Over the past several years, the average salary of home security installers has been slowly but steadily increasing, with anywhere between 1.3% to 3.2% on a yearly basis.
People interested in this career path tend to have different questions and worries, one of which is how much they can make by working as a home security installer and their options in terms of future growth.
Most home security installers make between $18 and $25 per hour or about $37,566 to $52,175 per year. That said, a home security installer’s wage can vary between $11 to $40 per hour or about $22,957 to $83,480 per year.
As you can see, there can be a huge difference between different home security installers in terms of how much they earn. So let’s take a more in-depth look at why that happens.
Entry, Mid, and Senior-Level Pay Scale of Home Security Installers
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, security and fire alarm systems installers make on average about $25.07 per hour or $52,150 per year on average.
- The 10th percentile was $15,52 per hour or $32,280 per year.
- The 50th percentile (the median) was $24.49 per hour or about $50,940 per year.
- The 90th percentile was $36,87 per hour or $76,690.
The pay gap between different home security installers can vary a lot, in some cases by as much as $13,34 per hour or more, which means some installers can be making more than twice as much as others.
If we compare home security installers on different levels, we can witness an even more drastic pay gap.
The money home security installers make will increase with the accumulation of more experience, expertise, certifications, and knowledge.
- The lower-paid and entry-level home security installers and helpers make about $22,957 to $31,305 per year or about $11 to $15 per hour.
- Mid-level home security installers earn on average between $20 to $25 per hour or $41,740 to $52,175.
- The higher-paid and senior-level home security installers usually make between $28 to $32 per hour or $58,436 to about $66,784. Home security installers with a lot of experience, expertise, and qualifications or certifications can make between $30 to $40 per hour in some instances or about $62,610 to $83,480 per year.
What Affects How Much Home Security Installers Make?
How much a home security installer makes depends on many different factors like location, individual skills, certifications, seniority, department, type of work, union vs. non-union, whether they are on call, and overall experience in the field.
How dependable, reliable, resourceful, and proactive they are also advantages and will affect their value and how much they are paid.
Location and Demand
Location seems to have a great impact on how much home security installers make.
For example, on a state level, home security installers in Idaho, Oklahoma, Arizona, Georgia, and Tennessee earn significantly less than those working in New York, Massachusetts, Delaware, Alaska, Hawaii, California, and Connecticut.
Factors like sector activity, including supply and demand, local standards of living, and minimum wages, will affect the hourly pay.
For example, the average home security installer in New York makes about $23.68 per hour, which is $8.84 more (or 59.56% more) than $14.84, which is the average hourly rate of security installers in Georgia.
Even on a city level within the same state, we see a significant difference in the hourly pay of home security installers.
Individual Expertise, Knowledge, and Abilities
Certifications and expertise are the primary factors that will impact how much you can make as a home security technician.
Owning different certifications and having experience dealing with fire and burglary alarms, security cameras, troubleshooting, programming, planning, access control systems, and having a NICET certification can help increase the hourly pay rates of home security installers.
Helpers and entry positions can pay between $11 to $18 per hour, security installers with certifications and between 2 to 5 years of experience may earn $18 to $25, and senior technicians with certifications and between 5 to 15 years of experience may earn between $25 to upwards of $32.
There can be a notable increase in the hourly rate with receiving your NICET certifications. For example, the average wage for NICET I certified technicians is about $24 per hour, for NICET II $26, and for NICET III and IV $28 or more.
Your education and its relevance can also be important as the data suggest people with bachelor’s or college degrees earn more than those with a high school diploma or less. However, the difference may not be too much in some cases.
How to Make More as a Home Security Installer
So far, we have looked into how much home security installers make. We have also explored different aspects that can affect the hourly rates and the overall likelihood of wage advancement.
Some states and areas will simply have lower wages, and although one’s hourly pay will increase over time, many people may not really be satisfied with that and want to look for better alternatives.
Switching Jobs
According to the data, switching jobs can be a very good way to start making more as a home security installer because, on average, job switchers enjoy a higher wage growth than job holders.
The next thing is to consider changing jobs or moving to a new state or city where you can find higher-paying jobs. It is important to consider the city’s average wages as these can be a limiting factor.
This naturally involves many different things to consider as moving to a new place is not an easy task and is an important life decision.
Gaining More Experience and Knowledge
An excellent way to grow as a security installer is to look for ways to expand your expertise and qualifications.
Many home security installers recommend people who are just starting out to look for smaller local companies that are hiring new installers. This can be a good start because smaller companies will often offer better training to new employees.
It is recommended to try and learn as much as possible while working and on your own time. Knowledge is extremely valuable in this field and does pay off.
Eventually, jumping to different companies that can pay more or allow you to expand your knowledge and expertise further is a good way to ensure you are moving up.
Starting as an installer and moving to inspections and service is a good way to go about it.
Looking for Career Growth
Several different jobs fall in the same industry and are closely related to the home security installer job category and, on average, have higher hourly pay.
- Fire alarm technician
- Security technician
- Electronic security technician
- Burglar alarm inspectors
- Fire alarm inspectors
Another set of jobs that may be worth looking into are:
- Alarm engineer
- Fire alarm engineer
- Security engineer
- Alarm manager
- Alarm installer subcontractor
- Fire marshal
Overall being a security installer is a good profession. There is a good demand for technicians, and more and more people are getting security conscious.
This makes this field fairly stable, and generally, a good technician will always have a nice and steady income and never be out of work.
The simple fact that there are so many different certifications that one can take means there are also a lot of different roads and possibilities one can take with their profession.
