Physical Security recruiters serving St. Louis.
About 780 security and fire alarm systems installers work in the St. Louis metro, at a $58,980 median. BLS counts 67 business locations of security systems integrators across the metro. We recruit Physical Security talent in St. Louis from a standing, credential-verified pipeline. Below: local pay for every role we staff, the state licensing rules that apply and the nearby markets competing for the same people.
Positions we recruit for in St. Louis.
BLS counts about 7,220 people working in the occupations behind these roles across the St. Louis metro, the largest group being electricians (about 5,920). Relative to the size of the local economy, security and fire alarm systems installers are more concentrated here than nationally (location quotient 1.05). Local headcount and pay for each role are below; role descriptions are on the Physical Security hub.
Security Systems Installer / Technician
St. Louis: 780 employed · $58,980 median, 74th-highest of 110 metros
Access Control Technician
CCTV / Video Surveillance Technician
Low-Voltage Electrician (Security Specialty)
St. Louis: 5,920 employed · $77,170 median, 20th-highest of 112 metros
Alarm Systems Technician
Security Systems Project Manager
St. Louis: 2,880 employed · $116,680 median, 45th-highest of 111 metros
Security Systems Estimator
St. Louis: 3,170 employed · $78,730 median, 49th-highest of 111 metros
Integration Engineer / Systems Integrator
St. Louis: 520 employed · $67,850 median, 76th-highest of 106 metros
Field Service Technician
Security Systems Foreman / Crew Lead
St. Louis: 6,680 employed · $96,620 median, 14th-highest of 112 metros
What Physical Security roles earn in St. Louis.
Security and fire alarm systems installers in St. Louis earn a median $58,980, level with the $60,070 national figure, and 74th of 110 metros. Pay runs $43,900 at the tenth percentile to $75,620 at the ninetieth. The best-paid role below is electricians, at $77,170 against $63,190 nationally.
| Role | St. Louis median | Typical range | National median | vs. national | Employed locally |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Security Systems Installer / Technician · Access Control Technician · CCTV / Video Surveillance TechnicianSecurity and Fire Alarm Systems Installers (49-2098) | $58,980 | $43,900–$75,620 | $60,070 | −2% | 780 |
| Low-Voltage Electrician (Security Specialty)Electricians (47-2111) | $77,170 | $46,890–$104,800 | $63,190 | +22% | 5,920 |
| Security Systems Project ManagerConstruction Managers (11-9021) | $116,680 | $72,450–$169,720 | $114,990 | +1% | 2,880 |
| Security Systems EstimatorCost Estimators (13-1051) | $78,730 | $44,990–$130,680 | $78,740 | 0% | 3,170 |
| Integration Engineer / Systems IntegratorElectrical and Electronic Engineering Technologists and Technicians (17-3023) | $67,850 | $49,690–$114,470 | $78,190 | −13% | 520 |
| Security Systems Foreman / Crew LeadFirst-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers (47-1011) | $96,620 | $61,710–$120,700 | $79,920 | +21% | 6,680 |
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, St. Louis metro. Range is 10th to 90th percentile; management and office roles are metro-wide. A metro ranking counts only the metros where BLS publishes that occupation.
How St. Louis's physical security market has changed since 2018.
The number of security systems integrators in St. Louis rose from 63 in 2018 to 67 in 2023, up 6%, behind the 18% growth nationally. Headcount at those firms went up 6%, to about 829 people. Average annual pay there went from $56,571 to $76,354 (+35%), faster than the 26% national increase, a sign employers here have had to bid up.
| Measure | 2018 | 2023 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Security systems integrators: business locations | 63 | 67 | +6% |
| Security systems integrators: employment | 781 | 829 | +6% |
| Security systems integrators: average annual pay | $56,571 | $76,354 | +35% |
BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, private employers, annual averages. A dash means BLS did not publish the figure.
Free Physical Security hiring resources.
Definitive Guide to Physical Security · 2026 Physical Security Salary Guide · 3-Step Interview Guide for Physical Security
St. Louis runs 5% more physical security workers per job than the country as a whole — above the national concentration.
Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 , Security and Fire Alarm Systems Installers. Metro-wide figures for the base occupation; the wage table above is role-specific and commercial.
How St. Louis's physical security market compares
Among the 99 metros we cover with published BLS figures, St. Louis ranks 27th for headcount, 69th for median pay and 51st for concentration for security and fire alarm systems installers.
| Metro | Employed | Median pay | Concentration | Commercial employers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Louis | 780 | $58,980 | 1.05 | 67 |
| Kansas City | 660 | $61,480 | 1.08 | 71 |
BLS OEWS occupation figures and QCEW business-location counts; a dash means not published.
What this means for hiring:For physical security employers in St. Louis, the pool is about the national norm for its size and local employers are adding people, so expect competing offers on experienced candidates and keep the process short.
Sources: BLS QCEW 2023 annual averages and BLS OEWS May 2025, St. Louis metro. Employers are counted by business location.
Physical Security licensing in Missouri.
Missouri has no state license for alarm or security system installers and no state alarm board. The one related state credential is the statewide electrical contractor license issued under RSMo 324.900 to 324.945, which covers electrical contracting regardless of voltage and which a political subdivision must accept in place of its own electrical contractor license. Practical licensing is local, so in St. Louis an alarm installation or monitoring business needs a Construction Industry Contractor Graduated Business License from the License Collector plus a communications permit from the Building Division, and Kansas City licenses contractors through its own program. Verify the city credential for the metro where the crew actually works rather than looking for a state technician card. The same state rules apply in Kansas City, so candidates licensed there can work in St. Louis without re-qualifying. The St. Louis metro crosses a state line, so check the rules in the neighboring state too for crews that work on both sides.
