Average Security Guard Salary in Canada for 2024

In this article, we will look at the average Security Guard salary for 2024 in Canada and how that compares to other countries and professions. We'll also look at interesting salary data points like median salary, 25th and 75th percentile salaries, salary amounts based on experience, bonus ranges and more!

The data in this article has been compiled using official government salary data, salary surveys, and other sources such as job postings which contain salary information.

All salary information is in the local currency, which is the Canadian dollar. To keep things simple, we are using the CAD currency code instead of the currency symbol $.

How Much Does a Security Guard Make in Canada?

A Security Guard working in Canada will typically earn around 34,000 CAD per year, and this can range from the lowest average salary of about 15,500 CAD to the highest average salary of 52,800 CAD.

Average Annual Salary
34,000 CAD
Average Monthly Salary
2,833 CAD

Lowest Annual Salary
15,500 CAD
Lowest Monthly Salary
1,291 CAD

Highest Annual Salary
52,800 CAD
Highest Monthly Salary
4,400 CAD

These are average salaries for a Security Guard in Canada and include benefits such as housing and transport. It's also possible for a Security Guard to earn more or less than the average salaries shown above.

Security Guard salaries will vary a lot based on your experience, location, skills, and gender. Keep reading below to research more data on each of these areas.

Distribution of Security Guard Salaries in Canada

So we've looked at the average salaries a Security Guard will earn in Canada. The next interesting data point is the distribution of salaries.

Salary ranges

We already know that a Security Guard can earn between 15,500 CAD and 52,800 CAD on average in Canada. This is known as the range in statistics.

The difference between the maximum and minimum values is a good indicator of variability in salaries, and can be used by employers to figure out how much they can expect to pay, and for employees to know how much they can earn.

Median salary

The median salary for a Security Guard in Canada is 34,800 CAD. This is the middle value in the distribution of salaries.

What this means is that approximately 50% of the population earn less than 34,800 CAD, and 50% of the population earn more than 34,800 CAD.

If you are earning more than the median salary, that's a good indicator that you are being paid well.

If you're not earning more than the median salary, your objective should be to increase your earnings to be at least as high as the median salary (which you can do by asking for a pay rise, looking for a better paying job, etc).

Percentiles

Percentiles are similar to the median salary, but instead of looking at the middle value, they look at the values in the top and bottom half of the distribution.

For the average Security Guard salary in Canada, 25% of the population are earning less than 23,100 CAD while 75% of the population earn more than 23,100 CAD.

75% of the population earn less than 48,600 CAD, and 25% of the population earn more than 48,600 CAD.

Like the median salary, the 25th and 75th percentile salaries can be used to determine which quartile you fall into so that you know whether you are being paid well enough compared to others in your profession and location.

The difference between a median and an average salary

The median and average salary are both indicators you can use to see if you are being paid fairly based on the overall population.

  • If your salary is higher than the average and the median salary, you are earning well compared to others.
  • If your salary is lower than the average and the median salary, it could indicate you are not being paid well enough.
  • If you are somewhere in between then it's tricky to determine if you are being paid well enough and you might need to research more closely.

Security Guard Salary by Experience Level in Canada

The most important factor in determining your salary after the specific profession is the number of years experience you have. It stands to reason that more years of experience will result in a higher wage.

We have researched the average security guard salary based on years of experience to give you an idea of how the average changes once you've worked for a certain amount of time.

  • 0 - 2 Years Experience. A Security Guard in Canada that has less than two years of experience can expect to earn somewhere in the region of 20,300 CAD.
  • 2 - 5 Years Experience. With two to five years of experience the average Security Guard salary would increase to 27,600 CAD.
  • 5 - 10 Years Experience. From five to ten years of experience as a Security Guard, the average salary would be 35,000 CAD.
  • 10 - 15 Years Experience. Once you have more than ten years of experience the average salary reaches around 45,000 CAD.
  • 15 - 20 Years Experience. A Security Guard with 15 to 20 years of experience can earn an average of 47,800 CAD.
  • 20+ Years Experience. For a Security Guard with more than 20 years, the expected average salary increases to 49,700 CAD.

Average Salary by Experience Chart

0-2 Years
20,300 CAD
2-5 Years +38%
27,600 CAD
5-10 Years +42%
35,000 CAD
10-15 Years +22%
45,000 CAD
15-20 Years +6%
47,800 CAD
20+ Years +9%
49,700 CAD

Security Guard Salary by Education Level in Canada

As well as experience in a job, your education plays a big role in how much you can earn. A lot of higher paying positions require a high level of education, but how much can a degree increase your salary?

In our research we have compared the salaries of employees in the same job and career level with different levels of education to see how much more you can earn at each education level.

The salary you can earn based on your education is very specific to both your location and the career path you choose.

