Private security industry 2025 revenue tops $50 billion estimate

The private security industry 2025 generated just over $50 billion in revenue, an increase of 17% over a decade, according to Robert H. Perry & Associates figures reported by CNBC. The expansion has occurred while violent crime in the United States has fallen substantially over recent decades, CNBC said, underscoring that broad crime measures and purchasers’ security decisions do not necessarily move together.

The market estimate needs careful reading. CNBC separately put U.S. outsourced security services at just over $35 billion, a category that included manned guarding and electronic security systems. That is a narrower measure than the reported sector-wide figure, rather than a directly interchangeable total.

Staffing has also increased. Nearly 1.3 million people in the United States worked as security guards in May 2025, roughly 16% more than in 2016, based on Bureau of Labor Statistics data cited by CNBC.

Why is private security spending rising?

Industry representatives told CNBC that high-profile incidents involving companies, political figures and community groups have contributed to demand. They also pointed to larger corporate budgets and changing insurance requirements. Those explanations reflect views from within the industry, not a demonstrated single cause of the market’s growth.

Hillcrest in San Diego offers one local example. After violent acts and hate crimes in the area, members of the Hillcrest Business Association began paying about $400,000 a year in 2024 for eight hours a day of unarmed third-party patrols, CNBC reported. The association planned to add about $150,000 to fund a second shift the following year.

Executive protection has become a more visible corporate expense. An Equilar review of company disclosures, current as of early August, found that about 40% of S&P 500-listed companies offered security services to at least some executives in 2025. That compared with just under 19% in 2019. Equilar also found that the median cost had risen 178% over the period.

What does the private security business include?

The business extends beyond guards stationed at a building entrance. CNBC described services at Allied Universal that included uniformed guards, bag inspections and metal detectors, canine teams, plainclothes personnel and staff monitoring camera feeds from command centres. The functions can range from directing visitors to screening for potential threats and notifying personnel on site.

Allied Universal illustrates the scale of large providers, but its figures do not represent the sector as a whole. The privately held company operates in more than 100 countries and has about $23 billion of annual revenue, CNBC reported. Allied says it employs roughly 800,000 people and serves more than 80% of Fortune 500 companies.

The company says its North American operations receive about 65,000 job applications in a typical week, interview around 40,000 candidates and hire about 3,500. Allied has said it is assessing its capital structure while concentrating on expansion and customer service; its chief executive, Steve Jones, has publicly discussed an eventual public listing.

The available market figures establish the sector’s size and growth, but not a full methodology or common boundary for every security activity. The contrast between the broader $50 billion estimate and the outsourced-services measure shows why comparisons require attention to what each figure covers.

This story draws on original reporting from CNBC.