Security Guards in Utah
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$34,589
after federal, FICA and Utah tax
Tax takes
$8,111
19.0% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$36,409
Utah costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Utah — 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
$42,700
Kept after tax
$34,589
Worth in national money
$36,409
State rank
15
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Utah is one of the better-paying states for security guards. The middle earner takes $42,700, which ranks 15 of 51 states with published figures. That is about 12.31% above the national middle.
- Within Utah this is lower-paid work. Of 487 occupations the state publishes figures for, security guards ranks 389. That is the bottom quarter locally, whatever the national comparison says.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $42,700 you keep $34,589 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $36,409 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $43,050, since top earners drag the number up.
- Utah ranks 15 of 51 states publishing a median for security guards, at $42,700 — about 12.31% above the national median. A state's position on nominal pay is the figure wage tables report and the least informative of the three on this page, because it survives neither the tax adjustment nor the price adjustment intact for most occupations.
- Against every occupation Utah reports, security guards ranks 389 of 487, 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.
- Retained pay in Utah is $34,589 after the full tax stack, from $42,700. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $36,409 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $43,050 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
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Pay band: Security Guards
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $31,270 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $42,700 |
| Top tenth earn over | $56,620 |
| This salary | $42,700 |
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 Utah | $34,589 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $36,489 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$1,141 |
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 | $40,335 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$1,380 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 95 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- A median is the middle, not an offer. Half of security guards in Utah earn under $42,700 and half over. The published range runs $31,270 at the tenth percentile to $56,620 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $34,589 take-home in Utah comes from $42,700. It is the no-frills case: single filer, standard deduction, nothing set aside before tax. Real circumstances almost always reduce the tax. City and school-district taxes are not counted at all. Locally the work ranks 389 of 487.
- One number stands for prices across all of Utah, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $36,409, the adjusted value of that $42,700 median, as a way to compare states fairly, not as a quote for any particular place. The two datasets are also from different years. This job sits at 389 of 487 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for security guards in Utah, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $31,270 to $56,620; within-state dispersion of that width routinely exceeds the dispersion between states, so tenure, employer and metropolitan area predict an individual's pay better than geography does.
- Retained pay of $34,589, from $42,700, assumes a single Utah filer with the standard deduction and no elective deferrals. Pre-tax retirement or HSA contributions, dependants and itemized deductions all reduce it further; local income taxes, excluded here, would increase it in the states that levy them. This occupation ranks 389 of 487 locally, and the state ranks 15 of 51 for it.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Utah, so $36,409 — the adjusted value of that $42,700 median — establishes comparability between states rather than accuracy within one. The wage and parity series are dated independently, each following its own publication cycle, and neither is projected forward. This occupation sits at 389 of 487 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $31,270 at the tenth percentile, $56,620 at the ninetieth.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. Utah is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $36,409 in national terms.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Three of them are federal and one is not. After income tax, Social Security, Medicare and Utah's own levy, $34,589 remains.
Can I compare this job across every state?
Yes for this one. Pay is published in all 51 jurisdictions, so a state-to-state comparison here rests on the same survey everywhere rather than on a patchwork.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($31,270 to $56,620) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Utah rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Utah'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 $36,409 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 $34,589 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Utah 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.