Pay · 33-9032
Security guards earn $38,020 a year at the midpoint
Starting pay is close to the middle here: the 25th percentile is $35,210 against a median of $38,020, so the first years are not a long climb.
National figures for security guards, 33-9032, from the 2025 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.
- Read the spread, not the middle. The median is the midpoint across everyone in the occupation, most of them years into the work. A beginner starts nearer the 10th to 25th percentile, which is why the spread is published alongside it.
- What the figure counts. The figure counts base pay plus tips, commissions and production bonuses. It leaves out the self-employed, unpaid family workers, private household workers, and the value of benefits or profit sharing.
- The annual figure is arithmetic. For hourly occupations the annual figure is the hourly rate times 2080 hours. It is a calculation, not observed earnings: part time is the norm in retail and food service.
- Where you live moves it more than your resume does. National figures. A state or metro area can sit far from the national number, and that gap is usually larger than any difference a resume makes.
- Not in these numbers. Growth and annual openings are not in this dataset. They come from the separate Employment Projections tables, where an opening is a modelled ten year average and not a posted vacancy.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, 2025. Retrieved through the BLS Public Data API on 2026-08-13. bls.gov/oes “BLS.gov cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from BLS.gov.”
Security guard earnings, from starting pay to the highest 10%
Pick the job, where you work and how long you have done it. The range comes from the published wage percentiles for that job.
The survey has no complete figures for that job — pick the closest title from the list.
An estimate from survey percentiles, not an offer. Employer, industry, shift and credentials move pay within and beyond this range. Full wage page for this job →
Resumes for security guards
Name the job in the builder and the duties, skills and credentials it is screened on are written in for you.
- Locked doors and gates of entrances and exits to secure buildings.
- Patrolled industrial or commercial premises to prevent and detect signs of intrusion and ensure security of doors, windows, and gates.
- Responded to medical emergencies by administering basic first aid or by obtaining assistance from paramedics.
This page includes information from the O*NET 31.0 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. The owner of tiersi.com has modified all or some of this information. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications.
Ranked 721 of 788 by median pay
Better paid than 9% of the occupations in the survey.
- 719 Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education $38,140
- 720 Crossing Guards and Flaggers $38,100
- 721 Security guards $38,020
- 722 Cutters and Trimmers, Hand $38,020
- 723 Receptionists and information clerks $38,010
Security guard wages across the states
The 49 states where the most people do this work, of 51 with a published figure: their medians range by 2.23 times. Figures are the 2025 survey.
| State | Median a year | Where most start | 10th to 90th | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| District of Columbia | $64,210 | $36,600 | $36,600 — $78,910 | 15,880 |
| Alaska | $47,480 | $36,520 | $36,520 — $76,350 | 2,100 |
| Washington | $47,100 | $37,720 | $37,720 — $68,390 | 25,800 |
| Oregon | $45,500 | $36,500 | $36,500 — $58,510 | 12,200 |
| New Hampshire | $45,200 | $36,500 | $36,500 — $62,400 | 2,450 |
| Colorado | $45,150 | $36,160 | $36,160 — $57,360 | 16,890 |
| Massachusetts | $44,670 | $34,830 | $34,830 — $55,800 | 23,930 |
| New York | $44,240 | $35,650 | $35,650 — $60,580 | 134,700 |
| Virginia | $43,640 | $30,990 | $30,990 — $73,060 | 34,870 |
| Minnesota | $43,380 | $33,760 | $33,760 — $65,090 | 14,440 |
| New Mexico | $43,320 | $30,220 | $30,220 — $64,840 | 8,410 |
| California | $43,240 | $36,010 | $36,010 — $57,880 | 199,480 |
| Hawaii | $42,820 | $35,140 | $35,140 — $58,840 | 10,160 |
| Utah | $42,700 | $31,270 | $31,270 — $56,620 | 7,310 |
| Missouri | $40,390 | $31,040 | $31,040 — $68,860 | 18,630 |
