Security guard rates in the United States have no single national price. They shift meaningfully from one metro to the next, and where your city falls determines a lot about your security budget.
The short answer: There is no single national rate. The gap between the cheapest major metro on the Calvis marketplace and the priciest is wide, with the top market running roughly a third above the bottom. An identical 40-hour-per-week post costs meaningfully more per month in the priciest metro than in the cheapest, and that gap compounds fast across multiple guards or sites.
How guard rates rank across major metros
The ranking below reflects actual booked activity on the Calvis marketplace, what customers are paying today, not advertised price ranges. It runs from the priciest metro to the most affordable, for unarmed guards unless otherwise noted.
| Metro | Relative unarmed rate |
|---|---|
| Miami, FL | Highest |
| New York City, NY | Very high |
| Denver, CO | High |
| San Antonio, TX | High |
| Newark / Jersey City, NJ | Above average |
| Nashville, TN | Near national average |
| Austin, TX | Slightly below average |
| Chicago, IL | Below average |
| Phoenix, AZ | Below average |
| Dallas-Fort Worth, TX | Well below average |
| Atlanta, GA | Lowest |
The spread from the most affordable metro to the priciest is roughly a third. For a business running a 168-hour-per-week guard post, that difference adds up to a substantial monthly gap.
Why security guard rates vary by city
Four structural factors drive the gap between metros:
1. State and local minimum wage laws
Many states and cities have set minimum wages well above the federal floor, and several index them to inflation so they keep climbing. When the wage floor rises, guard pay and therefore your bill rate rises with it. Florida and New York City are both examples of metros where a high, rising wage floor lifts guard rates.
Texas has no state minimum wage above the federal floor, which is one reason Dallas-Fort Worth and San Antonio track below the national average despite being large metros. San Antonio's rate is elevated by other factors (discussed below), but the wage floor is not one of them.
2. Cost of living for guards
Guards need to afford to live and commute to your site. In metros with high housing costs, Miami, New York, New Jersey, Denver, agencies pay more to attract and retain reliable staff, and those labor costs pass through to hourly billing. Atlanta and Phoenix have lower housing costs relative to their metro size, which keeps the labor market softer and rates lower.
3. State licensing requirements
Security guard licensing adds direct costs. States with more rigorous requirements, fingerprinting, background check fees, mandatory training hours, firearms qualification for armed guards, create barriers to entry that tighten supply and lift rates. New York requires 8 hours of pre-assignment training and 16 hours of on-the-job training with ongoing annual refreshers. Florida requires 40 hours of training for a Class D license. States with lighter requirements tend to have more supply and lower rates.
4. Local demand and industry mix
High-density metros with concentrations of financial services, hospitality, and healthcare generate persistent demand for professional security. New York City, Miami, and Chicago have dense commercial cores where demand stays high year-round. Phoenix and Dallas-Fort Worth are large markets but have more dispersed commercial density, which moderates rates. Nashville tracks close to the national average despite being a smaller market, driven partly by its hospitality and event sectors.
How to read your local rate
The rates in the table above are marketplace averages across all shift types, lengths, and post requirements. Your actual rate may land higher or lower depending on a few things.
Shift timing. Overnight and weekend shifts typically carry a modest premium over standard business-hours rates. If most of your coverage is overnight, budget toward the higher end of the range for your metro.
Post complexity. A lobby post at a Class A office building, a construction site perimeter, and a retail loss-prevention post all carry different briefing and experience requirements. Higher-complexity posts attract a modest premium.
Volume and consistency. Booking recurring shifts through a platform like Calvis gives agencies predictable scheduling, which often translates to better rates than one-off bookings. Multi-site accounts with steady weekly volume tend to see the most favorable rates.
Armed vs. unarmed. Armed guards carry a consistent premium over the unarmed rate. That premium holds relatively steady across metros, though it widens in states with expensive firearms licensing and training requirements.
Guard supply in your zip code. Rates in a downtown core can differ from suburban rates in the same metro. If your site is in an area with fewer available guards, agencies may have lower response rates and bill rates may run modestly higher.
What you can expect to pay
To make the comparison concrete, picture a single-guard post running 40 hours per week across three metros at different ends of the range.
| Metro | Relative weekly cost | Relative monthly cost |
|---|---|---|
| Atlanta, GA | Lowest | Lowest |
| Austin, TX | Moderate | Moderate |
| Miami, FL | Highest | Highest |
The same post costs meaningfully more per month in Miami than Atlanta. Over a year that gap becomes a real number for a mid-size business with a security line item.
For a more detailed breakdown of all factors that affect pricing, see the full security guard cost guide.
How Calvis works in your city
Calvis is a multi-agency marketplace, not a single staffing agency. When you post a shift, licensed agencies in your metro compete to fill it.
Better fill rates. Multiple agencies see every opening, so you are less likely to lose coverage to a single agency's staffing gap.
Competitive pricing. Agencies bid within market rates. You see the going rate for your area rather than a single agency's marked-up quote.
No annual contracts. You book by shift, with the flexibility to scale up, scale back, or change locations as your needs change.
Calvis is available in all major metros across the United States. To see rates for your specific location and use case, request a quote.