- The middle half earn between $25.02 and $35.53 an hour.
- Rhode Island ranks 13th of the 48 states with published figures for median pay in this trade.
- Rhode Island pays less than both neighboring states.
- BLS counts about 80 locksmiths on payrolls in Rhode Island.
- At the state median wage, a locksmith business needs to bill about $119.02 an hour on the labor rate calculator's starting numbers.
Locksmith pay in Rhode Island, 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 | $20.00 | $41,600 | $17.08 |
| 25th percentile | $25.02 | $52,040 | $20.75 |
| Median | $27.58 | $57,360 | $24.68 |
| 75th percentile | $35.53 | $73,910 | $31.04 |
| 90th percentile | $41.36 | $86,030 | $38.17 |
| Average (mean) | $29.59 | $61,550 | $26.67 |
From the bottom tenth ($20.00) to the top tenth ($41.36), the top of the scale pays about 2.1 times the bottom in Rhode Island, close to the 2.2 times spread for locksmiths nationwide.
Both ends of the scale beat the national figures: $20.00 against $17.08 at the bottom tenth, and $41.36 against $38.17 at the top.
The average wage, $29.59, sits 7% 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 Rhode Island compares with other states
Over a full year, the Rhode Island median of $57,360 is $6,040 more than the national $51,320.
In the state ranking, Rhode Island sits 13th, between Washington ($27.89) and New Jersey ($27.41). The range runs from $17.20 in Arkansas to $36.89 in the District of Columbia.
Every one of the neighboring states pays locksmiths more than Rhode Island. The closest is Massachusetts at $28.57, and the biggest gap is with Connecticut.
These are wages as paid, not adjusted for what it costs to live in Rhode Island. Rent, home prices and taxes decide how far a higher wage goes.
| Neighboring state | Median hourly | Median yearly | Against Rhode Island |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rhode Island | $27.58 | $57,360 | |
| Connecticut | $33.31 | $69,280 | +$5.73 an hour |
| Massachusetts | $28.57 | $59,420 | +$0.99 an hour |
How many locksmiths work in Rhode Island
About 80 locksmiths work on payrolls in Rhode Island, 0.5% of the 15,040 nationwide, the 41st largest count among the states.
The trade is a bigger part of the local job market than it is nationally: 0.2 of every 1,000 jobs in Rhode Island, 1.7 times the national share.
What a locksmith business in Rhode Island should charge
Higher wages in Rhode Island go straight into the price. Take a locksmith business in Rhode Island paying the state median of $27.58 and run it through the labor rate calculator with 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 | $27.58 × 2,080 × 1.0765 | $61,755 |
| Break-even rate | ($61,755 + $90,000) ÷ 1,500 | $101.17 |
| Rate with 15% profit | $101.17 ÷ 0.85 | $119.02 |
That is $119.02 per billable hour, 4.3 times the wage, and $5.09 more than the $113.93 the same math gives at the national median wage.
Paying the 75th percentile instead, $35.53 in Rhode Island, to hire and keep experienced people raises the rate to $132.99.
A cheaper crew saves less than it seems: at the 25th percentile wage of $25.02, the rate only drops to $114.53.
Overhead, at $60 of every billed hour, and the unbilled hours move this rate more than a raise does. A dollar more in wages adds about $1.76 to the rate.
Run it with your own numbers in the labor rate calculator. It is free and shows every step.
Working as a locksmith in Rhode Island
- 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.