U.S. Guarding Revenues Reach $29 Billion

The U.S. guard service market reached $29 billion in 2018 and is expected to continue to grow in the near future, according to a new economic study.

The study, “Private Security Services, 17th Edition,” found that U.S. guarding revenues are expected to grow 2.6 percent per year through 2023, with the overall market hitting $33 billion. The study was conducted by the Freedonia Group, a division of MarketResearch.com, an international industrial research company.

According to the study, a few primary factors will drive the anticipated growth in the guard service market. One factor is continued interest in more highly trained guards who provide a variety of market specific services at a higher rate than standard guards.

The second factor is an increasing demand for armed security guards, who require additional training and usually earn higher wages. The third is the ongoing technological advances to some security systems that make guards more efficient and cost effective, and therefore more appealing to hire.

Overall, the study analyzed the U.S. private contract security services market. Revenues for private security services were examined by service and market and calculated in U.S. dollars. In 2018, guard services revenue represented 43 percent of overall private security service revenues.

From 2013 to 2018, growth in guarding revenues matched the pace of the overall security services market growth. Guarding is one of the most mature segments of the overall security services market, however, so its 2.6 percent growth rate will be slower than the growth of most other market segments.

For more information on the economic factors of the guard services market, see the Security Management article “Guard Force Trends: Multipliers and the Market.”