Security Guard Salary in Portland, OR (2026)
Median in Portland: $22.51/hour ($46,820/year) — $8,800 (23%) above the national median. Typical range: $43,610–$49,070.
BLS OEWS May 2025 · Portland, OR metro · refreshed 2026-08-25 · Reviewed by Dalton Metzler · U.S. Security Guard salary overview
The median Security Guard salary in Portland, OR is $22.51/hour ($46,820/year) ($8,800 (23%) above the national median), with a typical range of $43,610–$49,070. Data from BLS + Jobeezy ghost-filter (2026).
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Median | $22.51/hour ($46,820/year) | BLS OEWS May 2025 |
| 25th-75th pct | $43,610–$49,070 | BLS OEWS May 2025 |
| Metro employment | ~9,110 | BLS OEWS May 2025 |
Security Guard pay distribution in Portland, OR
National median: $38,020/yr. Portland is $8,800 (23%) above the national median.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS May 2025 — Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA metro area (SOC 33-9032, Security Guard).
What security guard pay in Portland really looks like
Portland is a standout-pay market for security guards. The local median of about $22.51 an hour ($46,820 a year) runs $8,800 (23%) above the national median of $38,020, one of the widest premiums in the country for this occupation. Offers benchmarked to U.S.-wide averages will read far too low here — hold out for the local number, and treat the metro median as your floor, not your target.
Pay is tightly clustered here: the 25th-to-75th-percentile band runs just $43,610 to $49,070 (BLS). A narrow spread means the metro median is a dependable expectation rather than a midpoint between wildly different jobs — there is little room above it without a credential, a specialty, or a supervisory step, so the ladder up is about the role, not just the employer.
This is a substantial local market: BLS estimates roughly 9,110 security guard jobs across the Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA metro area (a count of metro employment, not a survey of reported salaries). A deep employer base is good news for pay — it means more openings to compare side by side, more turnover creating vacancies, and more leverage to hold out for an employer at the top of the local range instead of settling for the first offer that lands.
Right now, Jobeezy is tracking 24 open security guard jobs in Portland against the BLS $46,820 benchmark — the live listings and the employers hiring are below, so you can see which openings actually clear the metro median before you apply.
Put it together and the picture for Portland is concrete: a metro median of $46,820 with most security guards landing between $43,610 and $49,070. The practical move is to aim for the upper half of that band. Jobeezy fit-scores local security guard openings, surfaces the employers posting toward $49,070, and applies for you — so your time goes to the jobs that clear the Portland median, not the ones that sit under it.
Security Guard pay by hour, week, month & year in Portland
| Period | Typical Pay |
|---|---|
| Per hour | $22.51 |
| Per week (40 hrs) | $900 |
| Per month | $3,902 |
| Per year | $46,820 |
How we know this — Portland sources
Wage figures for Security Guard in Portland, OR are the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS May 2025 estimate for the Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA metro area (MSA code 38900) (SOC 33-9032), released 2026-08-25. Suppressed cells are shown as an em dash, never a zero.
Grow your security guard pay in Portland
Advancing your pay in Portland comes down to experience, credentials, and how you negotiate. We keep that guidance on the national Security Guard guide so it stays current in one place:
Compare Security Guard pay in nearby metros
Related roles in Portland
Beyond Security Guard · same Portland BLS datasetOther roles hiring in Portland, OR alongside security guards, drawn from the same BLS OEWS May 2025 dataset:
- 01Portland · OR · median $130,310Registered Nurse pay in Portland
- 02Portland · OR · median $74,900Sales Representative pay in Portland
- 03Portland · OR · median $121,050Operations Manager pay in Portland
- 04Portland · OR · median $87,950Logistics Coordinator pay in Portland
- 05Portland · OR · median $64,830Warehouse Supervisor pay in Portland
- 06Portland · OR · median $123,100Dental Hygienist pay in Portland
- 07Portland · OR · median $56,240Medical Assistant pay in Portland
- 08Portland · OR · median $105,090Electrician pay in Portland
Security Guard pay in Portland, OR — common questions
- How much does a Security Guard make in Portland, OR?
- The median Security Guard salary in Portland, OR is $22.51/hour ($46,820/year) ($8,800 (23%) above the national median), with a typical range of $43,610–$49,070 (25th–75th percentile). Figures are BLS OEWS May 2025, released 2026-08-25.
- Is Portland a strong pay market for Security Guards?
- At a $46,820 median, Portland is $8,800 (23%) above the national median. The U.S. median is $38,020. Jobeezy shows you which local employers actually pay at the top of that band before you apply.
- How can I earn more as a Security Guard in Portland?
- Target employers paying toward the $49,070 (75th-percentile) mark and anchor your negotiation to the BLS band. Jobeezy fit-scores Security Guard openings in Portland and auto-applies, so you reach more high-paying employers fast.
- How many Security Guards work in Portland?
- BLS estimates roughly 9,110 security guard jobs across Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA (May 2025 metro employment — a count of jobs, not of salaries reported).