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Public service · Helping & Teaching

Crossing guard: what the job actually is

Standing at one intersection twice a day so children get across it, in every kind of weather, with drivers watching you.

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Crossing guard: quick facts

Crossing guard salary in Ontario: the median pay is $17.95 an hour, according to Job Bank (reference period 2023-2024). Its three-year outlook in Ontario is moderate. The job usually needs a short demonstration, no formal education.

Median pay in Ontario
$17.95 an hour
Pay range (low to high)
$17.95 to $25.00 an hour
Job outlook, 2025-2027
Moderate
People working in it in Ontario
9,350
Usually needs
A short demonstration, no formal education

Source: Job Bank wages (updated 19 November 2025) and job prospects (updated 10 December 2025), NOC 45100. Pay varies by region and experience.

The work

What this job actually is

  • Job Bank describes crossing guards as coordinating the flow of pedestrians across a selected intersection with the flow of vehicles, and directing and assisting students at school crossings.
  • The group is wider than crossing guards. Job Bank also lists student monitors who watch school buildings and grounds, supervise students during breaks and lunch periods, and document absences, accidents and behavioural issues.
  • Job Bank says crossing guards are employed by municipalities, security agencies and educational institutions, and student monitors work in elementary and secondary schools.
  • It is short, split work. One Ontario town's municipal page says its guards work 1.25 hours a day. Other municipalities set their own shifts.
  • It is a job about attention. You are in the road, in the open, between a lot of children and a lot of cars.

A Tuesday

What a normal day looks like

Not a good day or a bad one. The ordinary version, which is what you would actually be living.

  1. 7:30 — Walk to your corner. Put on the vest and check what the weather is going to do to the next hour.
  2. 7:45 — First children arrive. You learn who is early, who is late, and who needs a nudge to stop looking at a phone.
  3. 8:00 — Cars. Someone is in a hurry and drives toward you. You stand where you are, and you hold the sign and the line.
  4. 8:30 — The bell. The corner empties and you are on your own, with a thermos.
  5. 8:45 — Home, or to a second job, or to a student monitor shift inside the school if you work for the board.
  6. 11:45 — Lunch supervision, if that is part of your post. You walk the yard and stop two arguments before they start.
  7. 14:30 — Back at the corner. A child forgets their mitts and you spend a minute on it, which matters more than it looks.
  8. 15:00 — Dismissal. A rush of children, a rush of parents, a rush of cars. Everything comes at once for ten minutes.
  9. 15:30 — Quiet again, and you do it all over tomorrow.

Honestly

Who loves this, and who should not do it

The second list is the useful one. Nearly every careers page leaves it out, which is why nearly every careers page reads like an advert.

You may like this if
  • You like being outside in all seasons and you do not mind being on your feet in the cold.
  • You are good at paying attention for short bursts, even when nothing happens for a long time.
  • You like children and are happy to be a small, steady presence in their day.
  • You want something short and regular, such as a before-and-after-school job that leaves the middle of the day free.
  • You are calm with drivers who are not.
You may hate this if
  • You cannot stand weather. Rain, snow and wind are not days off.
  • You get angry at drivers. Some will ignore you, and some will be rude about it.
  • You need a full-time income from one position. This is split, short, part-time work; check the pay figures on this page against what you need.
  • You want to move up inside the job. Job Bank gives no advancement path for the group, and the job is the job.
  • You are bothered by responsibility with no protection from the traffic. You are the person in the road.

The route in

How you actually get there in Ontario

  1. No licence is required

    Job Bank says the occupation is not regulated in Canada, so there is no licence. It says completion of secondary school may be required and that first aid and CPR training may be required, depending on the employer.

  2. Apply to your municipality

    Job Bank says crossing guards are employed by municipalities, security agencies and educational institutions. The Town of Parry Sound says it employs its guards through its Development and Protective Services Department, tells applicants to watch its employment opportunities page, and lists a minimum age of 16 and a criminal record search. Other municipalities and police services set their own rules, so check the one where you live.

  3. Student monitor roles come through the school board

    Job Bank says student monitors work in public and private elementary and secondary schools. We could not read an official Ontario page on how boards hire them, so we are not stating one.

  4. Use it as a first job, not a ladder

    Job Bank says high employee turnover in this group could lead to additional opportunities, and its outlook is Moderate. As a first job it builds reliability and responsibility, which every other employer notices.

Where this comes from: Job Bank — Student monitors, crossing guards and related occupations: requirements in Ontario · NOC 2021 — Unit group 45100 profile · Town of Parry Sound — Crossing guards · Job Bank — Student monitors, crossing guards and related occupations: Ontario wage report

The money

Crossing guard salary in Ontario

Job Bank's own figures, quoted rather than summarised, with the period they describe — so you can tell how old they are and go and check them.

