What Security Guards earn in Mecklenburg County, NC
If you are weighing a move or a job offer, start with $35,010: the median annual pay for Security Guards in Mecklenburg County, NC. Spread over a standard 2,080-hour work year, that is $16.83 an hour. Because the wage survey covers the whole Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC metropolitan area, the number reflects employers across the region rather than a single town or a single company.
The mean wage is $38,340, which is 9.5% above the median, a sign that a group of high earners lifts the average. The survey counts about 12,020 people working in this occupation across the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC metropolitan area, so the estimate rests on a substantial pool of workers. Mecklenburg County, NC has roughly 1,154,681 residents, according to the population figures used by the rent data.
The salary range, from entry level to top earners
Pay for Security Guards in the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC metropolitan area is not one number. The lowest-paid tenth of workers earn up to $29,520 a year ($14.19 an hour), while the highest-paid tenth earn $46,740 or more ($22.47 an hour). That is a gap of $17,220 between the bottom and the top of the scale. The middle half of workers falls between $33,110 at the 25th percentile and $42,940 at the 75th percentile. A top-tier earner makes 1.6 times what someone at the bottom makes, so experience, certification and employer all matter.
What the hourly rate looks like
Employers quote this occupation by the hour or by the year, so here are both: $16.83 an hour or $35,010 a year at the median for Mecklenburg County, NC. Before any deductions, that is $2,918 a month, $1,347 every two weeks and $673 each week. After taxes the same job pays $14.09 per hour of take-home income, which is the number that actually has to cover rent and groceries.
How pay in Mecklenburg County, NC compares
Compared with the North Carolina average
Pay in Mecklenburg County, NC runs $604 below the North Carolina average of $35,614, a gap of 1.7%. A worker who moved to a better-paying part of North Carolina would, on paper, gain that difference before taxes.
Compared with the national average
The national employment-weighted average for Security Guards is $39,162 across the contiguous United States. At $35,010, Mecklenburg County, NC pays $4,152 less, which is 10.6% below that benchmark. Keep in mind that a higher salary only helps if living costs do not rise faster, which is why the cost sections below matter as much as the headline number.
Where this job ranks in Mecklenburg County, NC
Among the 583 occupations with published wages in Mecklenburg County, NC, Security Guards ranks number 548 by median pay, ahead of about 6% of them. The best-paying occupation we track here is Software Developers at $135,920 a year, which is $100,910 more than the median for Security Guards.
From gross pay to take-home pay
Three separate tax bills sit between the gross salary and the bank account: federal income tax, FICA, and state income tax. For Security Guards earning the Mecklenburg County, NC median of $35,010, they add up to $5,697. The result is $29,313 of take-home pay a year ($2,443 a month), based on a single filer using the standard deduction.
Put another way, of every $100 earned, about $16 goes to taxes and $84 reaches the paycheck. The overall effective tax rate is 16.3%.
Federal income tax
After the $15,750 standard deduction, taxable income is $19,260. Federal brackets are marginal, so only the slice of income above each threshold is taxed at the higher rate; the last dollars of this salary fall in the 12% bracket. The resulting federal income tax is $2,073, an effective 5.9% of gross pay, well below the 12% marginal rate because the lower brackets are cheaper.
Social Security and Medicare (FICA)
Payroll taxes are a flat percentage of wages. Social Security takes 6.2% up to a wage base of $176,100, which costs $2,171 on this salary. Medicare takes 1.45%, or $508. FICA totals $2,678, which is 7.6% of gross pay.
State income tax in North Carolina
North Carolina income tax on this salary is $946 a year, or 2.7% of gross pay, after the state's own deductions and exemptions are applied. That is 46% of the federal income tax bill, and it comes out to $79 a month. Local taxes such as county or city income taxes are not included, so a few jurisdictions may withhold slightly more.
A cross-check with IRS data for Mecklenburg County, NC
IRS Statistics of Income data for Mecklenburg County, NC show an average adjusted gross income of $111,114 per return and an average effective federal income tax rate of 16.8% across all filers. Filers in the $25,000 to under $50,000 bracket, where this salary falls, paid an average of 5.5%, compared with the 5.9% estimated here for a single filer taking the standard deduction. Gaps between the two reflect filing status, dependents, credits and other income, none of which a single-person wage estimate includes.
Cost of living in Mecklenburg County, NC
Take-home pay only means something next to what life costs. We price four basics for one adult in Mecklenburg County, NC: a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline. All of them are converted to annual figures first, then compared with the $29,313 of take-home pay.
