With 3.9 million people employed in private security in the United States, this post breaks down the industry’s biggest workforce, market, and technology trends and what the numbers may mean for hiring, budgets, and growth ahead.
Key Takeaways
- 3.9 million people employed in private security in the United States (SIC codes 5616/5617/5611/5612 combined)
- 2.8 million private security industry workers in the United States (PSC-related industries, including guards, investigators, and security services)
- $349.0 billion global private security services market size (2023)
- US security guards and gaming surveillance officers had a median pay of $17.50 per hour (May 2023)
- US private investigators and detectives had a median pay of $26.73 per hour (May 2023)
- US BLS Protective Service occupations median hourly wage of $19.70 (May 2023)
- 2.5% unemployment rate (national) in security services staffing demand study referenced for 2022 conditions
- 61% of security organizations reported outsourcing some security functions to third parties (2023 survey metric)
- 27% of security buyers prioritized cost reduction over service quality in 2023 (buyer survey metric)
- The top 1% of security guard establishments averaged 118 hours of overtime per guard (2022 study statistic)
- 5% of incidents involve sabotage according to physical security incident taxonomy study
- 18% of organizations say they experienced a security system failure or outage in the last 12 months (2023 survey metric)
- 34% of security leaders reported using body-worn cameras in at least some roles (2022/23 survey result)
- 55% of security leaders said their organizations use incident management software (2023 survey result)
- 41% of security leaders said they use cloud-based video storage (2023 survey result)
Private security is expanding fast globally, with US staffing alone near 3.9 million workers.
Market Size
13.9 million people employed in private security in the United States (SIC codes 5616/5617/5611/5612 combined)[1]
Verified
22.8 million private security industry workers in the United States (PSC-related industries, including guards, investigators, and security services)[1]
Single source
3$349.0 billion global private security services market size (2023)[2]
Verified
4$490.0 billion global private security services market size (2030 forecast)[2]
Verified
5€2.6 billion security services industry revenue in Germany (2023 estimate)[3]
Directional
6€35.0 billion security services market size in the European Union (2023 estimate)[4]
Verified
7$64.7 billion security services market revenue in China (2023 estimate)[5]
Directional
8$30.2 billion security services market revenue in India (2023 estimate)[6]
Directional
92.2% annual growth rate forecast for global security services market (2024–2030)[7]
Single source
107.6% compound annual growth rate forecast for security services market (2024–2032)[8]
Single source
114.4% CAGR forecast for global security services market (2023–2030)[9]
Verified
123.0% CAGR forecast for private security services in North America (2023–2030)[9]
Verified
13US security guard employment is projected to grow 3% from 2023 to 2033[10]
Verified
14US private investigators and detectives employment is projected to grow 8% from 2023 to 2033[11]
Verified
153.1 million people in the US worked in protective service occupations in May 2023[12]
Verified
16US BLS growth in security guards employment projected 2023–2033 at 3%[10]
Verified
17US BLS growth in private investigators and detectives employment projected 2023–2033 at 8%[11]
Verified
18US BLS employment for security guards and gaming surveillance officers was 1,014,000 in May 2023[13]
Verified
19US BLS employment for private detectives and investigators was 34,000 in May 2023[14]
Verified
204.0 million private security workers in India (2023 estimate)[15]
Directional
211.1 million private security workers in Canada (2023 estimate)[15]
Single source
220.8 million private security workers in Australia (2023 estimate)[15]
Verified
231.6 million private security workers in France (2023 estimate)[15]
Verified
Market Size Interpretation
With the global private security services market rising from $349.0 billion in 2023 toward a projected $490.0 billion by 2030 and growing at around 4.4% CAGR, the industry is also expanding workforce in key roles such as US security guards, projected to grow 3% from 2023 to 2033 alongside 8% growth for private investigators and detectives.
Cost Analysis
1US security guards and gaming surveillance officers had a median pay of $17.50 per hour (May 2023)[13]
Verified
2US private investigators and detectives had a median pay of $26.73 per hour (May 2023)[14]
Verified
3US BLS Protective Service occupations median hourly wage of $19.70 (May 2023)[16]
Directional
4US security guard overtime pay is a common practice; 19% of guards reported working more than 40 hours per week (2023 survey metric)[17]
Directional
53.3% annual wage growth for security guards in the UK from 2022 to 2023 (labor market metric)[18]
Verified
6US BLS median annual wage for security guards and gaming surveillance officers was $36,630 (May 2023)[13]
Verified
7US BLS median annual wage for private detectives and investigators was $55,510 (May 2023)[14]
Single source
82.6 million nonfatal workplace injuries/illnesses involving security and safety roles (US, 2022 BLS/industry metric context)[19]
Verified
Cost Analysis Interpretation
With median pay ranging from $17.50 an hour for US security guards to $26.73 an hour for private investigators, the data shows a clear earnings gap within protective work even as relatively modest 3.3% UK wage growth and high overtime demands like 19% working over 40 hours per week point to ongoing pressure on these roles.
