Security Guards in Maine
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$32,240
after federal, FICA and Maine tax
Tax takes
$6,860
17.5% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$33,204
Maine costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Maine — roughly, since only five points along the band are published.
One filer, standard deduction, no dependants and nothing paid in before tax — the same household the rest of this page uses, so the comparison holds. City and school-district income taxes are not included.
Median here
$39,100
Kept after tax
$32,240
Worth in national money
$33,204
State rank
22
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Maine is 22 of 51 states for security guards, with a middle wage of $39,100. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Within Maine this is lower-paid work. Of 484 occupations the state publishes figures for, security guards ranks 441. That is the bottom quarter locally, whatever the national comparison says.
- No great distortion either way. Maine costs about what the country costs, so from $39,100, take-home of $32,240 is worth roughly $33,204 in national money. The average comes to $41,390, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Maine ranks 22 of 51 for security guards at $39,100. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Against every occupation Maine reports, security guards ranks 441 of 484, in the lowest quartile of the state's distribution. That position is set by the local labor market and is independent of how the state compares nationally for this work.
- Price parity in Maine is near the national base, so for security guards, whose median is $39,100, the adjusted figure of $33,204 differs little from $32,240 retained after tax. The state's position for this occupation is therefore set by wage and tax rather than by living costs. At $41,390 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Security Guards
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $31,470 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $39,100 |
| Top tenth earn over | $51,530 |
| This salary | $39,100 |
Positions between the published tenth, quarter, half, three-quarter and ninetieth points are estimated by straight line.
The same pay, somewhere else
The state median for this job
| Take-home in Maine | $32,240 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $33,597 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$1,370 |
State income tax and state price levels only. No city income tax, and no housing market.
What you would need there
The state median for this job
| To match take-home only | $37,411 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$1,657 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 97 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $39,100 as a midpoint for Maine, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $31,470 and the ninetieth is $51,530 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- In Maine the take-home figure of $32,240, from $39,100, assumes one filer, no dependants, and nothing paid into a pension before tax. Each of those lowers the bill, so treat it as the plain case. City and school-district income taxes are not included either, and in a few states those are real money. It ranks 441 of 484 occupations here.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $33,204 uses one figure for the whole of Maine. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 484 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 441.
- The Maine median of $39,100 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $31,470 to $51,530. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Take-home for Maine is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $32,240 from $39,100. Each omitted item reduces taxable income, so the figure is a lower bound on retained pay for this household shape. Municipal and school-district income taxes are excluded, which understates the burden materially in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Maryland. The occupation ranks 441 of 484 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $33,204, worked from $39,100, deflates by a statewide parity that conceals substantial intra-state variation, concentrated in housing — so it supports comparison between states rather than the pricing of a move to a particular Maine address, on work sitting at 441 of 484 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $41,390, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $31,470 at the bottom tenth to $51,530 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. Maine is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $33,204 in national terms.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Four deductions, stacked. The federal layer and the two payroll taxes apply wherever you work; Maine then takes its own share, leaving $32,240.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like one.
How does the published median differ from the mean for this occupation?
The median is the midpoint of the distribution; the mean for this occupation in Maine is $41,390. Wage distributions are right-skewed, so the mean exceeds the median wherever a minority earn substantially more. BLS publishes both because substituting one for the other misstates a typical worker's pay.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($31,470 to $51,530) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Maine rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Maine's regional price parity is at or below the national average, so nominal wages understate purchasing power. Take-home deflated by the state price level is $33,204 in national-average terms. The adjustment uses an all-items index and does not isolate housing.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $32,240 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Maine income tax for a single filer with no adjustments. The state layer is levied in addition to the federal one; only its rate and base differ between states.
Is this occupation's state coverage complete?
State-level estimates are published for all 51 jurisdictions for this occupation, so cross-state comparison is not confounded by suppression. ⚠️ Estimates remain survey-based and carry sampling error; small differences between adjacent states should not be over-read.