Security Guards Salary in Nebraska

The median for security guards in Nebraska is $39,840 a year, somewhat above the national $38,020 (+5%); the state ranks 18th of 51 states by median. That is 19% less than the median across all occupations in Nebraska ($48,980). Among neighbouring states, Colorado and Missouri pay more (up to $45,150 in Colorado) and Wyoming, South Dakota, Iowa and Kansas pay less (down to $37,080 in Kansas). Nebraska employs 4,700 security guards, 4.59 per 1,000 jobs, the 40th largest count of any state. A location quotient of 0.56 means it is less common in Nebraska than nationally.

Nebraska vs the United States, May 2025

Security Guards: wage percentiles, mean, employment, jobs per 1,000 and location quotient in Nebraska and nationally, May 2025
Area	Basis	Percentile wage					Mean	Employment	Jobs per 1,000	Location quotient
Area	Basis	10th	25th	Median	75th	90th	Mean	Employment	Jobs per 1,000	Location quotient
Nebraska	Hourly	$16.36	$17.86	$19.15	$22.79	$33.81	$21.63	4,700	4.59	0.56
Nebraska	Annual	$34,020	$37,150	$39,840	$47,400	$70,310	$45,000	4,700	4.59	0.56
United States	Hourly	$14.52	$16.93	$18.28	$22.21	$28.29	$20.42	1,283,470	–	–
United States	Annual	$30,210	$35,210	$38,020	$46,200	$58,840	$42,470	1,283,470	–	–

Nebraska annual wage at the 10th, 25th, 50th (median), 75th and 90th percentiles; the line marks the US median. The same numbers are in the table above.

Rank by median: 18th of 51 states
Rank by employment: 40th of 51 states
Location quotient: 0.56
Jobs per 1,000: 4.59

Ranks count the 50 states and DC with a published value. The location quotient is the occupation's share of Nebraska's employment divided by its national share; 1.00 means the same share as the nation. Take-home pay at these wages: FastCalc's take-home pay calculator.

Metropolitan areas in Nebraska

4 metropolitan areas and 3 nonmetropolitan areas touching Nebraska publish a row for security guards, sorted by median. Areas crossing a state line are listed under every state they touch; a linked metro has its own profile.

Area	Median hourly	Median annual	10th pct (annual)	90th pct (annual)	Employment	Jobs per 1,000	Location quotient
Omaha, NE-IA	$20.37	$42,370	$35,740	$76,110	3,170	6.36	0.77
Grand Island, NE	$18.68	$38,850	$31,910	$52,000	90	2.16	0.26
Sioux City, IA-NE-SD	$18.50	$38,480	$30,520	$66,810	350	4.61	0.56
Lincoln, NE	$17.64	$36,700	$30,470	$60,460	710	3.87	0.47
South Nebraska nonmetropolitan area	$20.50	$42,640	$31,000	$70,310	380	2.45	0.30
Northeast Nebraska nonmetropolitan area	$20.29	$42,200	$30,830	$68,430	210	2.14	0.26
Northwest Nebraska nonmetropolitan area	$17.62	$36,640	$30,410	$51,540	40	1.07	0.13

Neighbouring states

State	Median hourly	Median annual	Employment	Location quotient
Nebraska	$19.15	$39,840	4,700	0.56
Colorado	$21.71	$45,150	16,890	0.71
Iowa	$17.83	$37,080	6,890	0.54
Kansas	$17.83	$37,080	7,150	0.60
Missouri	$19.42	$40,390	18,630	0.77
South Dakota	$17.86	$37,150	1,460	0.39
Wyoming	$18.85	$39,200	1,130	0.49

See the national page for Security Guards (every state ranked) and the Nebraska wage profile (every occupation in the state).

Source and notes

Data: BLS OEWS May 2025, released 2026-05-15. Cross-industry estimates, all ownerships. BLS page: OEWS Nebraska estimates.

Annual wages assume 2,080 hours a year at the hourly rate; occupations BLS publishes on one basis only show an en dash (–) on the other.
Employment is rounded to the nearest 10 by BLS. Where BLS withholds a cell, nothing is estimated in its place.