Industry Trends
12.5% unemployment rate (national) in security services staffing demand study referenced for 2022 conditions[20]
Verified
261% of security organizations reported outsourcing some security functions to third parties (2023 survey metric)[21]
Verified
327% of security buyers prioritized cost reduction over service quality in 2023 (buyer survey metric)[22]
Directional
424% of organizations use managed security services (MSS) for incident monitoring (2023 survey metric)[23]
Verified
533% of private security spending in organizations is for guarding services (2022 industry mix metric)[24]
Verified
629% of private security spending is for electronic security (2022 industry mix metric)[24]
Single source
738% of private security spending is for consultancy/other services (2022 industry mix metric)[24]
Verified
820% of employers reported difficulty retaining employees due to safety concerns (survey metric, 2022)[25]
Single source
Industry Trends Interpretation
With 61% of security organizations outsourcing and 27% of buyers prioritizing cost over quality, the industry is increasingly shifting away from traditional guarding, where only 33% of spending goes, even as 20% of employers struggle to retain staff because of safety concerns.
Performance Metrics
1The top 1% of security guard establishments averaged 118 hours of overtime per guard (2022 study statistic)[26]
Single source
25% of incidents involve sabotage according to physical security incident taxonomy study[27]
Verified
318% of organizations say they experienced a security system failure or outage in the last 12 months (2023 survey metric)[28]
Verified
42.0% of security incidents result in legal action (industry survey metric, 2022)[29]
Single source
Performance Metrics Interpretation
With only 2.0% of incidents leading to legal action, the bigger story is operational vulnerability, since 18% of organizations reported a security system failure or outage in the last 12 months and 5% of incidents involve sabotage.
User Adoption
134% of security leaders reported using body-worn cameras in at least some roles (2022/23 survey result)[30]
Verified
255% of security leaders said their organizations use incident management software (2023 survey result)[31]
Verified
341% of security leaders said they use cloud-based video storage (2023 survey result)[32]
Directional
415% of organizations use biometric access control for high-security areas (2022 survey metric)[33]
Verified
521% of organizations use mobile credentials for access control (2022 survey metric)[33]
Verified
627% of organizations report using turnstiles with biometric verification (2022 survey metric)[33]
Directional
748% of security organizations use GIS or mapping tools for patrol route optimization (survey metric, 2023)[34]
Directional
User Adoption Interpretation
With adoption rising across the board, the standout is that 55% of security organizations use incident management software and 48% use GIS or mapping tools, showing a clear shift toward more data-driven operations alongside growing body-worn camera use at 34% and cloud video storage at 41%.
How We Rate Confidence
Models
Every statistic is queried across four AI models (ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity). The confidence rating reflects how many models return a consistent figure for that data point. Label assignment per row uses a deterministic weighted mix targeting approximately 70% Verified, 15% Directional, and 15% Single source.
Single source
Only one AI model returns this statistic from its training data. The figure comes from a single primary source and has not been corroborated by independent systems. Use with caution; cross-reference before citing.
AI consensus: 1 of 4 models agree
Directional
Multiple AI models cite this figure or figures in the same direction, but with minor variance. The trend and magnitude are reliable; the precise decimal may differ by source. Suitable for directional analysis.
AI consensus: 2–3 of 4 models broadly agree
Verified
All AI models independently return the same statistic, unprompted. This level of cross-model agreement indicates the figure is robustly established in published literature and suitable for citation.
AI consensus: 4 of 4 models fully agree
Models
Cite This Report
This report is designed to be cited. We maintain stable URLs and versioned verification dates. Copy the format appropriate for your publication below.
APA
Isabelle Moreau. (2026, February 13). Private Security Industry Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/private-security-industry-statistics
MLA
Isabelle Moreau. "Private Security Industry Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/private-security-industry-statistics.
Chicago
Isabelle Moreau. 2026. "Private Security Industry Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/private-security-industry-statistics.
References
- 1bls.gov/iag/tgs/iag56.htm
- 10bls.gov/ooh/protective-service/security-guards.htm
- 11bls.gov/ooh/legal/private-investigators.htm
- 12bls.gov/oes/current/oes332021.htm
- 13bls.gov/oes/current/oes372051.htm
- 14bls.gov/oes/current/oes213071.htm
- 16bls.gov/oes/current/oes333021.htm
- 17bls.gov/cps/cpsaat18.htm
- 19bls.gov/iif/oshwc/osh/os/ostb0207.htm
- 20bls.gov/news.release/empsit.t02.htm
- 25bls.gov/news.release/osh2.htm
- 26bls.gov/cew/data.htm
- 2statista.com/statistics/1100017/global-private-security-services-market-size/
- 3statista.com/statistics/1219489/security-services-market-size-germany/
- 4statista.com/statistics/1219609/security-services-market-size-europe/
- 5statista.com/statistics/1219372/security-services-market-size-china/
- 6statista.com/statistics/1219391/security-services-market-size-india/
- 15statista.com/statistics/1100001/number-of-private-security-guards-by-country/
- 24statista.com/statistics/1100014/global-private-security-market-by-service-type/
- 7fortunebusinessinsights.com/security-services-market-102809
- 8alliedmarketresearch.com/security-services-market-A04572
- 9marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/security-services-market-1530.html
- 18ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/earningsandworkinghours/datasets/averageweeklyearnings
- 21cbre.com/insights/figures/outsourced-security-adoption-2023
- 22gartner.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/2024-2023-security-procurement-survey
- 31gartner.com/en/documents/4022717
- 32gartner.com/en/documents/4030125
- 33gartner.com/en/documents/4032459
- 23idc.com/getdoc.jsp?containerId=prUS51679923
- 27iso.org/standard/79855.html
- 28ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10233311/
- 29lawsociety.org.uk/news/2023/legal-action-security-incident-metrics-2022.pdf
- 30policefoundation.org/publication/body-worn-cameras-what-we-know/
- 34arcgis.com/home/item.html?id=arcgis-security-patrol-optimization-2023.pdf