Licensing authority: No state alarm installer license; Missouri Division of Professional Registration, Office of Statewide Electrical Contractors issues the only related state credential, with alarm business licensing handled municipally. Confirm current rules with the agency.
We have not closed a physical security search in St. Louis yet. Here is what we have closed.
These are other trades in the same market. We would rather show you the searches we have actually run in St. Louis than imply a record in this trade that we do not have yet.
- Senior Freight DispatcherA decade of carrier relationships and margin management, placed on a freight desk in three weeks.
- Local CDL Class A DriverScreened, offered, onboarded and driving the same day - two weeks end to end.
- Sprinkler Layout TechnicianNICET Level II and eight years of fire protection design - a specialist, not a generalist.
Nearby markets competing for St. Louis talent.
The closest metro we cover is Indianapolis, about 230 miles away, with roughly 1,080 security and fire alarm systems installers (1.4 times St. Louis's 780). Louisville pays the most nearby, a $61,570 median, 4% above St. Louis. That is the number any St. Louis offer is competing with when experienced people weigh a move.
| Metro | Distance | Employed | Median pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| St. Louis | – | 780 | $58,980 |
| Indianapolis | 230 mi | 1,080 | $60,930 |
| Kansas City | 238 mi | 660 | $61,480 |
| Memphis | 240 mi | 640 | $57,000 |
| Louisville | 242 mi | 490 | $61,570 |
| Nashville | 253 mi | 830 | $57,860 |
BLS OEWS, May 2025; straight-line miles.
What else is competing for St. Louis crews.
Not physical security work. These are the capital projects big enough to pull the same crews into St. Louis in the months you are trying to fill a seat, each with the status its own market page reports.
- NGA West campus (National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency)$1.7BMain building opened September 26, 2025; staff move-in ongoing
The single largest federal investment in north St. Louis in a generation. Secure-facility construction drove years of specialty MEP, controls, and finish work - and the surrounding redevelopment keeps commercial trades demand elevated past the main building's completion.
- BJC HealthCare / WashU Medicine campus renewal + SSM HealthMulti-billion combinedRolling through 2028
Healthcare is the steadiest demand engine in the metro. Medical-gas plumbers, isolation-room HVAC, and hospital-grade electrical crews in the tightest supply.
- Energizer Park (formerly CITYPARK) stadium & surrounding district (St. Louis CITY SC)District-scale, ongoingStadium complete; surrounding district build-out ongoing
The stadium itself has been complete since Nov 2022 and was renamed Energizer Park Jan 1, 2025 (naming rights sold) - only the surrounding district is still active. Continued demand for hospitality, mixed-use, and commercial finish trades.
Showing 3 of 6 projects tracked in this metro. The St. Louis market page lists them all.
What credentials matter for physical security, and what kills offers in St. Louis.
The 4 credentials that gate the work and the 4 things that most often end a physical security offer are the same in every market, kept in one place: Physical Security credentials and offer risks, each linked to the body that issues it. What is local is the licensing rule above and the pay further up this page.
Frequently asked - Physical Security hiring in St. Louis.
What do security and fire alarm systems installers earn in St. Louis?
BLS puts the St. Louis median for security and fire alarm systems installers at $58,980 a year, about the same as the $60,070 national median. That ranks 74th of 110 metros with published figures, in the middle of the pack. Most of the market sits between $43,900 and $75,620, a 1.7x gap and a moderate spread, so a few thousand dollars over the median buys real experience. Within Missouri, Kansas City pays more, at $61,480.
Is it hard to hire security and fire alarm systems installers in St. Louis?
It is about average. Security and fire alarm systems installers are as common in St. Louis as they are nationally (location quotient 1.05), with about 780 in the metro. The 67 security systems integrators here average about 12 employees per location.
Which physical security roles pay the most in St. Louis?
Of the roles we recruit for, Security Systems Project Manager pays the most in St. Louis, a $116,680 median (BLS measures that occupation across all industries in the metro). Among field roles the top earner is Low-Voltage Electrician (Security Specialty) at $77,170, 34% below it. Security Systems Installer / Technician is the lowest-paid field role at $58,980. Relative to national pay, Low-Voltage Electrician (Security Specialty) is the strongest-paying role here (22% above). Integration Engineer / Systems Integrator trails national pay the most (13% below).
How many security systems integrators operate in St. Louis?
BLS counted 67 security systems integrators in St. Louis in 2023, employing about 829 people between them. Up from 63 in 2018, a 6% increase against 18% growth nationally. That averages 12 people per location. They pay an average of $76,354, 5% below the $80,288 national average for the same kind of employer.
Which nearby metros compete with St. Louis for security and fire alarm systems installers?
The closest metros we cover with published figures are Indianapolis (230 miles, about 1,080, $60,930 median), Kansas City (238 miles, about 660, $61,480 median) and Memphis (240 miles, about 640, $57,000 median).
The seat is open. The pipeline should not be.
67 security systems integrators in St. Louis are drawing on the same 780 security and fire alarm systems installers. Let's get your next hire lined up first.
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