How much does a security guard cost in Houston?

What you are paying for

An hour of a licensed officer’s presence, with everything behind it: the background check and the state course, the company training, the post orders written for your property, the supervisor who reads the report every day, dispatch answering at three in the morning, the relief officer when someone is sick and the insurance the statute requires. The rate covers all of it. A quote that is much lower than the market is usually leaving something out, and the daily report is where you find out what.

The five factors

Armed or unarmed: a Level III commissioned officer costs more per hour than a Level II registrant, and most posts are unarmed. Hours and days: a standing post with many hours a week is priced differently from a one-night call-out with a minimum. Notice: an emergency start tonight costs more than a post scheduled for next month. Vehicle: a patrol post includes the marked vehicle. Site conditions: a fire watch with a fifteen-minute interval, a post that requires specific certifications or PPE, or a location far from other posts moves the rate.

Why there are no figures on this site

Because a published rate would be wrong for your property. The same evening post costs different amounts on a twenty-acre community with a vehicle and on a single-entrance store, and quoting one number would mislead one of them. What the proposal gives you is the rate for your post, the hours, the minimum per shift, the notice terms and what is included, in writing, before anything starts.

How to get a real number

Call dispatch or send a proposal request with the address, the property type, the hours you have in mind and what has been happening. A supervisor walks the property and the proposal follows. The cost factors article goes through each factor in more detail, and the contracts article explains hours, minimums and notice.