Pay by state · 54 areas

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 West Virginia at $28,800 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). The national median is $38,020. The table below covers all 50 states, DC, U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam and Puerto Rico, with a cost-of-living adjusted column.

Highest median: $64,210District of Columbia
National median: $38,020BLS OEWS, May 2025
Lowest median: $28,800West Virginia
Areas reporting: 54of 54 OEWS areas

Top and bottom

Highest- and lowest-paying states for security guards

Ranked on the state median among the 50 states and DC. Territories are in the full table but not ranked here.

Highest median pay

1District of Columbia$64,210
2Alaska$47,480
3Washington$47,100
4Vermont$45,550
5Oregon$45,500

Lowest median pay

1West Virginia$28,800
2Mississippi$29,180
3Louisiana$32,240
4Alabama$33,720
5Georgia$34,980

All states

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	DCDistrict of Columbia	$64,210	$45,510	$74,200	15,880	$58,425
2	AKAlaska	$47,480	$44,370	$60,400	2,100	$46,386
3	WAWashington	$47,100	$42,030	$56,990	25,800	$44,013
4	VTVermont	$45,550	$38,560	$61,730	930	$46,500
5	OROregon	$45,500	$39,680	$48,420	12,200	$44,020
6	NHNew Hampshire	$45,200	$38,000	$55,360	2,450	$43,393
7	COColorado	$45,150	$37,920	$47,580	16,890	$43,813
8	MAMassachusetts	$44,670	$37,720	$45,760	23,930	$42,238
9	NYNew York	$44,240	$37,210	$51,850	134,700	$40,993
10	VAVirginia	$43,640	$35,990	$54,850	34,870	$43,163
11	MNMinnesota	$43,380	$37,020	$46,110	14,440	$43,987
12	NMNew Mexico	$43,320	$35,570	$53,530	8,410	$46,979
13	CACalifornia	$43,240	$37,180	$46,760	199,480	$39,053
14	HIHawaii	$42,820	$37,140	$46,160	10,160	$38,945
15	UTUtah	$42,700	$36,410	$45,640	7,310	$43,191
16	MOMissouri	$40,390	$36,040	$48,020	18,630	$44,474
17	CTConnecticut	$39,920	$36,100	$47,510	12,100	$38,529
18	NENebraska	$39,840	$37,150	$47,400	4,700	$44,216
19	ILIllinois	$39,490	$37,060	$46,360	53,830	$39,507
20	NDNorth Dakota	$39,310	$34,960	$45,550	1,310	$44,189
21	WYWyoming	$39,200	$35,530	$48,010	1,130	$42,291
22	MEMaine	$39,100	$34,760	$45,360	1,930	$40,289
23	NJNew Jersey	$38,880	$34,770	$48,120	41,540	$35,734
24	MTMontana	$38,480	$35,260	$46,300	1,610	$40,657
25	IDIdaho	$38,300	$34,430	$45,930	3,750	$40,107
26	AZArizona	$38,290	$35,670	$44,010	29,820	$38,033
27	MDMaryland	$38,220	$35,700	$46,750	27,670	$36,414
28	WIWisconsin	$37,440	$35,030	$46,210	12,030	$39,790
29	NVNevada	$37,310	$34,610	$44,600	26,680	$37,318
30	SDSouth Dakota	$37,150	$32,190	$45,190	1,460	$41,937
31	IAIowa	$37,080	$34,480	$45,590	6,890	$42,251
32	KSKansas	$37,080	$31,930	$44,880	7,150	$41,169
33	MIMichigan	$37,080	$34,230	$46,480	25,240	$38,538
34	PAPennsylvania	$37,050	$34,570	$44,300	43,610	$37,972
35	RIRhode Island	$36,940	$34,370	$44,510	3,160	$36,117
36	INIndiana	$36,490	$31,240	$44,440	19,930	$39,098
37	DEDelaware	$36,360	$36,000	$44,450	3,430	$36,430
38	OKOklahoma	$36,270	$30,980	$44,670	12,210	$41,290
39	TNTennessee	$36,000	$30,850	$40,620	27,690	$39,186
40	TXTexas	$35,980	$29,290	$43,630	106,210	$37,071
41	FLFlorida	$35,900	$32,340	$39,510	95,370	$34,715
42	ARArkansas	$35,770	$29,750	$41,210	6,390	$41,145
43	OHOhio	$35,770	$31,140	$44,500	34,450	$38,556
44	SCSouth Carolina	$35,460	$30,130	$38,220	16,610	$37,824
45	KYKentucky	$35,420	$31,440	$40,370	13,580	$39,286
46	NCNorth Carolina	$35,010	$30,640	$43,610	29,830	$37,116
47	GAGeorgia	$34,980	$30,920	$39,060	36,210	$36,327
48	ALAlabama	$33,720	$28,060	$37,420	15,210	$37,963
49	LALouisiana	$32,240	$29,430	$38,310	17,210	$36,550
50	VIU.S. Virgin Islands	$31,990	$23,130	$40,460	1,030	N/A
51	MSMississippi	$29,180	$26,940	$35,430	10,160	$33,558
52	WVWest Virginia	$28,800	$20,800	$35,990	5,200	$32,180
53	GUGuam	$22,090	$19,560	$27,780	800	N/A
54	PRPuerto Rico	$21,840	$21,840	$21,840	26,100	N/A

Method

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, the adjustment does not change the leader: District of Columbia is first on raw pay and still first 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.

Questions

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?

Among the 50 states and DC, West Virginia reports the lowest median for security guards at $28,800 a year, $35,410 below the highest-paying state (BLS OEWS, May 2025). Among the territories, U.S. Virgin Islands reports $31,990, Guam reports $22,090 and Puerto Rico reports $21,840.

Is the highest-paying state the best for security guards after cost of living?

Yes. District of Columbia stays first after dividing each state median by its BEA Regional Price Parity, at $58,425 in national-average dollars from a raw $64,210. BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024; the adjustment is NueCareer's calculation.

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