Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2019

33-9032 Security Guards

Guard, patrol, or monitor premises to prevent theft, violence, or infractions of rules. May operate x-ray and metal detector equipment. Excludes “Police Officers” (33-3050) and “Transportation Security Screeners” (33-9093).

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National estimates for this occupation
Industry profile for this occupation
Geographic profile for this occupation

National estimates for this occupation: Top

Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for this occupation:

Employment (1)	Employment RSE (3)	Mean hourly wage	Mean annual wage (2)	Wage RSE (3)
1,126,370	0.9 %	$15.88	$33,030	0.4 %

Percentile wage estimates for this occupation:

Percentile	10%	25%	50% (Median)	75%	90%
Hourly Wage	$10.17	$11.85	$14.27	$18.24	$24.19
Annual Wage (2)	$21,150	$24,650	$29,680	$37,950	$50,310

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Industry profile for this occupation: Top

Industries with the highest published employment and wages for this occupation are provided. For a list of all industries with employment in this occupation, see the Create Customized Tables function.

Industries with the highest levels of employment in this occupation:

Industry	Employment (1)	Percent of industry employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Investigation and Security Services	691,090	72.20	$15.07	$31,350
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals	38,710	0.69	$18.18	$37,800
Elementary and Secondary Schools	32,330	0.38	$17.87	$37,170
Traveler Accommodation	31,360	1.53	$16.11	$33,500
Local Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OES Designation)	25,130	0.45	$19.10	$39,720

Industries with the highest concentration of employment in this occupation:

Industry	Employment (1)	Percent of industry employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Investigation and Security Services	691,090	72.20	$15.07	$31,350
Promoters of Performing Arts, Sports, and Similar Events	11,420	7.27	$15.79	$32,850
Spectator Sports	7,960	5.42	$15.96	$33,200
Monetary Authorities-Central Bank	1,000	5.26	$23.07	$47,990
Gambling Industries	11,760	5.19	$15.14	$31,490

Top paying industries for this occupation:

Industry	Employment (1)	Percent of industry employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Water, Sewage and Other Systems	(8)	(8)	$29.24	$60,820
Natural Gas Distribution	60	0.05	$28.65	$59,600
Machinery, Equipment, and Supplies Merchant Wholesalers	90	0.01	$28.22	$58,690
Architectural, Engineering, and Related Services	870	0.06	$26.84	$55,820
Navigational, Measuring, Electromedical, and Control Instruments Manufacturing	390	0.09	$26.53	$55,180

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Geographic profile for this occupation: Top

States and areas with the highest published employment, location quotients, and wages for this occupation are provided. For a list of all areas with employment in this occupation, see the Create Customized Tables function.

States with the highest employment level in this occupation:

State	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
California	162,850	9.37	1.22	$16.17	$33,640
New York	118,210	12.41	1.62	$18.03	$37,510
Texas	90,820	7.31	0.95	$14.78	$30,740
Florida	86,190	9.80	1.28	$14.01	$29,150
Illinois	46,120	7.65	1.00	$16.25	$33,800

States with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in this occupation:

State	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
District of Columbia	14,810	20.47	2.67	$21.25	$44,200
Nevada	22,310	16.02	2.09	$15.89	$33,050
Hawaii	8,930	14.05	1.83	$16.67	$34,670
New York	118,210	12.41	1.62	$18.03	$37,510
New Jersey	40,170	9.83	1.28	$15.86	$33,000

Top paying States for this occupation:

State	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
District of Columbia	14,810	20.47	2.67	$21.25	$44,200
Alaska	1,770	5.58	0.73	$20.70	$43,060
Washington	18,720	5.64	0.74	$19.73	$41,030
Missouri	17,330	6.14	0.80	$18.83	$39,160
Virginia	32,070	8.27	1.08	$18.27	$38,000

Metropolitan areas with the highest employment level in this occupation:

Metropolitan area	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA	132,220	13.69	1.79	$17.58	$36,560
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA	70,980	11.38	1.48	$15.82	$32,910
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI	43,550	9.31	1.21	$16.20	$33,690
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL	38,230	14.47	1.89	$14.15	$29,430
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV	37,910	11.92	1.55	$21.33	$44,380
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX	29,580	8.09	1.05	$14.46	$30,070
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX	27,790	9.11	1.19	$15.00	$31,190
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD	26,100	9.07	1.18	$15.09	$31,380
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA	23,440	8.54	1.11	$13.03	$27,090
San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA	21,400	8.65	1.13	$18.55	$38,580