Occupational Employment and Wages, 2002

33-9032 Security Guards

Guard, patrol, or monitor premises to prevent theft, violence, or infractions of rules.

National estimates for this occupation
Industry profile for this occupation
State profile for this occupation
Metropolitan area 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)
977,650 0.8 % $10.13 $21,060 0.3 %

Percentile wage estimates for this occupation:

Percentile 10% 25% 50%
(Median)
75% 90%
Hourly Wage $6.61 $7.65 $9.20 $11.50 $15.16
Annual Wage (2) $13,740 $15,910 $19,140 $23,920 $31,540

Industry profile for this occupation: Top

Industries with the highest levels of employment in this occupation:

Industry Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Employment rank Wage rank
Investigation and security services 546,550 $9.13 $19,000 1 223
General medical and surgical hospitals 32,550 $12.11 $25,190 2 95
Elementary and secondary schools 30,600 $12.15 $25,260 3 92
Traveler accommodation 28,740 $11.04 $22,950 4 149
Local government (OES designation) 24,320 $11.55 $24,020 5 122

Top paying industries for this occupation:

Industry Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Employment rank Wage rank
Natural gas distribution 240 $23.47 $48,830 127 1
Couriers 210 $21.24 $44,170 139 2
Power generation and supply 2,040 $18.89 $39,300 38 3
Advertising and related services 90 $17.73 $36,870 187 4
Railroad rolling stock manufacturing 130 $17.58 $36,570 172 5

State profile for this occupation: Top

States with the highest concentration of workers in this occupation:

State Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of State employment Wage rank within State
District of Columbia 11,120 $12.21 $25,400 1.869% 348
Hawaii 9,580 $10.08 $20,970 1.740% 443
Nevada 15,120 $10.56 $21,960 1.431% 504
New York 97,170 $10.68 $22,210 1.172% 605
New Jersey 37,900 $10.83 $22,530 0.983% 594

Top paying States for this occupation:

State Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of State employment Wage rank within State
Alaska 2,100 $13.47 $28,010 0.733% 355
District of Columbia 11,120 $12.21 $25,400 1.869% 348
Maryland 22,600 $12.00 $24,970 0.930% 503
Washington 14,600 $11.49 $23,900 0.569% 567
Utah 5,820 $11.23 $23,360 0.557% 469

Metropolitan area profile for this occupation: Top

Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of workers in this occupation:

MSA Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of MSA employment
Atlantic-Cape May, NJ PMSA 3,780 $10.65 $22,150 2.058%
Honolulu, HI MSA 7,670 $9.88 $20,540 1.907%
New York, NY PMSA 66,600 $10.67 $22,200 1.668%
Miami, FL PMSA 16,290 $8.53 $17,750 1.644%
El Paso, TX MSA 4,060 $8.27 $17,200 1.632%

Top paying Metropolitan areas for this occupation:

MSA Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of MSA employment
Richland-Kennewick-Pasco, WA MSA 290 $20.09 $41,790 0.365%
Trenton, NJ PMSA 2,350 $13.57 $28,230 1.132%
Utica-Rome, NY MSA 1,080 $13.25 $27,570 0.843%
Newburgh, NY-PA PMSA 1,160 $12.99 $27,020 0.850%
Cumberland, MD-WV MSA 230 $12.86 $26,740 0.559%

About 2002 National, State, and Metropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

To see profiles of other occupations, select from the major groups below:

These estimates are calculated with data collected from employers in all industry sectors in metropolitan and non-metropolitan areas in every State and the District of Columbia. The top five employment and wage figures are provided above. The complete list is available in the downloadable Excel files(XLS).

Percentile wage estimates show the percentage of workers in an occupation that earn less than a given wage and the percentage that earn more. The median wage is the 50th percentile wage estimate—50 percent of workers earn less than the median and 50 percent of workers earn more than the median. More about percentile wages.


(1) Data for detailed occupations does not sum to the totals because the totals include data for occupations not shown separately. Estimates do not include self-employed workers.

(2) Annual wages have been calculated by multiplying the hourly mean wage by a "year-round, full-time" hours figure of 2,080 hours; for those occupations where there is not an hourly mean wage published, the annual wage has been directly calculated from the reported survey data.

(3) The relative standard error (RSE) is a measure of the reliability of a survey statistic. The smaller the relative standard error, the more precise the estimate.

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2002 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

2002 Metropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

2002 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

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Download 2002 Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates in Zipped Excel files

Technical notes

 

Last Modified Date: November 26, 2003