Updated May 2026 · BLS OEWS 2024
Locksmith Salary in Los Angeles
2024 BLS OEWS Data · Specialty · COL Index: 166
Locksmiths in Los Angeles, CA earn a median annual wage of $61,310 per 2024 BLS OEWS data, with the 10th percentile at $47,250 and the 90th at $88,950. After cost of living, that translates to $36,934 in U.S.-average purchasing power. Trade Pay Score: D (41/100).
What Locksmiths Take Home in Los Angeles
The $41,700 spread between entry-level and top-decile locksmiths in Los Angeles is relatively narrow — about 68% of the median. That tight band usually signals a trade where pay scales primarily with experience rather than employer or specialization. New entrants can expect to climb steadily toward median pay over their first 5-10 years.
Los Angeles's cost-of-living index of 166 is well above the U.S. average — meaning a locksmith earning $61,310 here brings home roughly $36,934 in U.S.-average purchasing power. That gap between nominal and real pay is one of the largest in the country and reflects expensive housing, transportation, and services. Workers should weigh whether the headline pay actually clears the cost-of-living premium.
With a Trade Pay Score of 41 (D), this trade-city pairing is below average. That typically reflects either weak nominal wages, sluggish 5-year wage growth, a high cost of living that hollows out real pay, or some combination. Workers should examine both the per-trade page (other cities for the same trade) and the per-city page (other trades in the same metro) to find a stronger fit.
Salary Distribution
Percentile Breakdown
| Level | Salary | COL-Adjusted |
|---|---|---|
| 10th Percentile (Apprentice / Entry) | $47,250 | $28,464 |
| 25th Percentile (Early Career) | $49,700 | $29,940 |
| 50th Percentile (Journeyman / Median) | $61,310 | $36,934 |
| 75th Percentile (Experienced) | $75,560 | $45,518 |
| 90th Percentile (Master / Foreman) | $88,950 | $53,584 |
How These Numbers Are Calculated
Every wage figure here comes from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) program at bls.gov/oes — a survey of about 1.2 million employers per release covering more than 800 occupations and every U.S. metropolitan statistical area. The Trade Pay Score combines raw median pay (30%), 5-year wage growth (25%), employment depth (25%), and cost-of-living-adjusted purchasing power (20%) into a single 0-100 grade. Read the full methodology.
Career outlook detail — projected 2032 employment levels for locksmiths, typical entry-level requirements, on-the-job training expectations — comes from the BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook at bls.gov/ooh. Apprenticeship programs in Los Angeles are listed at apprenticeship.gov. All three are public-domain federal data sources.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does a Locksmith make in Los Angeles?
Per 2024 BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics data, the median locksmith salary in Los Angeles, CA is $61,310. The 10th percentile is $47,250 (typical for entry-level or apprentice-tier positions); the 90th percentile reaches $88,950 (master, foreman, or specialty roles).
How does Los Angeles pay compare for Locksmiths?
With a Trade Pay Score of 41/100 and a grade of D, the Los Angeles-Locksmith pairing is below average — workers should consider whether a different metro for the same trade might deliver a higher grade.
What is the apprenticeship path for Locksmiths in Los Angeles?
Locksmiths typically complete a 4-year registered apprenticeship before reaching journeyman pay, starting around the 10th percentile ($47,250) and progressing toward the median. Registered apprenticeship programs in the area are listed at https://www.apprenticeship.gov/.
How does cost of living affect Locksmith pay in Los Angeles?
Los Angeles has a cost-of-living index of 166. The median locksmith salary of $61,310 translates to $36,934 in U.S.-average purchasing power — a downward adjustment because the metro is more expensive than average.
Where does this salary data come from?
Every wage figure on this page is a real BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics median or percentile from the 2024 release at https://www.bls.gov/oes/, which surveys roughly 1.2 million U.S. employers per release. Career outlook context (projected employment growth through 2032) comes from the BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook at https://www.bls.gov/ooh/. Both are public-domain U.S. government data sources.
Locksmiths in Los Angeles, CA earn a median annual wage of $61,310 per 2024 BLS OEWS data, with the 10th percentile at $47,250 and the 90th at $88,950. After cost of living, that translates to $36,934 in U.S.-average purchasing power. Trade Pay Score: D (41/100).
this entity is one of the data points covered by this site’s U.S. skilled-trade wage data dataset. The detail above comes directly from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey; the context that follows situates the headline numbers against the broader distribution across U.S. trades, cities, and states.
The methodology behind every numeric value on this page is publicly documented on the the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey portal and described in detail on this site’s methodology page. Refresh cadence varies by underlying series; the page surfaces the as-of date for each number so readers can trace any figure back to the source release.
Practical use of this page is in combination with the comparison and ranking pages elsewhere on the site, which surface the same data for this entity’s peers within U.S. trades, cities, and states. A single-entity reading without peer context can be misleading when an entity is an outlier on one axis but typical on another.