How Much Do Security Guards Make in 2021 (including Starting Salary)

Stan T.Career, SalaryLeave a Comment

Annual Salary, Salary Range, and Highest Paying States and Industries

Security Guards

Security Guards guard, patrol, or monitor premises to prevent theft, violence, or infractions of rules. May operate x-ray and metal detector equipment.

Salary
$34360
Becoming One
Easy
Education
No degree required
Job Satisfaction
Low
Job Growth

Personality
Interest Match



Table of contents
  1. Average salary
  2. Starting salary
  3. Salary rank
  4. Salary range
  5. Highest paying states
  6. Highest paying industries

Average salary

Annual salary
$34360 per year
Hourly wage
$17 per hour

Starting salary

Entry-level annual salary
$21,930 to $26,200 per year
Entry-level hourly wage
$11 to $13 per hour

Entry-level Security Guards with little to no experience can expect to make anywhere between $21,930 to $26,200 per year or $11 to $13 per hour. Similar to any other job, their salary will increase as they gain experience.

Salary rank

Salary rank
D

We wanted to make it easy for our readers to compare the salary of Security Guards to all the other careers out there. So we created Salary Rank. We compared the salary of all careers then we gave them a rank of A, B, C, or D depending on where their average salary sit in comparison to other careers.

Salary range

Level Hourly Annual
Highest (Top 10%) $25 $51,600
Senior (Top 25%) $19 $39,220
Middle (Mid 50%) $15 $31,050
Junior (Bottom 25%) $13 $26,200
No experience (Bottom 10%) $11 $21,930

Highest paying states

State Hourly Annual
DC $24 $49,130
AK $21 $43,470
WA $20 $41,490
NY $19 $39,110
MN $19 $38,800
MO $19 $38,770
VA $19 $38,570
MD $18 $37,930
MA $18 $37,830
UT $18 $36,850

Another simple way to increase your salary as a Security Guard is to move to a higher paying state. However moving to a higher paying state like DC doesn’t guarantee that you will make more because the expenses at DC might be much higher than where you are currently living at right now.

According to BLS, the highest paid Security Guards are in the states of DC, AK, WA, NY and MN.

Highest paying industries

Salary by industry Annual Hourly
Architectural, Engineering, and Related Services $59150 $28.44
Navigational, Measuring, Electromedical, and Control Instruments Manufacturing $56500 $27.16
Aerospace Product and Parts Manufacturing $55650 $26.76
Fabricated Metal Product Manufacturing $55440 $26.66
Agencies, Brokerages, and Other Insurance Related Activities $54640 $26.27
Electric Power Generation, Transmission and Distribution $53400 $25.67
Legal Services $53150 $25.55
Monetary Authorities-Central Bank $51340 $24.69
Computer Systems Design and Related Services $50730 $24.39
Scientific Research and Development Services $50680 $24.37
Remediation and Other Waste Management Services $50150 $24.11
Converted Paper Product Manufacturing $49860 $23.97
Fabricated Metal Product Manufacturing $49210 $23.66
Other Personal Services $46860 $22.53
Commercial and Service Industry Machinery Manufacturing $46580 $22.40
Credit Intermediation and Related Activities $46370 $22.29
Motion Picture and Video Industries $45800 $22.02
Ship and Boat Building $45230 $21.74
Railroad Rolling Stock Manufacturing $44700 $21.49
Couriers and Express Delivery Services $44690 $21.48
Building Equipment Contractors $44500 $21.40
Federal Executive Branch $44340 $21.32
Metal Ore Mining $44110 $21.21
Death Care Services $44030 $21.17
Securities, Commodity Contracts, and Other Financial Investments and Related Activities $43980 $21.14
Data Processing, Hosting, and Related Services $43950 $21.13
Food and Beverage Stores $43740 $21.03
Electronic Shopping and Mail-Order Houses $43190 $20.77
Inland Water Transportation $43150 $20.75
Insurance Carriers $43140 $20.74

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