What Security Guards earn in Hillsborough County, FL
If you are weighing a move or a job offer, start with $36,010: the median annual pay for Security Guards in Hillsborough County, FL. Spread over a standard 2,080-hour work year, that is $17.31 an hour. Because the wage survey covers the whole Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL metropolitan area, the number reflects employers across the region rather than a single town or a single company.
The mean wage is $38,060, which is 5.7% above the median, a sign that a group of high earners lifts the average. The survey counts about 12,200 people working in this occupation across the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL metropolitan area, so the estimate rests on a substantial pool of workers. Hillsborough County, FL has roughly 1,522,748 residents, according to the population figures used by the rent data.
The salary range, from entry level to top earners
Pay for Security Guards in the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL metropolitan area is not one number. The lowest-paid tenth of workers earn up to $28,800 a year ($13.85 an hour), while the highest-paid tenth earn $47,700 or more ($22.93 an hour). That is a gap of $18,900 between the bottom and the top of the scale. The middle half of workers falls between $33,510 at the 25th percentile and $42,410 at the 75th percentile. A top-tier earner makes 1.7 times what someone at the bottom makes, so experience, certification and employer all matter.
What the hourly rate looks like
Employers quote this occupation by the hour or by the year, so here are both: $17.31 an hour or $36,010 a year at the median for Hillsborough County, FL. Before any deductions, that is $3,001 a month, $1,385 every two weeks and $693 each week. After taxes the same job pays $14.93 per hour of take-home income, which is the number that actually has to cover rent and groceries.
How pay in Hillsborough County, FL compares
Compared with the Florida average
Pay for Security Guards in Hillsborough County, FL is in line with the statewide figure: $36,010 locally against an employment-weighted Florida average of $35,804, a difference of only $206 (0.6%). Within Florida, the highest median we track for this job is $36,040 in Miami-Dade County, FL.
Compared with the national average
The national employment-weighted average for Security Guards is $39,162 across the contiguous United States. At $36,010, Hillsborough County, FL pays $3,152 less, which is 8.1% below that benchmark. Keep in mind that a higher salary only helps if living costs do not rise faster, which is why the cost sections below matter as much as the headline number.
Where this job ranks in Hillsborough County, FL
Among the 544 occupations with published wages in Hillsborough County, FL, Security Guards ranks number 489 by median pay, ahead of about 10% of them. The best-paying occupation we track here is Software Developers at $130,450 a year, which is $94,440 more than the median for Security Guards.
From gross pay to take-home pay
Three separate tax bills sit between the gross salary and the bank account: federal income tax, FICA, and state income tax. For Security Guards earning the Hillsborough County, FL median of $36,010, they add up to $4,947. The result is $31,063 of take-home pay a year ($2,589 a month), based on a single filer using the standard deduction.
Put another way, of every $100 earned, about $14 goes to taxes and $86 reaches the paycheck. The overall effective tax rate is 13.7%.
Federal income tax
After the $15,750 standard deduction, taxable income is $20,260. Federal brackets are marginal, so only the slice of income above each threshold is taxed at the higher rate; the last dollars of this salary fall in the 12% bracket. The resulting federal income tax is $2,193, an effective 6.1% of gross pay, well below the 12% marginal rate because the lower brackets are cheaper.
Social Security and Medicare (FICA)
Payroll taxes are a flat percentage of wages. Social Security takes 6.2% up to a wage base of $176,100, which costs $2,233 on this salary. Medicare takes 1.45%, or $522. FICA totals $2,755, which is 7.6% of gross pay.
State income tax in Florida
Florida does not tax wage income, so the state income tax line for Security Guards in Hillsborough County, FL is $0. That alone leaves more in the paycheck than the same salary would in a state with an income tax. For scale, a hypothetical flat 5% state tax on this salary would cost about $1,801 a year, so the absence of a state tax is worth roughly $150 a month.
A cross-check with IRS data for Hillsborough County, FL
IRS Statistics of Income data for Hillsborough County, FL show an average adjusted gross income of $91,587 per return and an average effective federal income tax rate of 15.1% across all filers. Filers in the $25,000 to under $50,000 bracket, where this salary falls, paid an average of 5.0%, compared with the 6.1% estimated here for a single filer taking the standard deduction. Gaps between the two reflect filing status, dependents, credits and other income, none of which a single-person wage estimate includes.
Cost of living in Hillsborough County, FL
Take-home pay only means something next to what life costs. We price four basics for one adult in Hillsborough County, FL: a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline. All of them are converted to annual figures first, then compared with the $31,063 of take-home pay.
