The average alarm installer in the United States earns $60,960 a year, and the median, which is the figure that describes a typical worker rather than one dragged around by the top end, is $60,070. That works out at about $29.31 an hour. Where you work moves that a long way: Massachusetts averages $78,560 and Mississippi $48,090. Everything below is from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025 release, not from job ads or self-reported surveys.
What a alarm installer actually does for that money
Security and fire alarm systems installers is counted separately from electricians, and the pay reflects a lower barrier to entry with a higher regulatory burden. Most work for dealers whose real business is the monitoring contract, which keeps installation rates competitive.
What alarm installers earn, from bottom to top
An average hides the spread, and the spread is what matters when you are deciding whether to enter the trade or what to pay someone. Here is the full range BLS publishes.
| Percentile | Annual | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Bottom 10% | $38,800 | Starting out, or an apprentice rate |
| 25th | $47,820 | Still building speed and a customer base |
| Median | $60,070 | The middle of the trade |
| 75th | $73,690 | Experienced, licensed, in demand |
| Top 10% | $81,150 | Specialists, supervisors and owners |
Security Alarm salary by state
Massachusetts pays the most at $78,560 a year, and Mississippi the least at $48,090. Cost of living explains part of that gap and licensing rules explain a good deal of the rest.
| # | State | Average annual | Median annual | Hourly | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Massachusetts | $78,560 | $78,530 | $37.77 | 1,690 |
| 2 | Oregon | $74,760 | $75,710 | $35.94 | 950 |
| 3 | Washington | $73,800 | $72,950 | $35.48 | 1,670 |
| 4 | California | $71,000 | $71,570 | $34.14 | 8,180 |
| 5 | Connecticut | $69,120 | $75,410 | $33.23 | 540 |
| 6 | Maryland | $69,100 | $65,330 | $33.22 | 2,230 |
| 7 | Alaska | $69,040 | $79,870 | $33.19 | 110 |
| 8 | Minnesota | $68,840 | $62,440 | $33.09 | 770 |
| 9 | Montana | $68,500 | $58,800 | $32.94 | 190 |
| 10 | District of Columbia | $67,870 | $58,460 | $32.63 | 210 |
| 11 | Hawaii | $67,250 | $63,140 | $32.33 | 380 |
| 12 | Colorado | $65,870 | $62,250 | $31.67 | 1,950 |
| 13 | Iowa | $65,610 | $63,750 | $31.54 | 480 |
| 14 | Nevada | $65,540 | $60,980 | $31.51 | 1,170 |
| 15 | Rhode Island | $65,510 | $76,320 | $31.49 | 240 |
| 16 | New Jersey | $65,320 | $63,140 | $31.41 | 2,740 |
| 17 | Maine | $64,620 | $64,080 | $31.07 | 240 |
| 18 | Kansas | $62,070 | $61,480 | $29.84 | 740 |
| 19 | New Hampshire | $61,930 | $61,530 | $29.77 | 500 |
| 20 | Wisconsin | $61,670 | $61,130 | $29.65 | 770 |
| 21 | Ohio | $61,520 | $61,860 | $29.58 | 2,440 |
| 22 | Virginia | $61,210 | $60,790 | $29.43 | 2,130 |
| 23 | Vermont | $61,170 | $60,080 | $29.41 | 110 |
| 24 | New York | $60,780 | $58,550 | $29.22 | 6,620 |
| 25 | Alabama | $60,710 | $60,710 | $29.19 | 1,350 |
| 26 | Arizona | $60,620 | $59,680 | $29.14 | 2,040 |
| 27 | Illinois | $60,540 | $59,800 | $29.11 | 2,180 |
| 28 | Delaware | $60,100 | $59,680 | $28.90 | 160 |
| 29 | Utah | $59,920 | $61,150 | $28.81 | 980 |
| 30 | Pennsylvania | $59,580 | $59,500 | $28.64 | 2,650 |
| 31 | Indiana | $59,520 | $58,070 | $28.62 | 1,930 |
| 32 | Kentucky | $59,440 | $60,700 | $28.58 | 1,080 |
| 33 | Florida | $58,360 | $60,070 | $28.06 | 8,320 |
| 34 | New Mexico | $58,080 | $58,350 | $27.92 | 630 |
| 35 | Missouri | $58,040 | $54,620 | $27.91 | 1,790 |
| 36 | Wyoming | $56,850 | $59,800 | $27.33 | 150 |
| 37 | North Dakota | $56,730 | $57,620 | $27.27 | 150 |
| 38 | South Dakota | $56,500 | $55,690 | $27.17 | 220 |
| 39 | South Carolina | $56,200 | $59,710 | $27.02 | 1,050 |
| 40 | Tennessee | $55,380 | $51,460 | $26.62 | 2,520 |
| 41 | North Carolina | $55,280 | $54,120 | $26.58 | 2,880 |
| 42 | Nebraska | $55,120 | $48,000 | $26.50 | 490 |
| 43 | Michigan | $54,390 | $55,830 | $26.15 | 2,060 |
| 44 | Georgia | $54,350 | $53,100 | $26.13 | 2,220 |
| 45 | Texas | $54,210 | $52,270 | $26.06 | 10,260 |
| 46 | Idaho | $53,960 | $49,180 | $25.94 | 340 |
| 47 | West Virginia | $53,750 | $51,100 | $25.84 | 260 |
| 48 | Louisiana | $53,500 | $54,730 | $25.72 | 1,170 |
| 49 | Oklahoma | $51,830 | $48,240 | $24.92 | 1,340 |
| 50 | Arkansas | $50,920 | $48,950 | $24.48 | 620 |
| 51 | Mississippi | $48,090 | $47,160 | $23.12 | 440 |
Where the money is: highest paying metros
State averages flatten out the difference between a city and the rural county next to it. These are the metro areas paying alarm installers the most.