Rent
Housing is the largest line in most budgets. For Mecklenburg County, NC, HUD sets the Fair Market Rent for a one-bedroom unit at $1,640 a month ($19,680 a year), and at $1,785 for two bedrooms. For Security Guards, a one-bedroom absorbs 67.1% of take-home pay and 56.2% of gross pay.
Food
The USDA Thrifty Food Plan (August 2026) puts the cost of a nutritious home-cooked diet for an adult at about $3,436 a year, which is $286 a month or $66.07 a week. That equals 9.8% of gross pay for Security Guards in Mecklenburg County, NC. It is a thrifty budget with no restaurant meals, so treat it as a floor.
Energy and gasoline
Using North Carolina residential prices from the Energy Information Administration and national household averages for consumption, electricity costs about $1,493 a year and other home energy such as natural gas about $645, for $2,138 in total. Gasoline in North Carolina averages $3.18 per gallon; at about 463 gallons a year (11,106 miles at 24 miles per gallon) fuel adds $1,472.
What is left over
Rent, food, energy and gasoline cost $26,726 a year in Mecklenburg County, NC. Subtract that from $29,313 of take-home pay and $2,587 remains, which is $216 a month of breathing room. That margin equals 7.4% of gross pay, a thin cushion that one unexpected expense could erase.
Can Security Guards afford to live in Mecklenburg County, NC?
The 30% rent guideline
A common rule of thumb says rent should stay under 30% of gross income. For a gross salary of $35,010 that ceiling is $875 a month. The one-bedroom Fair Market Rent of $1,640 is $765 over it, so rent breaks the guideline. Put as a wage, covering a one-bedroom at the 30% guideline takes $31.54 an hour; the median for Security Guards is $16.83, which is 47% below that mark. Another way to see it: at $14.09 of take-home pay an hour, a one-bedroom takes about 26.9 working hours every week.
Splitting a two-bedroom
Sharing a two-bedroom at $1,785 a month means $893 each. Compared with renting a one-bedroom alone, that saves $8,970 a year. With a roommate, the yearly margin after the basics becomes $11,557.
How fast you can save
At $216 a month of margin, building a $10,000 emergency fund would take about 47 months (3.9 years). Setting aside half of the margin stretches the same goal to about 94 months. These figures ignore interest, raises and any spending beyond the four basics.
Frequently asked questions about Security Guards pay in Mecklenburg County, NC
How much do Security Guards make per hour in Mecklenburg County, NC?
The median is $16.83 per hour, based on $35,010 a year over 2,080 hours. Hourly pay runs from about $14.19 at the 10th percentile to $22.47 at the 90th percentile.
How much do Security Guards take home after taxes in Mecklenburg County, NC?
After federal income tax, FICA and state income tax, the median salary of $35,010 becomes $29,313 a year. That is $2,443 a month, $1,127 every two weeks or $564 a week.
How much tax do Security Guards pay in Mecklenburg County, NC?
Total taxes are $5,697 a year, an effective rate of 16.3%: $2,073 federal income tax, $2,678 FICA and $946 North Carolina income tax.
Do Security Guards earn more in Mecklenburg County, NC than elsewhere in North Carolina?
No. The local median of $35,010 is -1.7% versus the North Carolina average of $35,614, a difference of $604 a year.
Can Security Guards afford a one-bedroom apartment in Mecklenburg County, NC?
A one-bedroom costs $1,640 a month against take-home pay of $2,443, which is 67.1% of take-home pay. That does not meet the 30%-of-gross guideline, which allows up to $875 a month.
What is the monthly budget margin for Security Guards in Mecklenburg County, NC?
About $216 a month ($2,587 a year) remains after a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline, which together cost $26,726 a year.
What hourly wage covers a one-bedroom in Mecklenburg County, NC at the 30% guideline?
$31.54 an hour for a full-time schedule, calculated as the $19,680 annual rent divided by 0.30 and by 2,080 hours. The median for Security Guards is $16.83.
How we calculated these numbers
Wages are May 2025 medians from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey for the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC metropolitan area; hourly-only values are annualized at 2,080 hours. Rents are HUD Fair Market Rents, food costs come from the USDA Thrifty Food Plan, and energy prices come from the Energy Information Administration. County-level tax statistics come from the IRS Statistics of Income.
Taxes use tax-year 2025 federal brackets, FICA rates and the North Carolina rules for a single filer with wage income only. Figures are estimates for planning and comparison, not tax or financial advice, and they exclude local income taxes, benefits, retirement contributions and individual circumstances.