Rent
Housing is the largest line in most budgets. For Hillsborough County, FL, HUD sets the Fair Market Rent for a one-bedroom unit at $1,648 a month ($19,776 a year), and at $1,917 for two bedrooms. For Security Guards, a one-bedroom absorbs 63.7% of take-home pay and 54.9% of gross pay.
Food
The USDA Thrifty Food Plan (August 2026) puts the cost of a nutritious home-cooked diet for an adult at about $3,436 a year, which is $286 a month or $66.07 a week. That equals 9.5% of gross pay for Security Guards in Hillsborough County, FL. It is a thrifty budget with no restaurant meals, so treat it as a floor.
Energy and gasoline
Using Florida residential prices from the Energy Information Administration and national household averages for consumption, electricity costs about $1,494 a year and other home energy such as natural gas about $1,005, for $2,498 in total. Gasoline in Florida averages $3.08 per gallon; at about 463 gallons a year (11,106 miles at 24 miles per gallon) fuel adds $1,427.
What is left over
Rent, food, energy and gasoline cost $27,138 a year in Hillsborough County, FL. Subtract that from $31,063 of take-home pay and $3,925 remains, which is $327 a month of breathing room. That margin equals 10.9% of gross pay, a workable but modest cushion.
Can Security Guards afford to live in Hillsborough County, FL?
The 30% rent guideline
A common rule of thumb says rent should stay under 30% of gross income. For a gross salary of $36,010 that ceiling is $900 a month. The one-bedroom Fair Market Rent of $1,648 is $748 over it, so rent breaks the guideline. Put as a wage, covering a one-bedroom at the 30% guideline takes $31.69 an hour; the median for Security Guards is $17.31, which is 45% below that mark. Another way to see it: at $14.93 of take-home pay an hour, a one-bedroom takes about 25.5 working hours every week.
Splitting a two-bedroom
Sharing a two-bedroom at $1,917 a month means $959 each. Compared with renting a one-bedroom alone, that saves $8,274 a year. With a roommate, the yearly margin after the basics becomes $12,199.
How fast you can save
At $327 a month of margin, building a $10,000 emergency fund would take about 31 months (2.6 years). Setting aside half of the margin stretches the same goal to about 62 months. These figures ignore interest, raises and any spending beyond the four basics.
Frequently asked questions about Security Guards pay in Hillsborough County, FL
How much do Security Guards make per hour in Hillsborough County, FL?
The median is $17.31 per hour, based on $36,010 a year over 2,080 hours. Hourly pay runs from about $13.85 at the 10th percentile to $22.93 at the 90th percentile.
How much do Security Guards take home after taxes in Hillsborough County, FL?
After federal income tax, FICA, the median salary of $36,010 becomes $31,063 a year. That is $2,589 a month, $1,195 every two weeks or $597 a week.
How much tax do Security Guards pay in Hillsborough County, FL?
Total taxes are $4,947 a year, an effective rate of 13.7%: $2,193 federal income tax, $2,755 FICA and no Florida income tax.
Do Security Guards earn more in Hillsborough County, FL than elsewhere in Florida?
It is about the same. The local median of $36,010 is within 0.6% of the Florida average of $35,804.
Can Security Guards afford a one-bedroom apartment in Hillsborough County, FL?
A one-bedroom costs $1,648 a month against take-home pay of $2,589, which is 63.7% of take-home pay. That does not meet the 30%-of-gross guideline, which allows up to $900 a month.
What is the monthly budget margin for Security Guards in Hillsborough County, FL?
About $327 a month ($3,925 a year) remains after a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline, which together cost $27,138 a year.
What hourly wage covers a one-bedroom in Hillsborough County, FL at the 30% guideline?
$31.69 an hour for a full-time schedule, calculated as the $19,776 annual rent divided by 0.30 and by 2,080 hours. The median for Security Guards is $17.31.
How we calculated these numbers
Wages are May 2025 medians from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey for the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL metropolitan area; hourly-only values are annualized at 2,080 hours. Rents are HUD Fair Market Rents, food costs come from the USDA Thrifty Food Plan, and energy prices come from the Energy Information Administration. County-level tax statistics come from the IRS Statistics of Income.
Taxes use tax-year 2025 federal brackets, FICA rates and the Florida rules for a single filer with wage income only. Figures are estimates for planning and comparison, not tax or financial advice, and they exclude local income taxes, benefits, retirement contributions and individual circumstances.