patrol Officers113 postings
- 03Park Ambassadors86 postings
- 04Unarmed Security Officers84 postings
- 05Parking Lot Attendants71 postings
- 06Parking Control Officers69 postings
- 07Security Officers67 postings
- 08Parking Attendants65 postings
- 09Parking Assistants59 postings
- 10Enforcement Officers56 postings
- 11Parking Officers53 postings
- 12Parking Supervisors51 postings
- 13Parking Services Officers47 postings
- 14Night Attendants41 postings
- 15Public Safety Officers35 postings
- 16Compliance Agents33 postings
- 17Parking Managers32 postings
- 18Parking Operations Managers25 postings
- 19Parking Coordinators23 postings
- 20Patrollers22 postings
Top employers
- 01Allied Universal179 postings
- 02LAZ Parking73 postings
- 03Reef Parking70 postings
- 04Inner Parish Security Corporation69 postings
- 05Sp Plus54 postings
- 06Premium Parking47 postings
- 07Phantom Fireworks Showrooms41 postings
- 08Sports Clips39 postings
- 09Ace Parking Management30 postings
- 10Towne Park30 postings
- 11Oak View Group22 postings
- 12GardaWorld21 postings
- 13Airgarage17 postings
- 14Herc17 postings
- 15Laz Parking California17 postings
- 16Activos15 postings
- 17The Car Park15 postings
- 18Towne Agency15 postings
- 19Preferred Parking Service14 postings
- 20ABM Industries12 postings
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