2026 Physical Security Salary Guide
National BLS-sourced wage benchmarks for the security systems installation and integration roles we recruit for - with every proxy classification and every real data gap labeled honestly, not filled in with a guess.
What's inside
- National median wage for Security and Fire Alarm Systems Installers (BLS SOC 49-2098), plus the adjacent electrical, engineering, and project-management classifications
- A clear wage comparison against security guard staffing - a different occupation entirely, with a very different paycheck
- Every role that doesn't have its own BLS classification, named honestly instead of assigned a made-up number
- What to weigh beyond base wage - certification reimbursement, overtime structure, and tool allowances
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Download 2026 Physical Security Salary GuideWhat the public wage data already says about physical security pay.
The guide is built from our own placement records. This is the other half - what the federal government published for Security and Fire Alarm Systems Installers in May 2025, free, before any of our data is added to it.
The eight metros that pay it best.
| Metro | Median | vs national | Employed | Concentration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Jose, CA | $81,980 | +36% | 320 | 0.50× |
| Worcester, MA | $80,480 | +34% | — | — |
| San Francisco, CA | $79,350 | +32% | 1,030 | 0.78× |
| Boston, MA | $78,560 | +31% | 1,330 | 0.89× |
| Portland, OR | $76,630 | +28% | 730 | 1.08× |
| Seattle, WA | $75,910 | +26% | 1,000 | 0.87× |
| Providence, RI | $75,350 | +25% | 360 | 0.90× |
| Hartford, CT | $73,740 | +23% | 220 | 0.66× |
Concentration is the location quotient: 1.00× is the national rate, 1.40× means the metro has 40% more of these workers per job than the country as a whole.
The same job title pays $81,980 in San Jose and $45,210 in McAllen - $36,770 a year apart. That is across the 99 of our 100 metros where BLS publishes a median for it; in the other 1 the local sample is too small to publish, which is its own signal about how many of these people are around.
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. Figures are annual, for all employers, not only commercial contractors.
