Security guards and related occupations salary in the UK
The median full-time salary for security guards and related occupations in the UK is £33,832 (ONS, 2025). After tax and National Insurance at 2026/27 rates that is about £2,323 a month.
Pay range for security guards and related occupations
This is the ONS occupation group "Security guards and related occupations" (SOC 2020 code 9231). ONS figures for 2025 show that one in ten earn less than £23,794, a quarter earn less than £27,982, half earn less than £33,832, a quarter earn more than £39,194 and one in ten earn more than £44,793.
| Point in the pay range | Gross a year | Gross a month | Take-home a year | Take-home a month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | £23,794 | £1,983 | £20,651 | £1,721 |
| 25th percentile | £27,982 | £2,332 | £23,667 | £1,972 |
| Median (50th percentile) | £33,832 | £2,819 | £27,879 | £2,323 |
| 75th percentile | £39,194 | £3,266 | £31,739 | £2,645 |
| 90th percentile | £44,793 | £3,733 | £35,771 | £2,981 |
Take-home at England, Wales and Northern Ireland rates. ONS rates the median for security guards and related occupations as precise: its sampling error (coefficient of variation) is 2.1%. ONS estimates about 74,000 full-time employee jobs in this occupation. ONS says job counts like this are indicative only.
Where security guards and related occupations rank
The median for security guards and related occupations ranks 211th of 362 occupations on this site, in the lower half, and 3rd of 29 in elementary occupations. It is £5,207 (13.3%) lower than the UK median of £39,039 for all full-time employee jobs. ONS change on the previous year: the median for security guards and related occupations rose 11.5%, more than the 4.3% rise in the UK median for all full-time jobs. 38 of 358 occupations had a change this large in either direction. ONS figures for one occupation come from a sample, so they can move a lot from one year to the next.
Jobs with the nearest medians: Chemical and related process operatives (£33,959), Stonemasons and related trades (£33,938), Boat and ship builders and repairers (£33,896), Transport and distribution clerks and assistants (£33,508), Ambulance staff (excluding paramedics) (£33,465) and Marketing associate professionals (£33,412).
How spread out pay is
The 90th percentile (£44,793) is 1.9 times the 10th (£23,794). That is a narrower spread than for all UK full-time jobs, where it is 3.2 times. The middle half of full-time security guards and related occupations earn between £27,982 and £39,194, a gap of £11,212, or 33.1% of the median. That is £13,535 narrower than the £24,747 gap for all UK jobs, and the 141st widest of the 223 jobs where ONS published both figures, in the lower half of the list.
The mean for security guards and related occupations (total pay divided by the number of employees) is £33,880, which is £48 (0.1%) higher than the median. The two are close, so very high or very low salaries are not pulling the average far from the middle. For all UK full-time jobs the mean is 24.3% above the median, so the gap for security guards and related occupations is smaller.
Security guards and related occupations and related jobs
Among these 4 jobs in the same or nearby ONS occupation groups, this one has the highest median. The highest median among them is £33,832 (security guards and related occupations) and the lowest £25,780 (elementary cleaning occupations n.e.c.).
| Job | SOC code | Median salary | Take-home a month |
|---|---|---|---|
| Security guards and related occupations | 9231 | £33,832 | £2,323 |
| Refuse and salvage occupations | 9225 | £27,857 | £1,965 |
| Vehicle valeters and cleaners | 9226 | £26,598 | £1,889 |
| Elementary cleaning occupations n.e.c. | 9229 | £25,780 | £1,840 |
Take-home pay against all jobs
At the median, security guards and related occupations take home about £2,323 a month, against £2,636 on the UK median for all jobs. Scotland has its own income tax bands, so take-home pay on the same salary is different there.
| Group | Median a year | Take-home a month | Take-home a month in Scotland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Security guards and related occupations | £33,832 | £2,323 | £2,323 |
| All full-time employee jobs, UK | £39,039 | £2,636 | £2,631 |
Related pages
All jobs in the Elementary occupations table, average salary by area, the take home pay calculator, salary to hourly calculator and pay rise calculator.
How this is worked out
Pay: ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE), 2025 provisional, SOC 2020 unit group 9231. Take-home: 2026/27 rates, tax code 1257L, no pension or student loan. How to read these figures.
Sources
- ASHE Table 14: earnings by occupation (4-digit SOC), 2025 provisional (ONS)
- ASHE Table 7: earnings by place of work, local authority, 2025 provisional (ONS)
- SOC 2020 Volume 1: structure and descriptions of unit groups (ONS)
- Income Tax rates and Personal Allowances (GOV.UK)
- Scottish Income Tax (GOV.UK)
- National Insurance: how much you pay (GOV.UK)
Figures checked on 12 October 2026. ONS plans to publish its next ASHE figures on 22 October 2026. Read how we calculate or tell us about a mistake.
Frequently asked questions
On the median full-time salary of £33,832, take-home pay is about £2,323 a month (£27,879 a year) after 2026/27 income tax and National Insurance, with tax code 1257L and no pension or student loan. In Scotland, where income tax is different, it is about £2,323 a month.
ONS figures for full-time jobs (2025) show that one in ten earn less than £23,794, a quarter earn less than £27,982, half earn less than £33,832, a quarter earn more than £39,194 and one in ten earn more than £44,793.
No. The median for security guards and related occupations is £33,832, which is £5,207 (13.3%) lower than the UK median of £39,039 for all full-time employee jobs (ONS, 2025). It ranks 211th of 362 occupations on this site.