Compared with the local labor market
Security Guard pay vs. Georgia
Across all employers in Georgia, the median wage for Security Guards — about 36,210 people — is $34,980. Kennesaw State University pays a median base salary of $51,197 for this role, 46% above that figure — above the 90th percentile of local pay for the occupation.
Where Kennesaw State University sits in the local pay range
$29,060
$30,920
$34,980
$39,060
$48,590
Kennesaw State University median · $51,197
The bar is the range of annual wages for Security Guards across every employer in Georgia, from the 10th to the 90th percentile, with the middle 50% highlighted. The marker shows Kennesaw State University’s median base salary for this role. Both figures are base pay only.
And across the country
Nationwide, the median wage for Security Guards — about 1,283,470 people — is $38,020. Kennesaw State University’s median base salary is 35% above that national figure, about the 81st percentile of pay for the occupation nationally.
$30,210
$35,210
$38,020
$46,200
$58,840
Kennesaw State University median · $51,197
Local and national wages differ for reasons beyond how well a job pays — cost of living, the mix of employers, and local demand for the occupation all move the Georgia range relative to the national one.
Computed over the 6 of 8 people in this role paid at least $25,000in base salary. The rest are part-year or part-time records, whose actual pay isn’t comparable to a full-time annual wage.
Median total compensation for this role at Kennesaw State University is $47,502, which includes overtime and employer-paid benefits. The benchmark above excludes both, so total compensation is deliberately not compared against it.
Benchmark: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2025). BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) covers all employers in the area — private, non-profit, and government alike — so this is a comparison against the whole local labor market for the occupation, not against private-sector pay. OEWS wages are straight-time pay and exclude overtime, shift differentials, and employer-paid benefits, so the government figure shown here is base pay on the same basis. Total compensation is not comparable to it. Job titles are matched to the closest standard occupation, so the comparison is between similar work rather than an identical job classification.
Compare jurisdictions
Security Guard beyond Georgia
This role is reported in 15 jurisdictions. In Georgia, the median of $38,364 ranks #7 of 15. See Security Guard across all of Georgia →
Highest-paying jurisdictions for this role
Median total compensation for comparable Security Guardroles in other jurisdictions. Titles are matched by normalized name across sources, not identical job classification, and pay is not cost-of-living adjusted. Each bar links to that jurisdiction’s page for the role.