| Connecticut | $39,920 | $34,950 | $34,950 — $59,220 | 12,100 |
| Nebraska | $39,840 | $34,020 | $34,020 — $70,310 | 4,700 |
| Illinois | $39,490 | $35,520 | $35,520 — $63,950 | 53,830 |
| North Dakota | $39,310 | $31,150 | $31,150 — $64,390 | 1,310 |
| Maine | $39,100 | $31,470 | $31,470 — $51,530 | 1,930 |
| New Jersey | $38,880 | $32,230 | $32,230 — $60,420 | 41,540 |
| Montana | $38,480 | $28,800 | $28,800 — $57,310 | 1,610 |
| Idaho | $38,300 | $32,030 | $32,030 — $78,680 | 3,750 |
| Arizona | $38,290 | $31,910 | $31,910 — $52,450 | 29,820 |
| Maryland | $38,220 | $33,700 | $33,700 — $64,320 | 27,670 |
| Wisconsin | $37,440 | $30,410 | $30,410 — $54,680 | 12,030 |
| Nevada | $37,310 | $29,140 | $29,140 — $48,340 | 26,680 |
| South Dakota | $37,150 | $30,060 | $30,060 — $59,840 | 1,460 |
| Iowa | $37,080 | $30,350 | $30,350 — $59,290 | 6,890 |
| Kansas | $37,080 | $29,590 | $29,590 — $51,890 | 7,150 |
| Michigan | $37,080 | $29,790 | $29,790 — $54,770 | 25,240 |
| Pennsylvania | $37,050 | $30,050 | $30,050 — $54,830 | 43,610 |
| Rhode Island | $36,940 | $31,200 | $31,200 — $48,520 | 3,160 |
| Indiana | $36,490 | $29,850 | $29,850 — $59,990 | 19,930 |
| Delaware | $36,360 | $32,450 | $32,450 — $73,390 | 3,430 |
| Oklahoma | $36,270 | $26,940 | $26,940 — $56,080 | 12,210 |
| Tennessee | $36,000 | $29,310 | $29,310 — $51,680 | 27,690 |
| Texas | $35,980 | $26,950 | $26,950 — $50,740 | 106,210 |
| Florida | $35,900 | $29,470 | $29,470 — $46,090 | 95,370 |
| Arkansas | $35,770 | $28,870 | $28,870 — $57,410 | 6,390 |
| Ohio | $35,770 | $29,030 | $29,030 — $55,440 | 34,450 |
| South Carolina | $35,460 | $27,420 | $27,420 — $48,850 | 16,610 |
| Kentucky | $35,420 | $28,450 | $28,450 — $50,800 | 13,580 |
| North Carolina | $35,010 | $29,260 | $29,260 — $56,020 | 29,830 |
| Georgia | $34,980 | $29,060 | $29,060 — $48,590 | 36,210 |
| Alabama | $33,720 | $23,110 | $23,110 — $45,640 | 15,210 |
| Louisiana | $32,240 | $23,660 | $23,660 — $49,040 | 17,210 |
| Mississippi | $29,180 | $21,690 | $21,690 — $42,580 | 10,160 |
| West Virginia | $28,800 | $20,800 | $20,800 — $47,370 | 5,200 |
Security guard pay rate, hourly and yearly
Starts at this job’s median. Change the rate or the hours; a full-time year is 40 hours for 52 weeks.
Examples
Resumes written for this kind of work.
Real sheets, filled in end to end — for this job and the ones beside it.
- Security Guard Resume Template Protective Service
- Gaming Surveillance Officer Resume Template Protective Service
- Private Investigator Resume Template Protective Service
- Animal Control Officer Resume Template Protective Service
- Crossing Guard Resume Template Protective Service
- Lifeguard Resume Template Protective Service
- Transportation Security Officer Resume Template Protective Service
- School Bus Monitor Resume Template Protective Service
- Protective Service Worker Resume Template Protective Service
- Transit Police Officer Resume Template Protective Service
- Police Officer Resume Template Protective Service
- Parking Enforcement Officer Resume Template Protective Service
Questions people ask
What is a security guard’s yearly income?
A security guard makes a median of $38,020 a year (2025 survey). The middle half earn between $35,210 and $46,200.
What is a security guard’s hourly pay rate?
The median pay rate is $18.28 an hour; the average is $42,470 a year.
What is the starting pay for a security guard?
Starting pay is usually near the 25th percentile, $35,210 a year, and sometimes as low as the 10th, $30,210.
Which state pays security guards the most?
District of Columbia, with a median of $64,210 a year.
How many people work as security guards?
About 1,283,470 in the United States — number 721 of 788 occupations by median pay.
Work that pays about the same
Median pay within $160 of what security guards earn — $38,020 a year — but not always the same spread.
- $10 less Receptionists and information clerks $38,010median a year 10th percentile: $28,760 90th percentile: $49,950
- $120 more Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education $38,140median a year 10th percentile: $28,990 90th percentile: $61,390
- $160 more Textile Bleaching and Dyeing Machine Operators and Tenders $38,180median a year 10th percentile: $30,300 90th percentile: $48,100