$17.95
Low (hourly)
$17.95
Median (hourly)
$25.00
High (hourly)

Ontario, NOC 45100. Reference period 2023-2024, last updated by Job Bank on 19 November 2025. Wages vary a lot by region inside Ontario and by how long you have been doing it — the low figure is roughly where you start, not what the job is worth.

Source: Job Bank — Crossing guard wages in Ontario

Where it is heading

The outlook for the next three years

Job Bank publishes a three-year outlook for every job in every province. It is the closest thing to an honest forecast, and it moves, so read it as a weather report rather than a verdict.

Ontario, 2025-2027

Moderate3 out of 5 stars

  • Employment growth will lead to a few new positions.
  • Several positions will become available due to retirements.
  • There are a small number of unemployed workers with recent experience in this occupation.
  • High employee turnover in this occupation could lead to additional employment opportunities.

What that rating means: how many openings Job Bank expects in Ontario for this kind of work against how many people are likely to be looking — not whether it is a good job. A “limited” rating means more competition for each opening; it does not close the door, and it can change before you are ready to walk through it.

9,350
people work in this job in Ontario
84%
are women (48% across all jobs)
5%
are self-employed (15% across all jobs)

Source: Job Bank — Student monitors, crossing guards and related occupations job prospects in Ontario (NOC 45100). Outlook updated by Job Bank on 10 December 2025; read by us on 5 October 2026.

Before you leave school

Things you can do now

  • Take a first aid and CPR course. Job Bank says employers may require it, and you will need it for most other first jobs too.
  • Help with younger students at your school, for example as a lunch buddy, a yard helper or a safety patrol, if your school has one.
  • Check your municipality's website for crossing guard postings and read the age and requirements before you are old enough to apply.
  • Look at the intersection near your school and notice what the crossing guard does that you would not have thought of.

Test it

Do this before you decide anything

Reading about a job tells you almost nothing. This is designed to be done alone, this week, for free.

Watch a school crossing at the busiest ten minutes

About 45 minutes
  1. On your normal walk or ride, notice the crossing guard at a school you pass. Do not stop at a school you have no reason to be at. Use your own school or one on your route.
  2. Count, without writing down names, the moments in ten minutes where the guard had to stop a car, speak to a child or make a decision.
  3. Notice what they do when a driver ignores them, and how they stand when it is cold.
  4. Find your municipality's crossing guard page and read the posting or the programme description.

What it tells you. If you saw the work as calm and useful and it looked like something you could do for a few hours a day, it could be a reasonable first job. If it looked tense, cold or stressful to you, that is a clear answer, and plenty of better-fitting first jobs exist. Do not take it because it is available.

Better than any article

Questions for somebody who does this job

Most people say yes to a teenager who asks good questions. These are the ones that get real answers rather than encouragement.

  1. “How many hours a week do you actually work, and what is the schedule?”
  2. “What is the hardest thing about doing this in winter?”
  3. “How often does a driver ignore you, and what do you do?”
  4. “What training did you get, and did it prepare you for the real thing?”
  5. “Who do you report to, and who covers when you are sick?”
  6. “Would you recommend it to a teenager as a first job?”

Could you own one of these?

The part other career sites never mention

Not as this job, because crossing guards are hired by municipalities, security agencies and educational institutions. Some security firms hold municipal crossing guard contracts, which is a business, but it is a business about contracts and staffing, not about standing on a corner.

Business 101 is free and teaches that part

Quick answers

Questions people ask about this job

How much does a crossing guard make in Ontario?

The median pay for a crossing guard in Ontario is $17.95 an hour, according to Job Bank (reference period 2023-2024, updated 19 November 2025). The range Job Bank publishes runs from $17.95 to $25.00 an hour. Pay varies by region, employer and experience.

What is the job outlook for a crossing guard in Ontario?

Job Bank rates the employment outlook for this work in Ontario as moderate for 2025-2027 (updated 10 December 2025). Employment growth will lead to a few new positions. Several positions will become available due to retirements. There are a small number of unemployed workers with recent experience in this occupation. High employee turnover in this occupation could lead to additional employment opportunities. A lower rating means more competition for each opening, not that no one is hiring.

What do you need to become a crossing guard in Ontario?

Job Bank says this work usually needs a short demonstration, no formal education. The usual route in Ontario, in order: No licence is required; Apply to your municipality; Student monitor roles come through the school board.

How many people work as a crossing guard in Ontario, and how many are women?

Job Bank counts about 9,350 people working in this job in Ontario. 84% of them are women, compared with 48% across all jobs. That describes who does the work today, not who can.

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Wages and training requirements change. Every figure on this page is linked to the body that publishes it, and the review date above says when we last checked. If you find something out of date, tell us and we will fix it.