- The middle half earn between $22.14 and $29.27 an hour.
- Missouri ranks 28th of the 48 states with published figures for median pay in this trade.
- Missouri pays more than 4 of its 8 neighboring states.
- BLS counts about 220 locksmiths on payrolls in Missouri.
- At the state median wage, a locksmith business needs to bill about $112.93 an hour on the labor rate calculator's starting numbers.
Locksmith pay in Missouri, bottom to top
BLS files these as locksmiths and safe repairers: the people who open and repair locks, make keys, change locks and combinations, and install and repair safes.
| Pay level | Hourly | Yearly | National hourly |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $15.32 | $31,870 | $17.08 |
| 25th percentile | $22.14 | $46,050 | $20.75 |
| Median | $24.11 | $50,140 | $24.68 |
| 75th percentile | $29.27 | $60,880 | $31.04 |
| 90th percentile | $39.05 | $81,220 | $38.17 |
| Average (mean) | $26.72 | $55,580 | $26.67 |
Pay spreads out a lot in Missouri. The bottom tenth earn $15.32 an hour or less while the top tenth earn $39.05 or more, a gap of 2.5 times against 2.2 nationally. Where a locksmith sits on that range matters as much as the state.
The bottom of the scale is lower than nationally ($15.32 against $17.08) while the top is higher ($39.05 against $38.17), so the climb from new hire to top earner is longer here.
The average wage, $26.72, sits 11% above the median. A smaller group of higher earners pulls the average up, so the median is the better guide to what a typical locksmith makes.
How Missouri compares with other states
Over a full year the gap to the national median is small: $50,140 in Missouri against $51,320 nationally, $1,180 less.
In the state ranking, Missouri sits 28th, between Tennessee ($24.16) and Florida ($23.61). The range runs from $17.20 in Arkansas to $36.89 in the District of Columbia.
Against its neighboring states, Missouri is in the middle: Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky and Tennessee pay more, and Arkansas, Iowa, Nebraska and Oklahoma pay less.
| Neighboring state | Median hourly | Median yearly | Against Missouri |
|---|---|---|---|
| Missouri | $24.11 | $50,140 | |
| Arkansas | $17.20 | $35,770 | −$6.91 an hour |
| Illinois | $27.94 | $58,110 | +$3.83 an hour |
| Iowa | $22.29 | $46,360 | −$1.82 an hour |
| Kansas | $25.45 | $52,930 | +$1.34 an hour |
| Kentucky | $24.58 | $51,120 | +$0.47 an hour |
| Nebraska | $23.59 | $49,070 | −$0.52 an hour |
| Oklahoma | $18.59 | $38,680 | −$5.52 an hour |
| Tennessee | $24.16 | $50,250 | +$0.05 an hour |
How many locksmiths work in Missouri
About 220 locksmiths work on payrolls in Missouri, 1.5% of the 15,040 nationwide, the 22nd largest count among the states.
It is a smaller part of local jobs than in most of the country, at 0.1 per 1,000 jobs, 0.77 times the national share.
What a locksmith business in Missouri should charge
Say you run a locksmith business in Missouri and pay the state median of $24.11 an hour. Here is the labor rate calculator's math on its starting numbers: 40-hour weeks, 10 paid days off, 2 unbilled hours a day, 7.65% payroll taxes, $90,000 a year of overhead and 15% profit.
| Step | Math | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Paid hours | 40 × 52 | 2,080 |
| Hours at work | 2,080 − 10 days × 8 | 2,000 |
| Billable hours | 2,000 × 6 ÷ 8 | 1,500 |
| Labor cost | $24.11 × 2,080 × 1.0765 | $53,985 |
| Break-even rate | ($53,985 + $90,000) ÷ 1,500 | $95.99 |
| Rate with 15% profit | $95.99 ÷ 0.85 | $112.93 |
That is $112.93 per billable hour, 4.7 times the wage, and $1.00 less than the $113.93 the same math gives at the national median wage.
Paying the 75th percentile instead, $29.27 in Missouri, to hire and keep experienced people raises the rate to $121.99.
A cheaper crew saves less than it seems: at the 25th percentile wage of $22.14, the rate only drops to $109.47.
At this wage, overhead is most of the price: $60 of every billed hour goes to it before anyone is paid. Spreading the same overhead over more billable hours, with a second person or less drive time, brings the rate down fastest.
Run it with your own numbers in the labor rate calculator. It is free and shows every step.
Working as a locksmith in Missouri
- Running the business. Quotes, invoices, booking and your website in one place: how locksmiths run on Koira.
- Getting found. The free Koira report checks how your business shows up in search and on maps against shops near you.
Where these numbers come from
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025.
The figures are the BLS state estimates for SOC 49-9094, locksmiths and safe repairers, across all industries, read straight from the May 2025 state data file. They cover wage and salary workers, not the self-employed. Where BLS did not publish a figure, this page leaves it out.
All states in one table: locksmith salary by state.