Parking Enforcement Workers
Also called: Enforcement Officer, Enforcement Safety Officer, Meter Maid, Parking Control Officer, Parking Enforcement Officer (PEO), Parking Enforcement Specialist, Parking Enforcement Technician (Parking Enforcement Tech), Parking Enforcer
Patrol assigned area, such as public parking lot or city streets to issue tickets to overtime parking violators and illegally parked vehicles.
What parking enforcement workers do
Typical tasks
- Enter and retrieve information pertaining to vehicle registration, identification, and status, using hand-held computers.
- Maintain close communications with dispatching personnel, using two-way radios or cell phones.
- Patrol an assigned area by vehicle or on foot to ensure public compliance with existing parking ordinance.
- 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.
- Write warnings and citations for illegally parked vehicles.
- Appear in court at hearings regarding contested traffic citations.
- Maintain assigned equipment and supplies, such as hand-held citation computers, citation books, rain gear, tire-marking chalk, and street cones.
- Respond to and make radio dispatch calls regarding parking violations and complaints.
- Provide information to the public regarding parking regulations and facilities, and the location of streets, buildings and points of interest.
- Make arrangements for illegally parked or abandoned vehicles to be towed, and direct tow-truck drivers to the correct vehicles.
- Observe and report hazardous conditions, such as missing traffic signals or signs, and street markings that need to be repainted.
- Perform simple vehicle maintenance procedures, such as checking oil and gas, and report mechanical problems to supervisors.
Typical path into the job (BLS)
Parking Enforcement Workers salary
The median annual wage for parking enforcement workers is $46,730 (BLS OEWS May 2025; BLS Employment Projections 2025–35, national). The lowest 10 percent earn less than $35,130 and the highest 10 percent earn more than $75,340. The mean annual wage is $51,190.
The mean hourly wage of $24.00 is 3.3× the federal minimum wage of $7.25. State minimums are higher in most large states. Minimum wage by state →
How does your pay compare with people your age?
Your numbers are not sent or stored. The comparison uses this occupation's BLS wage percentiles, adjusted for age with BLS median weekly earnings by age group (Q3 2026).
Pay by percentile
Annual wage percentiles from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS). Percentiles are a good proxy for pay by experience.
Projected pay for Parking Enforcement Workers (3, 5 and 10 years)est.
Today $46,730 → in 3 years $50,900 → in 5 years $53,900 → in 10 years $62,300 (10-year range $53,500–$72,300). The model assumes pay growth of +2.9% per year.
What drives the annual growth rate
Projected pay = current pay × (1 + annual growth)^years. The annual growth rate starts from a base wage-growth rate and adds or subtracts labor demand (BLS projected employment growth), wage momentum and AI replacement risk for each occupation. Projections are not guarantees. How it is calculated →
Outlook score for Parking Enforcement Workers
Each component is a percentile rank among all occupations in the same country (0–100). Weights: labor demand 25, wage momentum / openings 15, pay level 15, AI resistance 25, aging workforce 10 (Japan only), entry barrier 10.
Will AI replace Parking Enforcement Workers? AI replacement risk
How AI is changing this job
A written analysis for this occupation is being prepared.
AI replacement risk compares the parts of a job that are easy to hand to AI or software (processing information, documentation, repetitive computer work) with the parts that are hard to automate (physical work, working closely with people, judgment in unpredictable settings), using O*NET work activities, work context, skills and knowledge. The result is a relative position among all occupations in the country, scaled to 0–100%. Methodology →
Labor demand for Parking Enforcement Workers
Employment projections are from the BLS Employment Projections program (2025–35). Annual openings include both new jobs and replacement of workers who leave the occupation.
Skills, education and requirements for Parking Enforcement Workers
Key skills
O*NET skill level ratings (0–7).
Key knowledge areas
What the work involves
Important abilities
Training before entry
Related work experience
Job Zone 2 — some preparation needed (O*NET)
Difficulty of entry: ★☆☆☆☆ Easy to enter (from education, training, experience and Job Zone)
How to become parking enforcement workers
A step-by-step guide for this occupation is being prepared. The education, training and experience data above show the typical path.
Career path and how to earn more as parking enforcement workers
Career-path guidance is being prepared. Pay by percentile is shown in the Pay section.