Unarmed guards typically run $20–$35 an hour and armed guards $35–$75 — but the number on your quote is built from local wages, insurance, and coverage hours, and it varies by 50% across states. Here's how security pricing actually works in 2026, state by state, and how to avoid overpaying.
Private security is priced as an hourly bill rate — the all-in price you pay a company per guard, per hour. In 2026, that rate typically runs about $22–$35 an hour for an unarmed guard and $30–$48 for an armed guard, with event, patrol, and executive-protection work priced separately. But those ranges are only a starting point. The real number on your quote is assembled from local wages, insurance, supervision, and how many hours you need covered — which is why the same post can cost 40% more in Washington, D.C. than in Texas, and why two bids for the "same" guard can differ by 40%.
Quick answer. Unarmed: ~$22–$35/hr. Armed: ~$30–$48/hr. Round-the-clock coverage of a single post runs roughly $16,000–$25,600 a month unarmed and $22,000–$35,000 armed, depending on your local rate. High-cost metros like San Francisco, New York, Seattle, and Washington, D.C. sit at the top of every range; lower-wage states like Texas, Georgia, and Tennessee at the bottom.
What security guards cost in 2026
Here are the typical 2026 hourly bill rates a client pays a licensed security company in the US. These are industry ranges gathered across multiple providers — treat them as a sanity check, not a quote, because your actual price depends on the factors below.
| Service type | Typical bill rate (2026) |
|---|---|
| Unarmed security guard | $22–$35/hr (up to ~$40 in high-cost metros) |
| Armed security guard | $30–$48/hr |
| Mobile patrol (dedicated route) | $600–$2,500 per property, per month |
| Event security | $35–$60/guard/hr (armed at the top of the band), 4-hr minimum |
| Executive protection | $75–$150/hr, or $15,000–$35,000/mo for a full detail |
| Off-duty sworn police officer | ~$40–$100+/hr |
The single biggest split is armed versus unarmed: armed coverage generally costs 30–50% more per hour because of firearms licensing, extra training, and substantially higher insurance. For a deeper look at when that premium is worth paying, see our guide on armed vs. unarmed guards. Off-duty police are a special case — you're paying a premium for sworn arrest authority and a uniformed deterrent, which is why municipalities often set a rate floor near $40–$100+ an hour regardless of the local market.
Cost by service type, beyond staffed guards
"Security" is more than a guard on a post. If your program mixes technology, patrol, and one-off compliance coverage, here's what the rest of the catalog costs in 2026 — the services buyers most often shop alongside manned guarding.
| Service | Typical 2026 cost | How it's billed |
|---|---|---|
| Fire watch | $28–$45/guard/hr | Per guard-hour, often with a 4–8 hr minimum; short-term compliance coverage during sprinkler/alarm outages |
| Dedicated mobile patrol | $600–$2,500 per property/mo | Flat monthly rate for a set number of nightly checks; cheaper per property when routes are shared |
| Construction-site security | $8,000–$16,000/mo (single 12-hr post) | Usually an unarmed post + patrol + optional cameras; recomputes from the $22–$35 unarmed rate |
| CCTV / camera install | $1,000–$5,000 (4–10 cameras); ~$150–$500/camera | One-time equipment + labor; enterprise systems run higher |
| Remote video / alarm monitoring | $30–$200/mo | Recurring per-site monitoring fee |
| Security consulting / risk assessment | $100–$250/hr, or $2,500–$25,000 per project | Hourly for advisory work; project-based for a full assessment or master plan |
Buyer tip. Technology doesn't replace guards, but it changes the math. A $30–$200/mo remote-monitoring feed watching a construction site overnight can let you cut a second guard shift — often the fastest way to shave a five-figure monthly program without cutting real coverage.
What drives the price
Five levers explain almost every difference between quotes:
- Armed vs. unarmed. The largest single factor, for the licensing and insurance reasons above — expect a 30–50% premium per hour for an armed post.
- Guard skill and background. Officers with law-enforcement or military experience, specialized training, or a clean long tenure command more than entry-level staff.
- Coverage pattern. Overnight, weekend, and holiday shifts carry premiums (commonly 1.25–1.5×, and often 2× on holidays), and continuous 24/7 posts require multiple guards in rotation. See the worked premium below.
