Security Guards Salary in San Diego, CA (2024)
Security Guards in the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA metro area earn a median of $41,380 per year ($19.89 per hour) based on 13,370 jobs counted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in 2024. That is +7.8% against the national median of $38,370 for this occupation.
Pay distribution
The median is a single point on a wide curve. The table below shows where security guards actually sit across the pay range in San Diego, CA, from the bottom decile to the top.
| Percentile | Hourly | Annual | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $17.58 | $36,560 | |
| 25th percentile | $17.89 | $37,220 | |
| Median | $19.89 | $41,380 | half earn more, half earn less |
| 75th percentile | $22.24 | $46,260 | |
| 90th percentile | $27.11 | $56,380 | |
| Average (mean) | $21.29 | $44,290 |
How San Diego, CA compares
The local median of $41,380 runs +7.8% above the US median of $38,370 for this occupation; it pays 26.9% less than the metro-wide median across all jobs ($56,580); within the metro it ranks 575th of 653 detailed occupations by median pay.
| Benchmark | Median annual | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| San Diego, CA — this occupation | $41,380 | — |
| US median, same occupation (all areas) | $38,370 | +7.8% |
| San Diego, CA — all occupations | $56,580 | -26.9% |
| Highest metro in the US for this job | $48,400 | -14.5% |
The location quotient of 1.08 is close to 1.0: the occupation's share of local employment tracks the national average.
High confidence The relative standard error on this estimate is 0.9%, which is a tight margin — the figure is stable enough to plan around.
Ranked 575th of 653 detailed occupations in the metro by median annual wage.
Highest-paying jobs in San Diego, CA
To put $41,380 in context, these are the best-paid detailed occupations in the same metro area. This occupation sits 575th.
| Occupation | Median annual | Employment |
|---|---|---|
| Dentists, All Other Specialists | $220,840 | 50 |
| Orthopedic Surgeons, Except Pediatric | $215,010 | 170 |
| Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers | $205,650 | 180 |
| Natural Sciences Managers | $199,590 | 2,630 |
| Computer and Information Systems Managers | $193,370 | 7,620 |
| Podiatrists | $187,010 | 60 |
| Architectural and Engineering Managers | $185,550 | 3,690 |
| Dentists, General | $176,970 | 1,950 |
| Marketing Managers | $171,590 | 4,390 |
| Computer Hardware Engineers | $169,230 | 3,200 |
Where security guards earn the most
Across the 25 metro areas with released data for this occupation, medians run from $32,480 to $48,400. These are the top markets.
| Metro area | Median annual | Employment |
|---|---|---|
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | $48,400 | 16,320 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | $47,260 | 39,200 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | $46,740 | 25,400 |
| Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO | $46,270 | 11,100 |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI | $46,080 | 10,620 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH | $45,300 | 19,650 |
| Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA | $44,960 | 8,260 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | $42,940 | 77,910 |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ | $42,030 | 138,940 |
| San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA | $41,380 | 13,370 |
See the full national picture on the Security Guards salary by metro page.
Frequently asked questions
What is the median salary for security guards in San Diego, CA?
The median annual wage is $41,380, or $20 per hour. That means half of the security guards working in the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA metro area earn more than this figure and half earn less. The average is $44,290.
What do the highest and lowest paid security guards in San Diego, CA earn?
The bottom 10% earn $36,560 or less, while the top 10% earn $56,380 or more — a spread of $19,820 between the two ends of the distribution. The middle half of workers sit between $37,220 and $46,260.
Is security guards pay in San Diego, CA above the local average?
Yes, it is 26.9% below the all-occupation median for the metro, which is $56,580. That comparison is the fairer one for judging local purchasing power, because it holds the metro's overall cost and wage level constant.
How does San Diego, CA pay compare with the rest of the US for this job?
At $41,380 the metro median is 7.8% higher than the US median of $38,370 for security guards. Across the 25 metro areas covered here, this occupation ranges from $32,480 to $48,400.
How many security guards work in San Diego, CA?
BLS counts about 13,370 people in this occupation in the metro area, or 8.72 jobs per 1,000 total jobs. The location quotient of 1.08 is close to 1.0: the occupation's share of local employment tracks the national average.
About these figures
Figures come from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey for 2024 (employment relative standard error 2.1%). OEWS measures what employers pay, not what any individual earns; it excludes self-employed workers, and it does not adjust for local cost of living.
Read the full methodology, or the original data at bls.gov/oes.