What Security Guards earn in Allegheny County, PA
If you are weighing a move or a job offer, start with $35,850: the median annual pay for Security Guards in Allegheny County, PA. Spread over a standard 2,080-hour work year, that is $17.24 an hour. Because the wage survey covers the whole Pittsburgh, PA metropolitan area, the number reflects employers across the region rather than a single town or a single company.
The mean wage is $39,530, which is 10.3% above the median, a sign that a group of high earners lifts the average. The survey counts about 9,250 people working in this occupation across the Pittsburgh, PA metropolitan area, so the estimate rests on a substantial pool of workers. Allegheny County, PA has roughly 1,238,177 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 Pittsburgh, PA metropolitan area is not one number. The lowest-paid tenth of workers earn up to $29,690 a year ($14.27 an hour), while the highest-paid tenth earn $55,410 or more ($26.64 an hour). That is a gap of $25,720 between the bottom and the top of the scale. The middle half of workers falls between $34,580 at the 25th percentile and $43,650 at the 75th percentile. A top-tier earner makes 1.9 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: $17.24 an hour or $35,850 a year at the median for Allegheny County, PA. Before any deductions, that is $2,988 a month, $1,379 every two weeks and $689 each week. After taxes the same job pays $14.34 per hour of take-home income, which is the number that actually has to cover rent and groceries.
About this occupation: Security Guards
The U.S. Department of Labor's O*NET database describes the work of Security Guards this way: "Guard, patrol, or monitor premises to prevent theft, violence, or infractions of rules. May operate x-ray and metal detector equipment."
Core tasks recorded by O*NET include: "Patrol industrial or commercial premises to prevent and detect signs of intrusion and ensure security of doors, windows, and gates"; "Answer alarms and investigate disturbances"; "Monitor and authorize entrance and departure of employees, visitors, and other persons to guard against theft and maintain security of premises"; "Write reports of daily activities and irregularities, such as equipment or property damage, theft, presence of unauthorized persons, or unusual occurrences".
Job outlook for Security Guards
The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects national employment in this occupation to grow from 1,294,300 jobs in 2025 to 1,305,600 in 2035, a change of +0.9%, slower than the 3.5% projected for all occupations. The projection counts 156,000 openings a year on average, including positions created by growth and positions left by workers who retire or move to another occupation; that equals 12.1% of current employment each year.
Typical entry-level education: high school diploma or equivalent. Typical on-the-job training to reach competency: short-term on-the-job training. BLS lists a national median annual wage of $38,020 for this occupation; the Allegheny County, PA median of $35,850 is 5.7% below it.
How pay in Allegheny County, PA compares
Compared with the Pennsylvania average
Pay in Allegheny County, PA runs $981 below the Pennsylvania average of $36,831, a gap of 2.7%. A worker who moved to a better-paying part of Pennsylvania would, on paper, gain that difference before taxes. Within Pennsylvania, the highest median we track for this job is $37,450 in Philadelphia County, PA.
Compared with the national average
The national employment-weighted average for Security Guards is $39,162 across the contiguous United States. At $35,850, Allegheny County, PA pays $3,312 less, which is 8.5% 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 Allegheny County, PA
Among the 561 occupations with published wages in Allegheny County, PA, Security Guards ranks number 518 by median pay, ahead of about 8% of them. The best-paying occupation we track here is Software Developers at $124,500 a year, which is $88,650 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 Allegheny County, PA median of $35,850, they add up to $6,017. The result is $29,833 of take-home pay a year ($2,486 a month), based on a single filer using the standard deduction.
Put another way, of every $100 earned, about $17 goes to taxes and $83 reaches the paycheck. The overall effective tax rate is 16.8%.
Federal income tax
After the $15,750 standard deduction, taxable income is $20,100. 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 $2,174, an effective 6.1% 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 $2,223 on this salary. Medicare takes 1.45%, or $520. FICA totals $2,743, which is 7.6% of gross pay.
State income tax in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania income tax on this salary is $1,101 a year, or 3.1% of gross pay, after the state's own deductions and exemptions are applied. That is 51% of the federal income tax bill, and it comes out to $92 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 Allegheny County, PA
IRS Statistics of Income data for Allegheny County, PA show an average adjusted gross income of $99,485 per return and an average effective federal income tax rate of 15.1% 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 6.1% 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 Allegheny County, PA
Take-home pay only means something next to what life costs. We price four basics for one adult in Allegheny County, PA: a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline. All of them are converted to annual figures first, then compared with the $29,833 of take-home pay.
Rent
Housing is the largest line in most budgets. For Allegheny County, PA, HUD sets the Fair Market Rent for a one-bedroom unit at $1,146 a month ($13,752 a year), and at $1,389 for two bedrooms. For Security Guards, a one-bedroom absorbs 46.1% of take-home pay and 38.4% 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 9.6% of gross pay for Security Guards in Allegheny County, PA. It is a thrifty budget with no restaurant meals, so treat it as a floor.