- Contract length. A long-term contract typically prices 5–15% below short-term or one-off event work, where the company can't amortize recruiting and onboarding. A 12-month agreement at 100+ hours a week is where you'll see the best per-hour number; a two-day event pays for the whole recruiting cycle up front.
- Location. Local minimum wage and cost of living set the floor. The gap between a $7.25 minimum-wage state and a $17 one is worth roughly $8–$12 an hour on the bill rate — the by-state table below turns that into concrete numbers.
The shift-premium math: what overtime and holidays actually add
"Premiums apply" is easy to skim past, so here's what they do to a real number. Take the $28.40 mid-market bill rate built in the worked example below and run it through the common multipliers:
| Scenario | Multiplier | Bill rate | Per 12-hr shift |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard weekday | 1.0× | $28.40 | ~$341 |
| Night / weekend differential | 1.25× | ~$35.50 | ~$426 |
| Overtime (over 40 hrs/week) | 1.5× | ~$42.60 | ~$511 |
| Recognized holiday | 2.0× | ~$56.80 | ~$682 |
The takeaway: a covered post over a long holiday weekend can cost double its baseline for those hours. When you compare annual proposals, ask how each bidder treats overtime and the roughly 6–11 federal holidays — a quote that looks cheap on the base rate can lose that edge the first Thanksgiving if it bills holidays at 2× while a rival folds a modest premium into a flat rate.
Why the bill rate is higher than the guard's wage
Clients are often surprised that a $30/hr bill rate doesn't mean the guard earns $30. The gap is real and structural. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics puts the median security-guard wage at about $18.45/hour (median annual $38,370, May 2024), with most guards paid between roughly $16 and $25 depending on market. The bill rate for that same guard is commonly 1.5–2× the wage, and the difference is not pure profit.
Here's roughly where a bill rate goes:
- Guard pay: ~55–65% of the bill rate.
- Employer payroll taxes: Social Security and Medicare (7.65%), plus federal and state unemployment.
- Workers' compensation insurance: notably expensive for security work.
- General liability insurance (and firearms coverage for armed posts).
- Uniforms, equipment, and technology (reporting apps, GPS tour verification).
- Recruiting, background checks, and training.
- Field supervision — the supervisor who visits the post and verifies rounds.
- Administration and profit margin: typically 10–15%.
A suspiciously low bid is a warning sign. If a bill rate is at or below the prevailing local guard wage, the provider is likely underpaying staff, skipping insurance or training, or misclassifying workers — all of which become your problem when something goes wrong. The cheapest bid is rarely the safest. Compare our full breakdown of security guard prices.
A worked example: how a bill rate is built
It's easier to trust a quote when you can see the math. Take a guard earning $19 an hour in a mid-cost market and watch the bill rate assemble itself:
| Component | Per hour |
|---|---|
| Guard base wage | $19.00 |
| Payroll taxes (FICA, unemployment) | +$1.65 |
| Workers' compensation | +$1.70 |
| General liability insurance | +$0.60 |
| Uniforms, equipment, technology | +$0.55 |
| Recruiting, background checks, training | +$0.70 |
| Field supervision | +$1.20 |
| Subtotal (fully-loaded cost) | ~$25.40 |
| Administration + profit margin (~12%) | +$3.00 |
| Bill rate to client | ~$28.40 |
That's a bill rate about 1.5× the guard's wage — squarely in the normal range. The exercise also explains the red flag: if a competitor quotes $22 an hour for the same $19 guard, the math simply doesn't close. Something is being skipped — workers' comp, adequate insurance, real supervision, or legal pay — and that gap becomes your risk. When a bid looks too good, ask the provider to walk you through this same buildup; a legitimate company can, and a corner-cutter can't.
