The average armed guard salary is $43,189. The most common degree is a high school diploma degree with an criminal justice major. It usually takes 2-4 years of experience to become an armed guard. Armed guards with a Security 5 Certification certification earn more money. Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 4% and produce 40,600 job opportunities across the U.S.

What Does an Armed Guard Do

There are certain skills that many armed guards have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed communication skills, good judgment and observation skills.

Learn more about what an Armed Guard does

How To Become an Armed Guard

If you're interested in becoming an armed guard, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 20.7% of armed guards have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 1.5% of armed guards have master's degrees. Even though some armed guards have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.

Learn More About How To Become an Armed Guard

Armed Guard Career Paths

Average Salary for an Armed Guard

Armed Guards in America make an average salary of $43,189 per year or $21 per hour. The top 10 percent makes over $59,000 per year, while the bottom 10 percent under $31,000 per year.
Average Armed Guard Salary
$43,189 Yearly
$20.76 hourly

What Am I Worth?

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Roles and Types of Armed Guard

The role of an armed guard includes a wide range of responsibilities. These responsibilities can vary based on an individual's specific job, company, or industry.Here are some general armed guard responsibilities:

  • Provide for the security and safety of client property
  • Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of this position) required to follow all company personnel
  • Replenish atm machines on a set schedule. Loading

There are several types of armed guard, including:

Security Officer

Role:

As a security officer, it is your duty to partrol and protect. Most security officers are given a certain property to protect from illegal activity. These properties can vary from public buildings to retail stores and office buildings.

However, you could get a job as a security officer in a casino, and we all know how cool these security officers are just based on movies. No matter how cool and important this role is, it's important to note that it can be taxing. Since a lot of these properties are open 24 hours a day, many security officers work long hours, if not around the clock. One thing is for sure. If you become a security officer, you'll probably become addicted to caffeine.

  • Average Salary: $31,101
  • Degree: High School Diploma

Security Guard

Role:

Security guards help protect some valuable stuff, which varies depending on where they're working. Maybe you'll work for a jewelry store so you'll learn to protect precious gems or maybe you'll work for an apartment complex where you'll be protecting the residents.

Really, there isn't a limit for who or what business needs a security guard. You can find work just about anywhere. A lot of businesses struggle with theft, some even have violent situations arise frequently. Other companies deal with people not following the rules and like to have a security guard to help. So you see, you're needed everywhere.

Sometimes a venue or event will be so big, they'll have x-ray and metal detector equipment setup. In these situations, you'll have to operate and examine those machines as people walk through. Or maybe you'll end up as an individual person's security guard. Whatever you end up guarding, just make sure you're ready for whatever is thrown at you.

  • Average Salary: $31,983
  • Degree: High School Diploma

Officer

Role:

When you think of an officer, perhaps you're thinking of a police officer. But there are a lot of different types of officers. Maybe you want to become an administrative officer. Or a personnel officer. Maybe even an administrative officer. Whatever you want, you've got options.

From managing office stock to putting a stop to crime, your position as an officer is an important one. It's a position that many people count on. An administrative officer makes sure that the company's expenses and budget reports are prepared. While a personnel officer helps with employee relations.

Whatever type of officer you want to become, you'll have plenty of job opportunities. In addition to choosing the industry you go into, lots of companies rely on a type of officer to thrive. Even grocery stores need police officers to stand by to ensure nothing is stolen.

  • Average Salary: $52,506
  • Degree: Bachelor's Degree

States With The Most Armed Guard Jobs

Mouse over a state to see the number of active armed guard jobs in each state. The darker areas on the map show where armed guards earn the highest salaries across all 50 states.

