Security Manager: what the job is, what it pays, and how to get hired.
The work, the skills that matter, the tools in demand and the pay range, from U.S. government data, plus every TryHired page for the role.
BLS does not publish pay for security managers separately. Every pay figure on this page is for the BLS occupation “Facilities Managers” (SOC 11-3013), which includes security managers and other jobs; it is not a figure for security managers alone.
10% of workers in the BLS occupation “Facilities Managers” earn less than this amount.
- Annual
- $64,480
- Hourly
- $31.00
- Source
- BLS May 2025
25% of workers in the BLS occupation “Facilities Managers” earn less than this amount.
- Annual
- $82,020
- Hourly
- $39.43
- Source
- BLS May 2025
Half of workers in the BLS occupation “Facilities Managers” earn more than this and half earn less.
- Annual
- $106,660
- Hourly
- $51.28
- Source
- BLS May 2025
75% of workers in the BLS occupation “Facilities Managers” earn less than this amount.
- Annual
- $138,870
- Hourly
- $66.76
- Source
- BLS May 2025
90% of workers in the BLS occupation “Facilities Managers” earn less than this amount.
- Annual
- $176,120
- Hourly
- $84.67
- Source
- BLS May 2025
Security Managers direct an organization's security functions, including physical security and safety of employees and facilities. The median pay is $106,660 a year ($51.28 an hour) (BLS, May 2025). The most commonly reported education requirement is a bachelor's degree (70% of workers surveyed by O*NET).
- Median pay
- $106,660
- BLS May 2025
- Employed in the U.S.
- 156,180
- BLS May 2025
- Preparation
- Job Zone 4 of 5
- considerable preparation
- Most common education
- Bachelor's Degree
- 70% of workers
Security Managers at a glance
Workers in the BLS occupation “Facilities Managers” (which includes security managers) in the United States earned a median annual wage of $106,660 in May 2025, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025
In its 2025–35 employment projections, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics lists a bachelor's degree as the typical entry-level education for security managers in the United States.
Source: BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35
BLS projects employment of security managers in the United States to grow 4.6% from 2025 to 2035, with about 14,200 openings a year on average, including replacement openings.
Source: BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35
BLS estimates that 7.5% of facilities managers in the United States had the ability to telework in 2025, a preliminary estimate of whether the job allows it, not a count of remote jobs.
Source: BLS Occupational Requirements Survey, 2025 preliminary
Every page for Security Managers
What security managers do day to day
Data Core tasks rated most important by workers in the role (O*NET).
- Develop budgets for security operations.
- Identify, investigate, or resolve security breaches.
- Plan, direct, or coordinate security activities to safeguard company employees, guests, or others on company property.
- Direct or participate in emergency management and contingency planning.
- Respond to medical emergencies, bomb threats, fire alarms, or intrusion alarms, following emergency response procedures.
- Analyze and evaluate security operations to identify risks or opportunities for improvement through auditing, review, or assessment.
- Create or implement security standards, policies, and procedures.
- Assess risks to mitigate potential consequences of incidents and develop a plan to respond to incidents.
What the job requires
Data BLS figures for facilities managers (SOC 11-3013), 2025 preliminary BLS Occupational Requirements Survey. This TryHired page covers a specialty within that occupation; the figures describe the whole occupation.
- Telework available
- 7.5%
- of workers had the ability to telework
- Workday sitting
- 54.0%
- mean share of the day required to sit
- Most common strength level
- Light
- 67.1% of workers
- Can pause work
- more than 95%
- of workers could take short, unscheduled breaks
- Self-paced workload
- 87.1%
- of workers set their own workload
- Employer-changed schedules
- 22.7%
- of workers had schedules changed by the employer week to week
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Requirements Survey. Estimates are preliminary; ranges are shown as published.
Industries that employ it
Data Share of all security manager jobs in each industry, 2025 (BLS Employment Matrix). Figures cover all facilities managers (SOC 11-3013), the broader occupation.
- Educational services; state, local, and private14.1% of all jobs in this occupation · +1.5% projected change here 2025–35 · mean wage $108,730
- Government, excluding state and local education and hospitals10.0% of all jobs in this occupation · +2.8% projected change here 2025–35 · mean wage $114,460
- Administrative and support services6.1% of all jobs in this occupation · +5.1% projected change here 2025–35 · mean wage $102,690
- Management of companies and enterprises5.0% of all jobs in this occupation · +4.6% projected change here 2025–35 · mean wage $135,100
- Religious, grantmaking, civic, professional, and similar organizations5.0% of all jobs in this occupation · +2.8% projected change here 2025–35 · mean wage $87,980
- Professional, scientific, and technical services4.9% of all jobs in this occupation · +12.2% projected change here 2025–35 · mean wage $139,730
Sources: BLS 2025–35 National Employment Matrix (share of the occupation's jobs, projected change) and BLS OEWS May 2025 industry estimates (mean wage). Different industry estimates are not a pay forecast for any person.
Ranked by importance to the job
Data O*NET importance ratings. The first three are core.
Knowledge areas: Public Safety and Security, English Language, Law and Government, Administration and Management, Customer and Personal Service, Personnel and Human Resources.
Software security managers use
Data Examples reported for the role; employer demand flags from O*NET.
- FacebookWeb page creation and editing softwareHot technology
- Microsoft VisioProcess mapping and design softwareHot technology
- Alarm system softwareFacilities management software
- Emergency notification system softwareCommunications server software
- Firewall softwareNetwork security and virtual private network VPN equipment software
- Graphics softwareGraphics or photo imaging software
- Human resources management system HRMSHuman resources software
- Inventory tracking softwareInventory management software
- Maintenance management softwareFacilities management software
- Mapping softwareMap creation software
- McAfeeTransaction security and virus protection software
- NortonLifeLock cybersecurity softwareTransaction security and virus protection software
Also called: Corporate Physical Security Supervisor, Corporate Security Manager, Judicial Office Security Director, Physical Security Manager, Physical Security Systems Manager, Regional Security Manager.
How this page is built
Tasks, skills, tools, education and related roles come from O*NET 31.0. Pay and employment come from the BLS OEWS May 2025 national estimates. The skill-match score is our calculation: Skill match is the cosine similarity of the two occupations' skill profiles: for each of 35 O*NET skills (10 essential, 25 transferable) we multiply importance by level and subtract the average across all occupations, then compare the direction of the two profiles. 100 means identical shape; 0 means unrelated or opposite (negative values are shown as 0). Only occupations that O*NET itself lists as related are compared.
- How a specific employer defines the job.
- Pay for self-employed workers (OEWS covers employees).
- Your own chances: data describes the occupation, not you.
- O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. TryHired selected, ranked and combined the data; O*NET is not responsible for these pages.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 estimates (public domain).
How TryHired builds this data: sources, methods and downloads. Spotted an error? Report a correction.