The best estimate for the pay of security guards in the USA is provided by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics or USBLS. This agency of the US Department of Labor surveys salaries around the nation and issues regular reports on pay in various professions.
The average yearly salary for security guards in the entire United States was $26,870 in May, 2010, according to the most recent USBLS figures. This translated into an hourly wage of $12.92 an hour. This level of pay was below the national average of $21.95 hour or $44,410 a year.
The USBLS considers Security Guards to be in its “Protective Service” category of occupations. This category also includes police officers, prison guards, corrections officers, firefighters and other professionals that protect the public. The average salary in Protective Services was $42,400 a year or $20.43 an hour.
Security Guard Salaries around the Nation
Security guard salaries did vary significantly in different parts of the country. Persons interested in this line of work might consider moving to Washington D.C. or Washington State because the pay in those regions is higher.
The region with the highest pay was the nation’s capitol, the District of Columbia (Washington D.C.). The average hourly wage for a security guard there was $18.21 an hour in May 2010. The average yearly salary for a security guard in Washington D.C. in 2010 was $37,870. Security guards in the area around Washington, D.C., also had a fairly good rate of pay. Their average salary was $36,960 a year and their average hourly wage of $17.77 an hour.
The next highest rate of pay for security guards was found in Washington State. According to the USBLS, security guards in Washington State made an average salary of $37,190 a year and an hourly wage of $17.88 an hour. The big city with the highest salaries for security guards in the US was Seattle, the USBLS reports that the average Seattle security guard makes $20.36 an hour or $42,350 a year.
Salaries for security guards were also high in Alaska where the average guard made $17.05 an hour or $35,470 a year. Opportunities are limited in Alaska – the USBLS reported that there were only 2,180 security guards in that state in 2010.
The lowest salaries for security guards in a big city were found in Houston, Texas. The average Houston security guard made $10.57 an hour or $21,990 a year in 2010. Wages for security personnel in Miami were also very low, the average salary there was $23,710 a year and the average hourly wage was $11.40 an hour.
Wages for security guards were a little higher in the nation’s two largest cities: New York and Los Angeles. The average salary in New York was $13.76 an hour and $28,360 a year. The average salary in Los Angeles was $12.48 an hour and $25,960 a year.
The USBLS did find that security guards in some rural areas and smaller cities did have far higher salaries. In Los Alamos County, New Mexico, the average security guard made $26.82 an hour or $55,780 a year. This makes Los Alamos, a small town north of Santa Fe, the best place to work as a security guard. Security guards in Eastern Connecticut also brought home a fairly good salary of $19.68 an hour or $40,940 a year.
Security Guard Salaries in Different Industries
The kind of organization that security guards worked for did make a big difference in the salaries earned according to USBLS figures.
Utility and energy companies seemed to pay higher than average salaries. Guards who that protected electric power plants made an average salary of $51,570 a year or $24.80 an hour.
Individuals that protected hospitals and other medical facilities earned slightly more. Their average salary was $14.91 an hour or $31,010 a year. Those that worked in public schools also made a slightly higher wage of $14.78 an hour or $30,740 a year.
The biggest employers of security guards, private security firms which the USBLS classifies as “Investigation and Security Services,” paid a much lower rate. The average employee in that field earned $12.02 an hour or $25,010 a year.