Security Guard Salary by State (2026)

Name: Security Guard annual wages by US state, May 2025
Creator: NueCareer
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Security Guards earn the most in District of Columbia at $64,210 a year and the least in Puerto Rico at $21,840 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). The national median is $38,020. All 54 states and territories with reported data are ranked below, with a cost-of-living adjusted column.

Highest median: $64,210
National median: $38,020
Lowest median: $21,840
States reporting: 54

Top 5 states for Security Guards

1. District of Columbia$64,210 median · $58,425 adjusted · 15,880 employed
2. Alaska$47,480 median · $46,386 adjusted · 2,100 employed
3. Washington$47,100 median · $44,013 adjusted · 25,800 employed
4. Vermont$45,550 median · $46,500 adjusted · 930 employed
5. Oregon$45,500 median · $44,020 adjusted · 12,200 employed

Lowest-paying states for Security Guards

54. Puerto Rico$21,840 median · no price parity · 26,100 employed
53. Guam$22,090 median · no price parity · 800 employed
52. West Virginia$28,800 median · $32,180 adjusted · 5,200 employed
51. Mississippi$29,180 median · $33,558 adjusted · 10,160 employed
50. U.S. Virgin Islands$31,990 median · no price parity · 1,030 employed

Security Guard salary in every state

Sort by any column. Employment is the number of security guards OEWS estimates in that state; blank cells are estimates BLS suppressed because the sample was too small.

Annual wages by state, sortable by median, quartiles, employment and cost-of-living adjusted median
#
1	District of Columbia	$64,210	$45,510	$74,200	15,880	$58,425
2	Alaska	$47,480	$44,370	$60,400	2,100	$46,386
3	Washington	$47,100	$42,030	$56,990	25,800	$44,013
4	Vermont	$45,550	$38,560	$61,730	930	$46,500
5	Oregon	$45,500	$39,680	$48,420	12,200	$44,020
6	New Hampshire	$45,200	$38,000	$55,360	2,450	$43,393
7	Colorado	$45,150	$37,920	$47,580	16,890	$43,813
8	Massachusetts	$44,670	$37,720	$45,760	23,930	$42,238
9	New York	$44,240	$37,210	$51,850	134,700	$40,993
10	Virginia	$43,640	$35,990	$54,850	34,870	$43,163
11	Minnesota	$43,380	$37,020	$46,110	14,440	$43,987
12	New Mexico	$43,320	$35,570	$53,530	8,410	$46,979
13	California	$43,240	$37,180	$46,760	199,480	$39,053
14	Hawaii	$42,820	$37,140	$46,160	10,160	$38,945
15	Utah	$42,700	$36,410	$45,640	7,310	$43,191
16	Missouri	$40,390	$36,040	$48,020	18,630	$44,474
17	Connecticut	$39,920	$36,100	$47,510	12,100	$38,529
18	Nebraska	$39,840	$37,150	$47,400	4,700	$44,216
19	Illinois	$39,490	$37,060	$46,360	53,830	$39,507
20	North Dakota	$39,310	$34,960	$45,550	1,310	$44,189
21	Wyoming	$39,200	$35,530	$48,010	1,130	$42,291
22	Maine	$39,100	$34,760	$45,360	1,930	$40,289
23	New Jersey	$38,880	$34,770	$48,120	41,540	$35,734
24	Montana	$38,480	$35,260	$46,300	1,610	$40,657
25	Idaho	$38,300	$34,430	$45,930	3,750	$40,107
26	Arizona	$38,290	$35,670	$44,010	29,820	$38,033
27	Maryland	$38,220	$35,700	$46,750	27,670	$36,414
28	Wisconsin	$37,440	$35,030	$46,210	12,030	$39,790
29	Nevada	$37,310	$34,610	$44,600	26,680	$37,318
30	South Dakota	$37,150	$32,190	$45,190	1,460	$41,937
31	Iowa	$37,080	$34,480	$45,590	6,890	$42,251
32	Kansas	$37,080	$31,930	$44,880	7,150	$41,169
33	Michigan	$37,080	$34,230	$46,480	25,240	$38,538
34	Pennsylvania	$37,050	$34,570	$44,300	43,610	$37,972
35	Rhode Island	$36,940	$34,370	$44,510	3,160	$36,117
36	Indiana	$36,490	$31,240	$44,440	19,930	$39,098
37	Delaware	$36,360	$36,000	$44,450	3,430	$36,430
38	Oklahoma	$36,270	$30,980	$44,670	12,210	$41,290
39	Tennessee	$36,000	$30,850	$40,620	27,690	$39,186
40	Texas	$35,980	$29,290	$43,630	106,210	$37,071
41	Florida	$35,900	$32,340	$39,510	95,370	$34,715
42	Arkansas	$35,770	$29,750	$41,210	6,390	$41,145
43	Ohio	$35,770	$31,140	$44,500	34,450	$38,556
44	South Carolina	$35,460	$30,130	$38,220	16,610	$37,824
45	Kentucky	$35,420	$31,440	$40,370	13,580	$39,286
46	North Carolina	$35,010	$30,640	$43,610	29,830	$37,116
47	Georgia	$34,980	$30,920	$39,060	36,210	$36,327
48	Alabama	$33,720	$28,060	$37,420	15,210	$37,963
49	Louisiana	$32,240	$29,430	$38,310	17,210	$36,550
50	U.S. Virgin Islands	$31,990	$23,130	$40,460	1,030	N/A
51	Mississippi	$29,180	$26,940	$35,430	10,160	$33,558
52	West Virginia	$28,800	$20,800	$35,990	5,200	$32,180
53	Guam	$22,090	$19,560	$27,780	800	N/A
54	Puerto Rico	$21,840	$21,840	$21,840	26,100	N/A

How the cost-of-living adjustment works

The adjusted column divides each state median by that state's BEA Regional Price Parity (RPP) and multiplies by 100. RPPs measure how much a fixed basket of goods, services and rents costs in one state relative to the national average, so the result restates local pay in national-average dollars.

For Security Guards, that changes the ranking: District of Columbia leads on raw pay at $64,210, while District of Columbia leads once prices are taken into account at $58,425.

Source: BEA Regional Price Parities by State, 2024 (public domain). The adjustment is NueCareer's calculation, not a BLS or BEA published statistic.

Security Guard pay by state: FAQ

Which state pays Security Guards the most?

District of Columbia reports the highest median wage for Security Guards at $64,210 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025), followed by Alaska ($47,480) and Washington ($47,100).

Which state pays Security Guards the least?

Puerto Rico reports the lowest median for Security Guards at $21,840 a year, $42,370 below the highest-paying state (BLS OEWS, May 2025).

Where do Security Guards earn the most after cost of living?

Dividing each state median by that state's BEA Regional Price Parity puts District of Columbia first at $58,425 in national-average dollars, from a raw median of $64,210. BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024.

← Back to the full Security Guard career profile for outlook, skills and how to become one