Reverse-engineer any quote: what your guard is actually paid
Here's a test almost no buyer runs, and it's the single most predictive thing you can do with a bid. Because the guard's wage is roughly 55–65% of the bill rate, you can work backwards from any quote to estimate what the officer on your site actually earns — and a guard paid at or near the local minimum wage will turn over constantly, which is the number-one cause of unreliable coverage, no-shows, and unstaffed posts. Multiply the bill rate by about 0.6 to approximate the wage, then compare it to the local minimum and market pay:
| Bill rate | Implied guard wage (≈ ×0.6) | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|
| $22/hr | ~$13 | Below minimum wage in California, New York, and Washington; only viable in the lowest-cost states, and thin even there. |
| $26/hr | ~$16 | At or near minimum in California; sustainable in low-cost markets, tight in mid-cost ones. |
| $30/hr | ~$18 | Healthy in low- and mid-cost markets; near the minimum in top metros like SF and NYC. |
| $35/hr | ~$21 | Competitive in most markets and workable in high-cost metros. |
| $42/hr | ~$25 | Strong even in the most expensive cities — the range where you get experienced, stable officers. Note this rate is armed-tier territory for the base wage it implies. |
If a bidder's number implies a wage at or below your local minimum (check the state table below), one of two things is true: the math doesn't close and they can't actually deliver what they promised, or they really are paying that little — and you'll feel it in turnover and coverage gaps within months. Ask every provider to state the guard pay rate, not just the bill rate; the honest ones will, and the number tells you whether the coverage will hold up.
Monthly and 24/7 coverage costs
Hourly numbers get abstract fast, so here's the math that matters for a staffed post. Continuous coverage is 168 hours a week — about 730 hours a month — and takes roughly 4.2 full-time guards to staff once you account for relief, time off, and turnover.
| Coverage | Hours/month | Approx. monthly cost (unarmed) |
|---|---|---|
| One 8-hour shift, weekdays | ~173 | ~$3,800–$6,100 |
| One 12-hour shift, daily | ~365 | ~$8,000–$12,800 |
| 24/7, single post | ~730 | ~$16,000–$25,600 |
Armed 24/7 coverage of a single post commonly runs $22,000–$35,000 a month — the same 730-hour math at the $30–$48 armed rate. These figures are illustrative — they move with your local bill rate and any overtime or holiday premiums — but the 168-hour math is fixed, and it's the fastest way to reality-check a monthly proposal. Want a tailored estimate? Try our security cost calculator.
Security costs by state
Where you are matters more than almost anything else, because local wages and minimum-wage floors ripple straight into bill rates. The table below shows the average security-guard wage (BLS mean, May 2025), the 2026 state minimum wage, and a derived typical unarmed bill rate — so the wage columns actually translate into the number buyers care about.
States with $7.25 federal minimums and lower average wages (Georgia, Texas, Tennessee, and much of the Southeast) anchor the bottom of the national range; high-wage states and their big cities (D.C., Washington, Virginia, New York, Colorado, California) anchor the top. Florida is a special case: its guard wages sit near the low end, but its minimum wage is $14.00 rising to $15.00 on Sept 30, 2026 under 2020's Amendment 2 — well above the federal floor — so it's a mid-tier minimum-wage state, not a $7.25 one.
| State | Avg. guard wage | 2026 min. wage | Typical unarmed bill rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| District of Columbia | ~$29/hr | ~$18 | ~$34–$40 |
| Washington | ~$24.40/hr | $17.13 (Seattle $21.30) | ~$30–$38 |
| New York | ~$22.30/hr | $17.00 (NYC area) | ~$30–$40 (NYC metro) |
| California | ~$21.60/hr | $16.90 (SF ~$19.60; LA ~$18.40) | ~$32–$40 (metro) |
| Massachusetts | ~$21.50/hr | $15.00 | ~$30–$36 |
| Virginia | ~$22.60/hr | $12.77 | ~$28–$34 (DC-metro higher) |
| Colorado | ~$22/hr | $15.16 (Denver $19.29) | ~$28–$34 |
| Maryland | ~$21.40/hr | $15.00 (Montgomery Co. ~$18) | ~$28–$34 |
| Illinois | ~$21.30/hr | $15.00 (Chicago $17.05) | ~$27–$34 |
| New Jersey | ~$20.90/hr | $15.92 | ~$27–$33 |
| Arizona | ~$19.70/hr | $15.15 (Flagstaff $18.35) | ~$25–$31 |
| Ohio | ~$19.20/hr | $11.00 | ~$23–$29 |
| Florida | ~$18.10/hr | $14.00 → $15.00 (Sep 2026) | ~$23–$28 |
| North Carolina | ~$18.80/hr | $7.25 (federal) | ~$23–$28 |
| Texas | ~$18.50/hr | $7.25 (federal) | ~$22–$28 |
| Georgia | ~$18.20/hr | $7.25 (federal) | ~$22–$28 |
| Tennessee | ~$16.50/hr (guard) | $7.25 (federal) | ~$22–$27 |
Wages are BLS mean hourly figures (OEWS, May 2025); minimum wages are 2026 figures. Several cities and counties set higher local minimums and some adjust mid-year, so confirm the current local rate. Typical bill rates are estimates derived from local wages plus the standard markup, not quotes.
