Florida · BLS May 2025

Security Guard Salary in Florida

The Bureau of Labor Statistics counted 95,370 security guards working in Florida. Here is what they are paid, what the median leaves after federal and FICA tax, and what that is worth against local prices.

Median pay · Florida

$35,900A year, or $17.26 an hour.
Take-home a month$2,585After federal and FICA tax at 13.6%
Worth at national prices$34,715Prices here sit at 103.4 against 100
Against the nation5.6% belowNational median $38,020
What security guards earn in Florida, May 2025
PercentileAnnualHourly
10th percentileEntry and lowest-paid$29,470$14.17
25th percentile$32,340$15.55
MedianHalf earn more, half less$35,900$17.26
75th percentile$39,510$19.00
90th percentileMost experienced and senior$46,090$22.16
MeanThe average, pulled up by the top$37,610$18.08
How we got this
  1. Median wage in FloridaBLS OEWS May 2025. Half of security guards earned more than this, half less.$35,900
  2. Median hourly wagePublished separately by BLS, not divided out of the annual figure.$17.26
  3. Take-home after federal and FICA tax$2,585 a month at an effective rate of 13.6%.$31,026 a year
  4. Worth at national average pricesPrices in Florida sit at 103.4 against a national 100 (BEA, 2024).$34,715
  5. Against the national medianThe national median is $38,020.5.6% below
  6. Jobs countedA concentration of 1.16 against the nation's 1.00.95,370
What we assumed
  • Wages are BLS OEWS survey estimates for May 2025, not job postings or offers.
  • OEWS surveys wage and salary workers. The self-employed and business owners are outside it.
  • Take-home assumes one 2026 filer, filing single, taking the standard deduction, with no dependents, pre-tax retirement contributions or local income tax.
  • Regional price parities compare price levels between places in one year. They are not inflation, and they do not adjust for what a household actually buys.
Technical details

Method occupation-wage-v1Data bls-oews-2025-05-v1, us-tax-2026-v1, bea-rpp-2024-v1, census-acs5-2024-v1

What lands in the bank

A $35,900 salary in Florida, for one single filer taking the standard deduction in 2026.

  • Federal income tax. $2,128 a year.
  • State income tax. Florida levies no state income tax on wages.
  • Social Security and Medicare. $2,746 a year.
  • Left over. $31,026 a year, $2,585 a month, an effective rate of 13.6%.

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What $35,900 is worth in Florida

Prices in Florida sit at 103.4 against a national average of 100, so $35,900 earned here buys what $34,715 buys at national average prices.

  • Rents. 122.1 against 100, the component that moves most between states.
  • Against local households. The median household in Florida takes in $74,568, so this occupation's median is 0.48 times that, on one income.
  • How common the job is here. 16% more concentrated in Florida than in the country as a whole.

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Common questions

Security Guard pay in Florida, answered

How much does a security guard make in Florida?

The median wage for security guards in Florida is $35,900 a year, or $17.26 an hour.

Half earn more than that and half earn less. The figure comes from the Bureau of Labor Statistics occupational wage survey for May 2025.

What is the take-home pay for a security guard in Florida?

On the median wage of $35,900, one filer taking the standard deduction keeps about $31,026 a year, or roughly $2,585 a month.

That is after federal and FICA tax, an effective rate of 13.6%.

Florida levies no state income tax on wages, so nothing is withheld for it.

Do security guards earn more in Florida than in the rest of the country?

No. The median in Florida is 5.6% below the national median of $38,020.

Nominal pay is only half the comparison: prices in Florida sit at 103.4 against a national 100, so the gap in what the money buys is different from the gap in the salary.

Is $35,900 a good salary in Florida?

It is 0.48 times the median household income of $74,568. A household often has more than one earner, so a single salary at this level goes further than the ratio alone suggests.

Prices in Florida run at 103.4 against a national average of 100, with rents at 122.1, so $35,900 here buys about what $34,715 buys at national average prices.

What do the highest-paid security guards earn in Florida?

The top tenth earn $46,090 a year or more, against $29,470 at the bottom tenth.

Experience, specialism, employer and the part of Florida someone works in all move a wage inside that range; the survey reports the spread, not the reason for it.

How many security guards are there in Florida?

The survey counted 95,370 of these jobs in Florida for May 2025.

That makes the occupation 16% more concentrated here than in the country as a whole. It counts wage and salary jobs, so the self-employed are outside it.

Sources

Where this data comes from