In our research, we looked at the average salary for a Security Guard in Canada based on the education level of the employees in order to find out whether a better education level would increase your salary.

  • High School. A Security Guard in Canada with a high school education can earn an average salary of 23,500 CAD.

  • Certificate or Diploma. A Security Guard in Canada with a certificate or diploma education can earn an average salary of 43,500 CAD.

Average Salary by Education Chart

High School
23,500 CAD
Certificate or Diploma +82%
43,500 CAD

How Much is a Master's Degree or MBA Program?

The approximate cost of a master's degree or post-graduate program like an MBA in Canada is around 49,800 to 149,000 CAD and takes two years to complete.

As you can see above, there are financial benefits from reaching master's degree level, but don't expect to see much of a salary increase until you have completed the degree.

It's common for people to pursue an MBA or other post-graduate program in order to switch to a a job that pays more. On average, you can expect to earn around 10% more when switching to a new company.

Whether you decide to pursue a master's degree depends on many factors. If you are able to afford it, the numbers suggest that the return on investment is worth it and you could recover the costs in a few years from the salary increase you would receive.

Security Guard Salary Compared by Gender

In the modern age, we know that there should never be a pay gap between men and women. Unfortunately, in many professions, there is still a significant difference between the salaries earned by men when compared to the salary of women in the same job.

In Canada, a male security guard will earn an average of 33,300 CAD, while a female security guard will earn around 31,700 CAD.

This means that a male security guard earns approximately 5% more than a female security guard for performing the same job.

Average Salary by Gender Chart in Canada

Male
33,300 CAD
Female -5%
31,700 CAD

Security Guard Average Pay Raise in Canada

In many countries, an annual pay raise is often given to employees to reward their service with a salary increase.

From our research, we can see that the average pay raise for a Security Guard in Canada is around 9% every 16 months.

The national average pay raise across all professions and industries in Canada is around 9% every 15 months.

In this case, we can see that the number of months between the average pay raise is higher than the typical 12 months.

To make the data more meaningful, we can calculate what the approximate annual pay raise would be using a simple formula:

Annual Increase = ( Increase Rate ÷ Months ) × 12

So for this example, it would be:

Annual Increase = ( 9 ÷ 16 ) × 12  = 7%

What this means is that a Security Guard in Canada can expect to receive an average pay raise of around 7% every 12 months.

Annual Pay Raise by Industry in Canada for 2024

In the chart below, you can see the average annual pay raise percentages for each of the major industries in Canada.

You will see that companies in bigger and more lucrative industries tend to have the higher annual pay raises.

Banking
2%
Energy
4%
Information Technology
6%
Healthcare
8%
Travel
1%
Construction
3%
Education
5%

Security Guard Bonus and Incentive Rates in Canada

Another part of your overall compensation in a job is how much bonus you receive. Some job roles will be more likely to pay a bonus than others and also more likely to have higher bonus rates.

Generally speaking, jobs that are more involved with direct revenue generation will receive higher bonuses based on the performance towards revenue goals.

A Security Guard is a low bonus based job, with 34% of employees reporting at least one bonus in the last 12 months.

66% reported that they had not received any bonuses in the previous 12 months.

For the employees that did receive a bonus in the previous 12 months, the reported bonuses ranged from 0% to 4%.

Received Bonus
34%
No Bonus
66%

What are the Types of Bonus?

There are a number of difference types of bonus you can receive in a job. Including:

  • Individual performance bonus - This is a bonus that is awarded to an individual employee for general performance in the job. It's the most common type of bonus.
  • Company performance bonus - This is a bonus that is awarded to a company employees to share profit with the staff.
  • Goal based bonus - This is a bonus that is awarded to an individual employee (or a team) for achieving specific goals, objectives, or milestones.
  • Holiday bonus - This type of bonus is usually paid around the holidays, often the end of the year, and is a token of appreciation for the hard work throughout the year.

Government vs Private Sector Salaries

Another commonly asked question is whether you get paid a higher salary working in the public (government) sector or the private sector.

Public sector employees in Canada earn approximately 6% more than private sector employees in the same role.

Public Sector
123,000 CAD
Private Sector -6%
115,600 CAD

Salaries for Jobs Similar to a Security Guard

In the table below, we have salary information for jobs that are similar to a Security Guard in Canada.

