Security Guard Salary
Official ONS earnings for the UK, covering 112,000 jobs.
Median salary
£31,883
gross, per year, all employees
Part-time work is common in this occupation, so the figure above sits 10.8% below the £35,336 median for people working full-time.
▲ 3.8% change on the previous year
Full-time only
£35,336
Part-time only
£14,381
Mean
£30,087
Jobs measured
112,000
What a typical security guard takes home
On the full-time median of £35,336, 2026/27 tax year, England, Wales and Northern Ireland rates, no pension or student loan.
Take-home a month
£2,413
Take-home a year
£28,961
Income Tax
£4,553
National Insurance
£1,821
What most security guards actually earn
Half of security guards earn between £23,166 and £39,193. Earning above £39,193 puts you in the top quarter of the profession.
The full pay range
Each bar is the salary at that percentile — the 25th means a quarter of security guards earn less than this.
Security Guard salary by region
11 of 11 GB regions have a published figure for this occupation.
| Region | Median | Mean |
|---|---|---|
| London | £34,763 | £33,082 |
| South East | £33,453 | £30,723 |
| West Midlands | £33,284 | £33,104 |
| East | £31,797 | £29,965 |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | £31,783 | £30,001 |
| Scotland | £31,432 | £28,555 |
| North West | £31,179 | £29,539 |
| Wales | £30,326 | £31,802 |
| North East | £30,073 | £25,100 |
| East Midlands | £29,891 | £27,436 |
| South West | £27,494 | £25,691 |
Where this figure comes from
- ONS occupation group
- Security guards and related occupations
- SOC 2020 code
- 9231
- Measure
- Gross annual pay, all employees
- Edition
- ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, 2026 provisional
ONS doesn't measure “security guard” as its own category. These figures are for the wider group “Security guards and related occupations”, which includes this role alongside others. ONS group covers security guards and related occupations.
Source: Office for National Statistics, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Figures are estimates from a survey of PAYE jobs and are not financial advice.
Security Guard salary FAQs
What is the average Security Guard salary in the UK?
The median is £31,883 a year and the mean is £30,087, according to the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings. Those cover all employees; full-time employees alone have a median of £35,336 and part-time employees £14,381.
How much does a security guard earn per hour?
Across the UK the median hourly rate is £14.72 excluding overtime, or £15.25 for full-time employees. ASHE publishes hourly pay by occupation nationally only.
What is a good Security Guard salary?
Half of security guards earn between £23,166 and £39,193. Anything above £39,193 is in the top quarter for the role.
What is the starting salary for a security guard?
ASHE does not record experience, so there is no official starting salary. What it does show is that the lowest-paid 10% of security guards earn under £8,465 and the lowest quarter under £23,166 — the range a new entrant is most likely to be offered.
How much do the highest-paid security guards earn?
The top 10% of security guards earn more than £44,857 a year, and the top quarter more than £39,193. ASHE does not publish figures above the 90th percentile.
Which part of the UK pays security guards the most?
London, at a median of £34,763, is the highest of the 7 GB regions with a precise ONS estimate; East Midlands is the lowest at £29,891. Regions where ONS marks the figure as imprecise are not ranked.
Has security guard pay gone up in the last year?
ASHE puts the year-on-year change in the median at +3.8% for this occupation in the UK. That compares the latest survey with the one before it and is not adjusted for inflation.
How many security guards are there in the UK?
ASHE counts around 112,000 employee jobs in “Security guards and related occupations” (SOC 9231) in the UK. Self-employed work is not included.
Is this figure official?
Yes. It comes from the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, an accredited official statistic based on employer PAYE records.
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