Security Guards · SOC 33-9032

Highest-Paying Metro Areas for Security Guardss

Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025U.S. metropolitan areas

Metro areas ranked by published median annual wage for security guards. Areas where BLS suppressed the median are not ranked (1 such areas are excluded here). Higher medians often track higher living costs — this is a pay comparison, not a ranking of where the job is “best”.

Top 25 of 389 metro areas

Security Guards: metro areas with the highest published median annual wages, May 2025
#	Metro area	Median annual	Employment	Per 1,000 jobs
1	Idaho Falls, ID	$78,680	570	7.0
2	Fairbanks-College, AK	$60,400	130	3.6
3	Kennewick-Richland, WA	$54,670	500	3.9
4	Burlington-South Burlington, VT	$51,170	410	3.4
5	Ithaca, NY	$49,540	240	5.0
6	Lynchburg, VA	$49,480	570	5.9
7	Hinesville, GA	$48,780	120	5.9
8	Walla Walla, WA	$48,770	60	2.4
9	Kahului-Wailuku, HI	$48,690	780	10.6
10	Rochester, MN	$47,790	520	4.2
11	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA	$47,490	17,030	8.2
12	Napa, CA	$47,240	760	9.7
13	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV	$46,830	40,950	13.1
14	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA	$46,820	9,110	7.5
15	Anchorage, AK	$46,720	1,090	6.2
16	Boulder, CO	$46,450	480	2.5
17	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA	$46,250	11,800	10.4
18	Salem, OR	$46,150	1,030	5.5
19	Mount Vernon-Anacortes, WA	$46,090	220	4.3
20	Corvallis, OR	$45,980	160	4.2
21	San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA	$45,730	26,830	11.3
22	Bremerton-Silverdale-Port Orchard, WA	$45,540	590	6.3
23	Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO	$45,420	10,910	6.8
24	Longview-Kelso, WA	$45,370	140	3.3
25	Racine-Mount Pleasant, WI	$45,270	260	3.4

Full state and metro tables, the national distribution, and the pay map are on the Security Guards overview.

About this data. Estimates are from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program, May 2025 release, retrieved from bls.gov/oes/tables.htm on July 24, 2026. OEWS estimates describe metropolitan/nonmetropolitan areas and states — not city limits — and are not designed for year-over-year comparisons. See BLS methodology, our plain-English methodology, and sources. CitySalaryData is independent and not affiliated with BLS.