| # | Metro area | Average annual | Hourly |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | $86,380 | $41.53 |
| 2 | San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | $81,630 | $39.25 |
| 3 | Worcester, MA | $79,520 | $38.23 |
| 4 | Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH | $79,070 | $38.02 |
| 5 | Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA | $76,760 | $36.90 |
| 6 | Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA | $76,680 | $36.86 |
| 7 | Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | $76,430 | $36.75 |
| 8 | Kahului-Wailuku, HI | $75,800 | $36.44 |
| 9 | Salem, OR | $75,340 | $36.22 |
| 10 | Bremerton-Silverdale-Port Orchard, WA | $74,350 | $35.75 |
What moves the number
- Most states license alarm installers separately, with a background check, and low-voltage licensing applies on top in many of them.
- Installation is steady and recurring monitoring revenue is what makes the business model work, so employers pay to keep techs rather than to peak them.
- Commercial access control, IP video and fire alarm work pay well above residential burglar alarm installation.
- The bottom ten percent of alarm installers earn under $38,800 and the top ten percent clear $81,150. That gap is the trade telling you where the money is.
- Working for somebody else and working for yourself are different questions. These figures cover employed alarm installers on a payroll, so they exclude the self-employed, and in this trade a large share of the best operators are exactly that.
What you can earn running the business instead
The number above is a wage. Running the business is a different calculation: you take the full ticket rather than an hourly rate, and what you keep depends on how many jobs you fit in a week, how quickly you get paid and how much of your day goes on scheduling, estimates and chasing invoices instead of on the work. That is the part software actually changes. Owners who put scheduling, estimating, invoicing and automated follow-up in one place tend to run more jobs with the same crew, which is where the gap between a alarm installer wage and an owner income opens up.
Security Alarm salary FAQs
- How much do alarm installers make a year?
- The median alarm installer in the United States earns $60,070 a year and the average is $60,960, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics May 2025 release. Half the trade earns more than the median and half less.
- How much do alarm installers make an hour?
- The mean hourly wage is $29.31. Annual earnings are usually higher than that rate multiplied by a standard year, because overtime, call-outs and premium work are not in the base rate.
- Which state pays alarm installers the most?
- Massachusetts pays the most at an average of $78,560 a year, followed by Oregon at $74,760 and Washington at $73,800. Cost of living accounts for some of that and licensing rules for much of the rest.
- Which cities pay alarm installers the most?
- San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA tops the list at an average of $86,380 a year, with San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA at $81,630. Metro figures move a lot more than state averages, so the city matters more than the state.
- Can alarm installers earn six figures?
- As an employee it is uncommon: the top ten percent earn $81,150. Owners are a different question, because they are paid on the job rather than on the hour, and owner income is not in these figures.
- Do these figures include self-employed alarm installers?
- No. The Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program covers wage and salary workers, so sole proprietors and business owners are excluded. In a trade with as many owner-operators as this one, that matters when you read the number.
- Where does this security alarm salary data come from?
- The US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program, May 2025 release, for "Security and Fire Alarm Systems Installers" (SOC 49-2098). It is a survey of employers rather than of workers, which is why it is more reliable than self-reported salary sites.
All wage figures on this page are from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 release. BLS suppresses figures in areas with too few employers to publish safely; those appear as n/a rather than an estimate.