Energy and gasoline
Using Pennsylvania residential prices from the Energy Information Administration and national household averages for consumption, electricity costs about $1,877 a year and other home energy such as natural gas about $535, for $2,412 in total. Gasoline in Pennsylvania averages $3.40 per gallon; at about 463 gallons a year (11,106 miles at 24 miles per gallon) fuel adds $1,573.
What is left over
Rent, food, energy and gasoline cost $21,173 a year in Allegheny County, PA. Subtract that from $29,833 of take-home pay and $8,661 remains, which is $722 a month of breathing room. That margin equals 24.2% of gross pay, a comfortable cushion by common budgeting rules.
Local housing and commute data for Allegheny County, PA
The budget above covers rent, food, energy and gasoline. Three more local facts shape what a paycheck buys in Allegheny County, PA: property taxes, housing prices and the daily commute. The figures below are exact U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates for Allegheny County, PA, set beside the Pennsylvania and national medians.
Property taxes in Allegheny County, PA
Homeowners in Allegheny County, PA pay a median of $3,451 a year in real estate taxes, 4% above the Pennsylvania median of $3,311 and 11% above the U.S. median of $3,119. Against a median home value of $227,600, the median tax bill is 1.52% of that value (the ratio of the two county medians). For a worker paid the local Security Guards median of $35,850, a tax bill of that size would equal 9.6% of gross pay, which matters for anyone planning to buy rather than rent.
Rents, home prices and household income in Allegheny County, PA
Renters in Allegheny County, PA pay a median gross rent of $1,153 a month in the Census survey, 5% below the Pennsylvania median of $1,209. HUD's Fair Market Rent for a one-bedroom apartment, which this site uses in the budget, is $1,146 a month; the two measures differ because the Census figure covers units of every size that renters already occupy, while the HUD figure is a one-bedroom benchmark. The median value of an owner-occupied home is $227,600, 11% below the Pennsylvania median of $254,500. Median household income is $78,548, in line with the Pennsylvania median of $77,971, so a year of one-bedroom Fair Market Rent equals 17.5% of that income.
Commuting in Allegheny County, PA
Workers in Allegheny County, PA who travel to a workplace spend an average of 25.2 minutes each way, 4% below the Pennsylvania average of 26.3. For someone who commutes five days a week, that is 4.2 hours of round-trip travel every week, a cost the budget does not price. 21.1% of workers in Allegheny County, PA work from home, compared with 15.1% nationally, which removes the commute for them.
Can Security Guards afford to live in Allegheny County, PA?
The 30% rent guideline
A common rule of thumb says rent should stay under 30% of gross income. For a gross salary of $35,850 that ceiling is $896 a month. The one-bedroom Fair Market Rent of $1,146 is $250 over it, so rent breaks the guideline. Put as a wage, covering a one-bedroom at the 30% guideline takes $22.04 an hour; the median for Security Guards is $17.24, which is 22% below that mark. Another way to see it: at $14.34 of take-home pay an hour, a one-bedroom takes about 18.4 working hours every week.
Splitting a two-bedroom
Sharing a two-bedroom at $1,389 a month means $695 each. Compared with renting a one-bedroom alone, that saves $5,418 a year. With a roommate, the yearly margin after the basics becomes $14,079.
How fast you can save
At $722 a month of margin, building a $10,000 emergency fund would take about 14 months. Setting aside half of the margin stretches the same goal to about 28 months. These figures ignore interest, raises and any spending beyond the four basics.
Frequently asked questions about Security Guards pay in Allegheny County, PA
How much do Security Guards make per hour in Allegheny County, PA?
The median is $17.24 per hour, based on $35,850 a year over 2,080 hours. Hourly pay runs from about $14.27 at the 10th percentile to $26.64 at the 90th percentile.
How much do Security Guards take home after taxes in Allegheny County, PA?
After federal income tax, FICA and state income tax, the median salary of $35,850 becomes $29,833 a year. That is $2,486 a month, $1,147 every two weeks or $574 a week.
How much tax do Security Guards pay in Allegheny County, PA?
Total taxes are $6,017 a year, an effective rate of 16.8%: $2,174 federal income tax, $2,743 FICA and $1,101 Pennsylvania income tax.
Do Security Guards earn more in Allegheny County, PA than elsewhere in Pennsylvania?
No. The local median of $35,850 is -2.7% versus the Pennsylvania average of $36,831, a difference of $981 a year.
Can Security Guards afford a one-bedroom apartment in Allegheny County, PA?
A one-bedroom costs $1,146 a month against take-home pay of $2,486, which is 46.1% of take-home pay. That does not meet the 30%-of-gross guideline, which allows up to $896 a month.
What is the monthly budget margin for Security Guards in Allegheny County, PA?
About $722 a month ($8,661 a year) remains after a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline, which together cost $21,173 a year.
What hourly wage covers a one-bedroom in Allegheny County, PA at the 30% guideline?
$22.04 an hour for a full-time schedule, calculated as the $13,752 annual rent divided by 0.30 and by 2,080 hours. The median for Security Guards is $17.24.
How we calculated these numbers
Wages are May 2025 medians from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey for the Pittsburgh, PA 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 Pennsylvania 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.