Security guards & gaming surveillance officers

Detailed Occupation

Add Comparison

2020 Workforce

975k

Average Age

41.8

Average Salary

$34,638

Average Male Salary

$35,754

Average Female Salary

$31,152

About

Security guards & gaming surveillance officers are most often employed by the Investigation & security services industry. The average yearly wage for Security guards & gaming surveillance officers was $34,638 in 2016. The top 3 most similar occupations to Security guards & gaming surveillance officers by wage are Customer service representatives, Floral designers, and Disc jockeys, except radio.

Security guards & gaming surveillance officers are part of the Protective service occupations, along with Firstline supervisors of correctional officers, Firstline supervisors of police & detectives, Firstline supervisors of fire fighting & prevention workers, Miscellaneous first-line supervisors, protective service workers, Firefighters, and 13 more.

The top 3 locations that employ the most Security guards & gaming surveillance officers are South Shore, Hyde Park, Woodlawn, Grand Boulevard & Douglas PUMA, IL, Jamaica, Hollis & St. Albans PUMA, NY, and Paradise (South) & Enterprise PUMA, NV. The top 3 locations with a relatively high concentration of Security guards & gaming surveillance officers are Opa-Locka City, West Little River & Westview PUMA, FL, North Miami City (Southwest) & Golden Glades (West) PUMA, FL, and Carr 53 PUMA, PR.

Photo by U.S. Department of the Interior

Service Occupations Protective service occupations

Employment

Information on the businesses and industries that employ Security guards & gaming surveillance officers and on wages and locations for those in the field. Investigation & security services is the industry that employs the most Security guards & gaming surveillance officers, both by share and by number, though the highest paid industry for Security guards & gaming surveillance officers, by average wage, is Communications, & audio & video equipment manufacturing. Security guards & gaming surveillance officers are paid most in Central Nebraska PUMA, NE but are relatively concentrated in Opa-Locka City, West Little River & Westview PUMA, FL.

Wages

Yearly Wage

$34,638

AVERAGE SALARY

± $796

In 2020, Security guards & gaming surveillance officers earned an average of $34,638, $21,316 less than than the average national salary of $55,954.

Customer service representatives make somewhat more than Security guards & gaming surveillance officers while Disc jockeys, except radio make somewhat less. This chart shows the various occupations closest to Security guards & gaming surveillance officers as measured by average annual salary in the US.

Wage Distribution

0.399

WAGE GINI

In 2015, Security guards & gaming surveillance officers had a wage GINI coefficient of 0.399, which is lower than than the national average of 0.478. In other words, wages are distributed more evenly for Security guards & gaming surveillance officers (shown in red) than for the overall labor force (shown in gray).

Wage by Location

HIGHEST PAYING PUMAS

This map shows the Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMAs) in the United States shaded by average annual wage for Security guards & gaming surveillance officers.

Spatial Concentration

PUMAs with a Relatively High Concentration of Security guards & gaming surveillance officers

This map displays which Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMAs) in the United States have a relatively high population of Security guards & gaming surveillance officers.

Industries

Most Common

The most common industries employing Security guards & gaming surveillance officers, by number of employees, are Investigation & security services, Amusement & Recreation, General medical and surgical hospitals, and specialty (except psychiatric and substance abuse) hospitals, Elementary & secondary schools, National security & international affairs, Colleges, universities & professional schools, including junior colleges, General merchandise stores, including warehouse clubs and supercenters, Traveler accommodation, Justice, public order, & safety activities , Lessors of real estate, and offices of real estate agents and brokers, and Museums, art galleries, historical sites, & similar institutions.

Highest Paying

The highest paying industries for Security guards & gaming surveillance officers, by average wage, are Communications, & audio & video equipment manufacturing, Electric & gas, and other combinations, and Convenience Stores.

Industries by Share

975k

2020 Workforce

± 24,158

−1.14%

1 YEAR GROWTH

± 3.54%

The number of people employed as Security guards & gaming surveillance officers has been declining at a rate of −1.14%, from 985,784 people in 2019 to 974,594 people in 2020.

This graphic shows the share of Security guards & gaming surveillance officers employed by various industries. Investigation & security services employs the largest share of Security guards & gaming surveillance officers at 50.7%, followed by Amusement & Recreation with 4.92% and General medical and surgical hospitals, and specialty (except psychiatric and substance abuse) hospitals with 4.04%.

Diversity

Demographic information on Security guards & gaming surveillance officers in the US. The average age of male Security guards & gaming surveillance officers in the workforce is 42.4 and of female Security guards & gaming surveillance officers is 39.8, and the most common race/ethnicity for Security guards & gaming surveillance officers is White (Non-Hispanic).

Composition by Sex

738k

MALE WORKFORCE

± 21,043

236k

FEMALE WORKFORCE

± 11,924

75.8% of Security guards & gaming surveillance officers are Male, making them the more common sex in the occupation. This chart shows the sex breakdown of Security guards & gaming surveillance officers.

Race & Ethnicity

Most Common Race or Ethnicity of Security guards & gaming surveillance officers

White (Non-Hispanic)
Black (Non-Hispanic)
White (Hispanic)

42.3% of Security guards & gaming surveillance officers are White (Non-Hispanic), making that the most common race or ethnicity in the occupation. Representing 31.6% of Security guards & gaming surveillance officers, Black (Non-Hispanic) is the second most common race or ethnicity in this occupation. This chart shows the racial and ethnic breakdown of Security guards & gaming surveillance officers.

Age by Sex

42.4

AVERAGE MALE AGE

± 0.463

39.8

AVERAGE FEMALE AGE

± 0.753

The median age of Security guards & gaming surveillance officers is 41.8, and Male employees are generally 2.63 years older than than their Female counterparts.

Education

Data on higher education choices for Security guards & gaming surveillance officers from The Department of Education and Census Bureau. The most common major for Security guards & gaming surveillance officers is Protective Services but a relatively high number of Security guards & gaming surveillance officers hold a major in Protective Services.

Majors

ACS PUMS data only shows the major for bachelor's degrees. However, we can filter the data based on highest degree obtained.

MOST COMMON MAJORS

MOST SPECIALIZED MAJORS

Skills

Data on the critical and distinctive skills necessary for Security guards & gaming surveillance officers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Security guards & gaming surveillance officers need many skills, but most especially Monitoring, Critical Thinking, and Speaking. The revealed comparative advantage (RCA) shows that Security guards & gaming surveillance officers need more than the average amount of Operation and Control, Operation Monitoring, and Monitoring.