The average locksmith in the United States earns $55,470 a year, and the median, which is the figure that describes a typical worker rather than one dragged around by the top end, is $51,320. That works out at about $26.67 an hour. Where you work moves that a long way: District of Columbia averages $78,310 and Arkansas $38,730. Everything below is from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025 release, not from job ads or self-reported surveys.
What a locksmith actually does for that money
Locksmiths and safe repairers is one of the smaller counted occupations and it is shrinking as electronic access replaces mechanical hardware. The techs who moved into automotive key programming and access control are earning well; the ones who did not are competing on rekeying.
What locksmiths 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% | $35,530 | Starting out, or an apprentice rate |
| 25th | $43,160 | Still building speed and a customer base |
| Median | $51,320 | The middle of the trade |
| 75th | $64,560 | Experienced, licensed, in demand |
| Top 10% | $79,400 | Specialists, supervisors and owners |
Locksmith salary by state
District of Columbia pays the most at $78,310 a year, and Arkansas the least at $38,730. 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 | District of Columbia | $78,310 | $76,740 | $37.65 | n/a |
| 2 | Connecticut | $69,750 | $69,280 | $33.54 | 120 |
| 3 | Massachusetts | $67,510 | $59,420 | $32.46 | 300 |
| 4 | California | $67,180 | $61,010 | $32.30 | 2,060 |
| 5 | Alaska | $66,550 | $58,390 | $31.99 | 80 |
| 6 | Delaware | $65,090 | $63,640 | $31.29 | 50 |
| 7 | West Virginia | $63,930 | $56,690 | $30.74 | 50 |
| 8 | New York | $62,420 | $61,830 | $30.01 | 960 |
| 9 | Maryland | $62,050 | $60,330 | $29.83 | 270 |
| 10 | Rhode Island | $61,550 | $57,360 | $29.59 | 80 |
| 11 | Washington | $59,580 | $58,010 | $28.64 | 380 |
| 12 | New Jersey | $59,420 | $57,000 | $28.57 | 480 |
| 13 | Oregon | $59,010 | $50,450 | $28.37 | 250 |
| 14 | Minnesota | $58,230 | $59,070 | $27.99 | 220 |
| 15 | Illinois | $57,810 | $58,110 | $27.79 | 430 |
| 16 | Pennsylvania | $57,280 | $52,160 | $27.54 | 530 |
| 17 | Virginia | $56,140 | $53,590 | $26.99 | 430 |
| 18 | Florida | $56,110 | $49,120 | $26.98 | 1,440 |
| 19 | Hawaii | $56,080 | $64,490 | $26.96 | 50 |
| 20 | Montana | $55,920 | $56,200 | $26.89 | 110 |
| 21 | Missouri | $55,580 | $50,140 | $26.72 | 220 |
| 22 | Utah | $54,610 | $55,520 | $26.25 | 180 |
| 23 | Maine | $54,560 | $52,670 | $26.23 | 140 |
| 24 | Tennessee | $53,430 | $50,250 | $25.69 | 340 |
| 25 | Wisconsin | $52,970 | $48,360 | $25.47 | 130 |
| 26 | Kentucky | $52,950 | $51,120 | $25.46 | 120 |
| 27 | Georgia | $52,940 | $54,050 | $25.45 | 330 |
| 28 | Kansas | $52,550 | $52,930 | $25.26 | 110 |
| 29 | New Hampshire | $52,360 | $56,510 | $25.17 | 40 |
| 30 | Nevada | $52,010 | $47,450 | $25.01 | 170 |
| 31 | Louisiana | $51,740 | $46,550 | $24.88 | 190 |
| 32 | Michigan | $51,540 | $54,120 | $24.78 | 230 |
| 33 | South Carolina | $51,230 | $46,560 | $24.63 | 140 |
| 34 | Colorado | $50,460 | $47,500 | $24.26 | 380 |
| 35 | Nebraska | $50,090 | $49,070 | $24.08 | 50 |
| 36 | Iowa | $49,210 | $46,360 | $23.66 | 120 |
| 37 | Arizona | $49,170 | $44,460 | $23.64 | 260 |
| 38 | Ohio | $48,080 | $47,760 | $23.11 | 400 |
| 39 | North Dakota | $47,470 | $44,310 | $22.82 | 70 |
| 40 | Indiana | $47,430 | $47,640 | $22.80 | 250 |
| 41 | North Carolina | $45,950 | $45,900 | $22.09 | 480 |
| 42 | Idaho | $44,230 | $43,460 | $21.26 | 150 |
| 43 | New Mexico | $43,980 | $41,920 | $21.15 | 140 |
| 44 | Alabama | $43,730 | $43,340 | $21.02 | 200 |
| 45 | Mississippi | $43,400 | $42,940 | $20.87 | 80 |
| 46 | Oklahoma | $43,340 | $38,680 | $20.84 | 180 |
| 47 | Texas | $42,200 | $43,860 | $20.29 | 1,420 |
| 48 | Arkansas | $38,730 | $35,770 | $18.62 | 100 |
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 locksmiths the most.
| # | Metro area | Average annual | Hourly |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | $78,480 | $37.73 |
| 2 | San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | $76,180 | $36.63 |
| 3 | New Haven, CT | $75,360 | $36.23 |
| 4 | Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT | $72,210 | $34.72 |
| 5 | Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH | $69,800 | $33.56 |
| 6 | Atlantic City-Hammonton, NJ | $69,670 | $33.49 |
| 7 | Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA | $68,160 | $32.77 |
| 8 | Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA | $66,560 | $32.00 |
| 9 | Stockton-Lodi, CA | $66,520 | $31.98 |
| 10 | Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | $65,560 | $31.52 |
What moves the number
- Licensed in around a third of states, usually with a background check, and manufacturer and ALOA certifications carry weight everywhere else.
- A 24-hour emergency trade. Night and weekend lockouts pay a multiple of the daytime rate and make up a large share of annual earnings.
- Automotive key programming, safe work and commercial access control pay well above residential rekeying.
- The bottom ten percent of locksmiths earn under $35,530 and the top ten percent clear $79,400. 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 locksmiths 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 locksmith wage and an owner income opens up.
Locksmith salary FAQs
- How much do locksmiths make a year?
- The median locksmith in the United States earns $51,320 a year and the average is $55,470, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics May 2025 release. Half the trade earns more than the median and half less.
- How much do locksmiths make an hour?
- The mean hourly wage is $26.67. 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 locksmiths the most?
- District of Columbia pays the most at an average of $78,310 a year, followed by Connecticut at $69,750 and Massachusetts at $67,510. Cost of living accounts for some of that and licensing rules for much of the rest.
- Which cities pay locksmiths the most?
- San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA tops the list at an average of $78,480 a year, with San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA at $76,180. Metro figures move a lot more than state averages, so the city matters more than the state.
- Can locksmiths earn six figures?
- As an employee it is uncommon: the top ten percent earn $79,400. 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 locksmiths?
- 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 locksmith salary data come from?
- The US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program, May 2025 release, for "Locksmiths and Safe Repairers" (SOC 49-9094). 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.