Job Title Category Salary
Accreditation Coordinator Law Enforcement / Security / Fire 98,300 CAD
Accreditation Manager Law Enforcement / Security / Fire 147,900 CAD
Advocate Law Enforcement / Security / Fire 90,900 CAD
Armed Security Officer Law Enforcement / Security / Fire 82,200 CAD
Company Guard Law Enforcement / Security / Fire 45,100 CAD
Control Room Operator Law Enforcement / Security / Fire 39,400 CAD
Correctional Officer Law Enforcement / Security / Fire 69,200 CAD
Criminal Investigator Law Enforcement / Security / Fire 134,700 CAD
Facility Monitor Law Enforcement / Security / Fire 72,700 CAD
Fire Chief Law Enforcement / Security / Fire 134,700 CAD
Fire Dispatcher Law Enforcement / Security / Fire 61,500 CAD
Fire Education Specialist Law Enforcement / Security / Fire 111,700 CAD
Fire Extinguisher Technician Law Enforcement / Security / Fire 42,400 CAD
Fire Fighter Law Enforcement / Security / Fire 65,900 CAD
Fire Inspector Law Enforcement / Security / Fire 124,500 CAD
Fire Investigator Law Enforcement / Security / Fire 128,200 CAD
Fire Prevention Engineer Law Enforcement / Security / Fire 112,700 CAD
Fire Prevention Officer Law Enforcement / Security / Fire 89,200 CAD
Fire Protection Specialist Law Enforcement / Security / Fire 111,700 CAD
Forensic Investigator Law Enforcement / Security / Fire 123,000 CAD
Forensic Science Technician Law Enforcement / Security / Fire 118,900 CAD
Fraud and Forensic Specialist Law Enforcement / Security / Fire 127,700 CAD
Fraud Examiner Law Enforcement / Security / Fire 134,100 CAD
Grants Specialist Law Enforcement / Security / Fire 150,100 CAD
Intellectual Property Associate Law Enforcement / Security / Fire 111,700 CAD
Intelligence Research Specialist Law Enforcement / Security / Fire 192,600 CAD
Investigator Law Enforcement / Security / Fire 125,400 CAD
Jail Officer Law Enforcement / Security / Fire 54,700 CAD
Juvenile Probation Officer Law Enforcement / Security / Fire 91,700 CAD
Juvenile Supervision Officer Law Enforcement / Security / Fire 95,300 CAD
Lock-Smith Law Enforcement / Security / Fire 36,400 CAD
Parole Officer Law Enforcement / Security / Fire 65,200 CAD
Police Captain Law Enforcement / Security / Fire 156,200 CAD
Police Communications Officer Law Enforcement / Security / Fire 86,100 CAD
Police Officer Law Enforcement / Security / Fire 73,200 CAD
Police Patrol Officer Law Enforcement / Security / Fire 66,200 CAD
Prison Officer Law Enforcement / Security / Fire 51,800 CAD
Prisoner Custody Officer Law Enforcement / Security / Fire 47,400 CAD
Private Detective / Investigator Law Enforcement / Security / Fire 134,100 CAD
Security Adviser Law Enforcement / Security / Fire 127,600 CAD
Security Management Specialist Law Enforcement / Security / Fire 189,800 CAD
Security Manager Law Enforcement / Security / Fire 177,200 CAD
Security Officer Law Enforcement / Security / Fire 44,300 CAD
Security Supervisor Law Enforcement / Security / Fire 101,100 CAD
Security Systems Installer Law Enforcement / Security / Fire 97,200 CAD
Security Technician Law Enforcement / Security / Fire 40,300 CAD
Surveillance Operator Law Enforcement / Security / Fire 48,000 CAD
Traffic Controller Law Enforcement / Security / Fire 72,700 CAD

Salary Comparison by City

If you want to compare salaries with different cities in Canada, you can use the links below to explore the data for each specific city we have researched.

City Average Salary
Brampton 39,500 CAD
Calgary 41,100 CAD
Edmonton 36,400 CAD
Gatineau 33,600 CAD
Halifax 35,100 CAD
Hamilton 39,500 CAD
Kitchener 35,300 CAD
Markham 35,500 CAD
Mississauga 38,000 CAD
Montreal 38,700 CAD
Ottawa 38,000 CAD
Quebec 38,700 CAD
Regina 32,300 CAD
Richmond 33,000 CAD
Saskatoon 33,600 CAD
Surrey 37,100 CAD
Toronto 41,700 CAD
Vancouver 40,300 CAD
Vaughan 35,100 CAD
Windsor 33,300 CAD
Winnipeg 39,100 CAD

Salary Comparison by State

The table below includes links to the average salary for each state in Canada.

City Average Salary
Alberta 40,300 CAD
British Columbia 41,700 CAD
Manitoba 39,500 CAD
New Brunswick 35,500 CAD
Newfoundland-Labrador 35,100 CAD
Northwest Territories 36,800 CAD
Nova Scotia 33,300 CAD
Nunavut 38,000 CAD
Ontario 43,500 CAD
Prince Edward Island 32,900 CAD
Quebec 39,100 CAD
Saskatchewan 34,000 CAD
Yukon 30,200 CAD

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