Significance Staphylococcus aureus is an opportunistic pathogen of the normal human flora. It is among the most frequent causes of cutaneous abscesses, leading to life-threatening invasive infection. Incomplete understanding of host defenses against S. aureus skin or invasive infection has hindered development of effective vaccines to address these issues. NDV-3 is a unique cross-kingdom vaccine targeting S. aureus and Candida albicans . The present studies offer important new evidence: ( i ) NDV-3 protects against methicillin-resistant S. aureus skin and skin structure infection largely through IL-22– and IL-17A–mediated host defense peptide and neutrophil induction, ( ii ) vaccine-mediated IL-22 and IL-17A play distinct roles in protection against cutaneous versus invasive infection, and ( iii ) NDV-3 vaccine efficacy in this model involves a coordinated induction of innate and adaptive immunity. Increasing rates of life-threatening infections and decreasing susceptibility to antibiotics urge development of an effective vaccine targeting Staphylococcus aureus . This study evaluated the efficacy and immunologic mechanisms of a vaccine containing a recombinant glycoprotein antigen (NDV-3) in mouse skin and skin structure infection (SSSI) due to methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA). Compared with adjuvant alone, NDV-3 reduced abscess progression, severity, and MRSA density in skin, as well as hematogenous dissemination to kidney. NDV-3 induced increases in CD3+ T-cell and neutrophil infiltration and IL-17A, IL-22, and host defense peptide expression in local settings of SSSI abscesses. Vaccine induction of IL-22 was necessary for protective mitigation of cutaneous infection. By comparison, protection against hematogenous dissemination required the induction of IL-17A and IL-22 by NDV-3. These findings demonstrate that NDV-3 protective efficacy against MRSA in SSSI involves a robust and complementary response integrating innate and adaptive immune mechanisms. These results support further evaluation of the NDV-3 vaccine to address disease due to S. aureus in humans.