Average Salary: Job Openings:

Number Of Armed Guard Jobs By State

RankStateNumber of JobsAverage Salary
1California2,731$48,225
2Florida1,415$33,677
3Pennsylvania1,037$39,606
4Texas1,010$36,530
5Illinois994$39,446
6New York987$55,028
7Massachusetts838$45,381
8Ohio675$39,039
9North Carolina669$37,749
10New Jersey665$45,353
11Georgia589$34,515
12Virginia548$42,499
13Minnesota521$46,241
14Indiana433$38,823
15Michigan401$41,088
16Wisconsin371$40,832
17Colorado364$43,416
18Tennessee363$35,697
19Maryland344$43,752
20Missouri337$38,791
21Washington335$52,292
22Arizona326$42,672
23Alabama280$34,251
24Utah274$42,433
25Mississippi242$30,166
26South Carolina222$31,661
27Kentucky213$36,509
28Connecticut207$49,216
29Oklahoma192$36,159
30Iowa180$33,741
31Louisiana167$34,176
32Nevada126$45,020
33Oregon118$46,354
34Kansas118$40,415
35Arkansas115$34,038
36Nebraska103$44,172
37New Hampshire94$35,506
38Rhode Island82$45,189
39New Mexico81$39,356
40Delaware80$35,257
41Hawaii78$43,750
42West Virginia62$35,413
43Maine55$39,676
44Idaho42$38,576
45Alaska41$66,586
46Montana37$37,882
47Vermont29$41,266
48North Dakota28$52,395
49Wyoming21$43,063
50South Dakota19$41,324

Armed Guard Education

Armed Guard Majors

11.8 %

Armed Guard Degrees

High School Diploma

36.3 %

Associate

24.9 %

Bachelors

20.7 %

Top Skills For an Armed Guard

The skills section on your resume can be almost as important as the experience section, so you want it to be an accurate portrayal of what you can do. Luckily, we've found all of the skills you'll need so even if you don't have these skills yet, you know what you need to work on. Out of all the resumes we looked through, 22.0% of armed guards listed patrol on their resume, but soft skills such as communication skills and good judgment are important as well.

  • Patrol, 22.0%
  • Medical Emergencies, 11.0%
  • National Security, 8.2%
  • Emergency Situations, 7.3%
  • Law Enforcement, 6.6%
  • Other Skills, 44.9%

Choose From 10+ Customizable Armed Guard Resume templates

Zippia allows you to choose from different easy-to-use Armed Guard templates, and provides you with expert advice. Using the templates, you can rest assured that the structure and format of your Armed Guard resume is top notch. Choose a template with the colors, fonts & text sizes that are appropriate for your industry.

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Armed Guard diversity

Armed Guard Gender Distribution

Male
Male
85%
Female
Female
16%

After extensive research and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:

  • Among armed guards, 15.5% of them are women, while 84.5% are men.

  • The most common race/ethnicity among armed guards is White, which makes up 54.1% of all armed guards.

  • The most common foreign language among armed guards is Spanish at 69.0%.

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Best States For an Armed Guard

Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as an armed guard. The best states for people in this position are Alaska, New York, North Dakota, and Washington. Armed guards make the most in Alaska with an average salary of $66,586. Whereas in New York and North Dakota, they would average $55,028 and $52,395, respectively. While armed guards would only make an average of $52,292 in Washington, you would still make more there than in the rest of the country. We determined these as the best states based on job availability and pay. By finding the median salary, cost of living, and using the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Location Quotient, we narrowed down our list of states to these four.

1. New York

Total Armed Guard Jobs: 987
Highest 10% Earn:
$72,000
Location Quotient:
1.14

2. Minnesota

Total Armed Guard Jobs: 521
Highest 10% Earn:
$57,000
Location Quotient:
1.16

3. Alaska

Total Armed Guard Jobs: 41
Highest 10% Earn:
$75,000
Location Quotient:
0.73
Full List Of Best States For Armed Guards

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Top Armed Guard Employers

Most Common Employers For Armed Guard

RankCompanyAverage SalaryHourly RateJob Openings
1Wells Fargo$49,402$23.7513
2Universal Protection Service$47,820$22.9910
3Arkansas Heart Hospital$43,327$20.8314
4Dunbar$42,166$20.2714
5Loomis Group$41,771$20.08150
6Chenega$40,681$19.5635
7Pendum$39,821$19.1410
8Rochester Armored Car$39,018$18.7625
9Brink's$39,009$18.75193
10MVM$38,691$18.6012

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