Try hiring an unarmed security guard in Memphis right now for $10 an hour.
Go ahead. Post the job listing. See what happens.
What happens is nothing. Nobody applies. Or the people who do apply can’t pass a background check, can’t get their Tennessee Private Protective Services registration, or ghost you after the first interview. The labor market for security guards in Memphis has changed dramatically since the pandemic started, and it’s not going back to the way it was.
The Old Math Is Dead
For years, the private security industry in Memphis operated on a simple formula. Pay guards somewhere between $9 and $11 per hour for unarmed posts. Charge clients $14 to $18 per hour. Pocket the margin. Keep turnover manageable enough that the operation doesn’t collapse, and replace the guards who leave with new ones from a seemingly endless supply of applicants.
That formula worked when Memphis had limited competition for low-wage workers. It stopped working around the middle of 2020, and the gap between what companies want to pay and what workers are willing to accept has gotten wider every month since.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics counts roughly 1.1 million security guards and gaming surveillance officers nationwide. The median hourly wage nationally sits around $14.00. In Memphis, the numbers have historically run lower than the national median because the cost of living here is lower and the supply of workers was deeper.
Was. Past tense.
What Guards Can Earn Elsewhere
The core problem for every security company operating in the Memphis metro area comes down to one word: Amazon.
The e-commerce giant’s massive distribution network runs through Memphis like an artery. FedEx, the city’s largest private employer, has been here for decades. Amazon showed up more recently with multiple fulfillment centers and delivery stations across Shelby County and DeSoto County. Both companies are hiring constantly, and both are paying $15 or more per hour for warehouse work.
That $15 number matters enormously. A worker who can make $15 an hour moving boxes at a climate-controlled Amazon warehouse is not going to stand in a parking lot at midnight for $10.50.
And it’s not just the big logistics operations. Fast food chains across Memphis have bumped starting wages above $12, with some offering $14 or $15 to get bodies in the door. Walmart, FedEx Ground, AutoZone’s headquarters operations here in Memphis. The competition for anyone willing to show up reliably and pass a drug screen is fierce.
The math is simple for a potential security guard weighing options. Stand outside a Hickory Hill apartment complex from 11 PM to 7 AM for $11 an hour, dealing with trespassers and occasionally hearing gunshots. Or work a day shift at a warehouse off Getwell Road for $15 an hour with benefits and air conditioning.
The parking lot job loses that contest every time.
Where Wages Are Landing Now
Security companies across Memphis have had to adjust, and the adjustments have been painful.
For unarmed guards, starting wages have moved from the old $10-$11 range up to $13-$15 per hour at most reputable companies. Some are offering sign-on bonuses. Others have added shift differentials for overnight and weekend work, tacking on an extra $1 to $2 per hour for the less desirable shifts.
Armed guards have seen even steeper increases. Posts that paid $13-$14 a year ago are now listed at $16-$20. The high end of that range goes to guards with military or law enforcement backgrounds working high-risk commercial properties in areas like Downtown, the Medical District, or along the Lamar Avenue corridor.
Supervisors and field managers have moved up proportionally. A site supervisor who made $16 in 2019 is now making $18-$22, depending on the size of the account and the company.
These aren’t dramatic numbers compared to what tech workers or nurses earn. But in an industry that has historically operated on razor-thin margins, a $3-$5 per hour increase per guard is a massive hit to the business model.
The Ripple Effect on Contract Pricing
Here is where things get complicated for property managers and business owners who buy security services.
When a security company’s labor costs go up 30-40%, that increase has to land somewhere. There are only three options: absorb the cost and shrink margins, pass it through to clients, or cut hours and hope nobody notices.
Most companies are choosing some combination of all three.
Contract pricing for unarmed guard services in Memphis has climbed from the old range of $16-$20 per bill hour to $20-$26. Armed guard contracts have moved from $22-$28 up to $28-$35. These are averages across the market. High-profile sites with specific requirements cost more.
Property managers who haven’t renegotiated their security contracts since before the pandemic are in for sticker shock. Several Memphis-area security companies told us they’ve lost clients who refused to accept the new pricing, only to see those same clients come back weeks later after discovering that every other bidder is charging the same amount or more.
The alternative to paying higher rates is accepting lower quality. Some companies that haven’t raised wages are filling shifts with whoever they can find. The resulting service complaints from clients have pushed a few of those companies out of the market entirely.
Why Memphis Gets Hit Harder
The labor squeeze is national, but Memphis feels it more acutely for several specific reasons.
Logistics dominance. Memphis moves more cargo by air than any other city in the world, thanks to FedEx’s global hub. The warehousing and distribution sector here is enormous, and it sucks up exactly the same worker profile that security companies need: reliable adults willing to work non-standard hours.
Crime pressure. The city’s climbing homicide rate and elevated property crime numbers mean more businesses want security. Demand for guards is rising at the same time supply is falling. That’s a textbook recipe for wage inflation.
Licensing friction. Tennessee requires security guards to register through the Private Protective Services division of TDCI. The process involves a background check, fingerprinting, and a modest fee. It’s not terribly onerous, but it does create a barrier that doesn’t exist for a warehouse job. Someone who just wants to start working tomorrow will pick the job that lets them do that.
Geography. Memphis sprawls. A guard who lives in Bartlett and gets assigned to a post in Southaven is looking at a 40-minute commute each way. Gas costs money. Time costs more. The farther the post is from the guard’s home, the more the effective hourly wage drops. This is a bigger factor than many company owners realize.
What Companies Are Trying
The smarter security firms in Memphis aren’t just raising wages and hoping for the best. They’re rethinking how they recruit, retain, and deploy people.
Recruitment has gone digital. Job fairs at the Agricenter or the convention center on Front Street still happen, but the real recruiting is happening on Indeed, Facebook job groups, and through employee referral programs that pay $200-$500 for a hire that sticks past 90 days.
Retention bonuses. Several companies have introduced 90-day and 6-month retention bonuses. Show up for three months straight without missing a shift, and you get an extra $300-$500. It sounds small, but for a guard making $14 an hour, it matters.
Benefits upgrades. Health insurance, paid time off, and even tuition assistance programs are appearing at companies that never offered them before. The goal is to make security feel like a career rather than a stopgap job between better opportunities.
Technology as a force multiplier. Rather than staffing five guards at a property, some companies are installing camera systems and access control, then staffing two guards who can monitor more ground with tech support. The per-guard cost goes up, but the total contract cost might stay flat or even drop. Property managers who are open to this model are getting better results at similar price points.
What Happens Next
There is no indication that the labor market for security guards in Memphis will loosen significantly anytime soon. The federal stimulus payments that some blamed for keeping workers home have largely ended. The expanded unemployment benefits expired in September. And yet the hiring difficulties persist.
The structural factors driving this shortage are not going away. Amazon isn’t closing warehouses. FedEx isn’t shrinking operations. Fast food chains aren’t cutting wages. If anything, the competition for workers will intensify heading into the holiday season as retailers and logistics companies add temporary staff.
For security company owners, the message is straightforward: your cost structure has permanently changed. Budget accordingly. Price accordingly. And if you’re still trying to hire guards at 2019 wages, stop. You’re wasting your time and your clients are getting unreliable coverage.
For property managers reading this, understand that the cheapest security bid is no longer a viable strategy. The company offering guards at $16 per bill hour either can’t find workers, can’t keep them, or is paying so little that the quality of person standing at your front gate should concern you.
The Memphis security labor market in late 2021 is brutal. The companies that figure out how to attract and keep good people will survive. The ones that don’t will be footnotes in somebody else’s growth story.