Prison guard vs security guard

The differences between prison guards and security guards can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a prison guard has an average salary of $41,596, which is higher than the $31,983 average annual salary of a security guard.

The top three skills for a prison guard include security procedures, emergency situations and incident reports. The most important skills for a security guard are customer service, patrol, and ladders.

Prison guard vs security guard overview

	Prison Guard	Security Guard
Yearly salary	$41,596	$31,983
Hourly rate	$20.00	$15.38
Growth rate	-10%	3%
Number of jobs	16,205	101,728
Job satisfaction	-	4
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 47%	High School Diploma, 42%
Average age	40	43
Years of experience	-	-

Prison guard vs security guard salary

Prison guards and security guards have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Prison Guard	Security Guard
Average salary	$41,596	$31,983
Salary range	Between $30,000 And $56,000	Between $25,000 And $40,000
Highest paying City	-	Lakewood, WA
Highest paying state	-	Hawaii
Best paying company	-	Basin Electric Power Cooperative
Best paying industry	-	Utilities

Differences between prison guard and security guard education

There are a few differences between a prison guard and a security guard in terms of educational background:

	Prison Guard	Security Guard
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 47%	High School Diploma, 42%
Most common major	Criminal Justice	Criminal Justice
Most common college	-	-

Prison guard vs security guard demographics

Here are the differences between prison guards' and security guards' demographics:

	Prison Guard	Security Guard
Average age	40	43
Gender ratio	Male, 73.0% Female, 27.0%	Male, 72.0% Female, 28.0%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 15.0% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 19.2% Asian, 2.0% White, 57.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%	Black or African American, 12.7% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 21.0% Asian, 5.3% White, 54.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.6%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between prison guard and security guard duties and responsibilities

Prison guard example responsibilities.

Carry and operate various types of firearms as necessary and under authorization outside the facility.
Perform basic first aid procedures and cardiopulmonary resuscitation which involves kneeling and bending.

Security guard example responsibilities.

Assist employees with any and all concerns regarding payroll issues, insurance and requesting time off.
Certify in fire safety, adult/child CPR with mask and choking, adult/child a, infant CPR w/ mask and choking.
Distribute payroll checks to security officers.
Administer CPR and transport injured personnel to local medical facilities.
Monitor CCTV and other various intrusion detection security equipment for security issues.
Provide relief to other security officers while maintaining punctuality and building moral support.

Prison guard vs security guard skills

Common prison guard skills

Security Procedures, 28%
Emergency Situations, 18%
Incident Reports, 9%
Security Checks, 9%
Correctional Facility, 7%
CPR, 6%

Common security guard skills

Customer Service, 25%
Patrol, 17%
Ladders, 16%
Security Services, 6%
Emergency Situations, 4%
CPR, 3%