As a rule of thumb, expect bill rates in the high-wage states to sit 25–45% above the low-wage states for an equivalent post. Browse licensed providers in Los Angeles, Chicago, and other cities in our directory.
Estimated bill rates by market tier
The national ranges and the state wage table combine into something more useful: an estimate of what unarmed and armed coverage actually costs in your kind of market. Grouping states by wage floor and cost of living gives three tiers — a practical way to sanity-check a quote before you get three of them.
| Market tier | Example states / metros | Unarmed | Armed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Low-cost | TX, GA, TN, NC (federal minimum wage) | ~$22–$28/hr | ~$30–$40/hr |
| Mid-cost | FL, AZ, OH, VA, CO, NJ, Chicago | ~$26–$32/hr | ~$36–$44/hr |
| High-cost metro | SF, NYC, Seattle, Washington D.C., LA, Boston | ~$32–$40/hr | ~$42–$48/hr |
These are estimates built from local wages plus the typical markup — not quotes — so treat them as a range to test bids against, not a price. If a bid for a high-cost metro comes in at low-cost-tier pricing, that's your cue to run the reverse-engineering test above: the number probably can't cover a legal wage in that market, which means something is being cut.
Typical program cost by industry
Buyers rarely shop "a guard" — they shop coverage for a specific site. Here's a one-line snapshot of what a typical program runs by vertical in 2026. These blend guards, patrol, and technology into a monthly figure, and each moves with your market tier.
| Industry | Typical program | Approx. monthly cost |
|---|---|---|
| Retail / loss prevention | 1 unarmed officer, peak-hours coverage | ~$4,000–$9,000 |
| Construction site | Overnight unarmed post + patrol + cameras | ~$8,000–$16,000 |
| Warehouse / logistics | Gatehouse + roving patrol, 12–24 hr | ~$8,000–$20,000 |
| Healthcare / hospital | Multiple posts, some armed, 24/7 | ~$18,000–$35,000 |
| Cannabis (dispensary / grow) | Armed post + CCTV + compliance | ~$12,000–$25,000 |
| Residential / HOA | Gate officer, nights or 24/7 | ~$6,000–$25,000 |
These recompute directly from the hourly rates above — a 24/7 armed hospital post lands in the $22,000–$35,000 band because that's the 730-hour armed math, not a separate "healthcare premium." Use the snapshot to size a budget, then price the specific posts.
RFP questions to ask every bidder. Copy these into your request for proposals — the answers separate a real provider from a corner-cutter:
- What is the guard pay rate for this post (not just the bill rate)?
- Can you provide current workers' compensation and general liability certificates, naming us as additional insured?
- What is your supervision cadence — how often does a field supervisor physically visit and verify rounds?
- What is your annual guard turnover rate, and how do you handle no-shows and open shifts?
- How do you bill overtime and holidays, and are those multipliers already in the quoted rate?
- Are all officers W-2 employees, or are any classified as 1099 contractors?
A quote that can answer all six in writing is one you can trust. Silence on the pay rate or the insurance certificates is the tell.
Hidden costs to watch
When comparing quotes, look past the headline rate for costs that often aren't in the base number:
- Overtime and holiday premiums — as the shift-premium table shows, these can double the rate for covered hours if they're not baked in.
- Minimum-hour billing — event and fire-watch work usually carries a 4-hour minimum, so a two-hour job still bills four.
- Post equipment and technology — golf carts, radios, GPS tour systems, and camera trailers may be line items on top of the guard rate.
- Supervisor and account-management fees — some providers bill field supervision separately rather than folding it into the rate.
- Bill-rate escalators — multi-year contracts often include an annual increase (commonly 3–5%) tied to minimum-wage changes; confirm the escalation clause before you sign.
- Setup and onboarding — background checks, site-specific training, and uniform costs for a new account may appear as one-time charges.
The best defense is the reverse-engineering test and the RFP questions above: once you know what the guard is paid and what's included, the "cheap" bid and the "expensive" one usually trade places.
Frequently asked questions
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