1.6.5.3Vertical

Physical Security Consulting & Design

Consultancies designing security systems, access control, and physical protection programs.

Market snapshot

These figures describe Physical Security Services (1.6.5), the segment that Physical Security Consulting & Design sits within — not Physical Security Consulting & Design on its own.

Market size
~$37B
Growth
~4.6%CAGR (2017–22, nominal)
Companies
~7,707 firms
Firms by employee count

63.4% of firms have fewer than 20 employees — 4,885 micro-businesses, below most mandates.

The investable universe2,822 firms with 20+ employees
20–99
2,02672%
100–499
62522%
500+
1716%

Percentages are of the 20+ employee universe. 20–99 and 100–499 are the lower-middle market; 500+ is at scale.

~765,000 security officers — a labor-intensive, contract-based market.

NAICS 561612. U.S. Census Bureau — 2022 Statistics of U.S. Businesses; U.S. Census Bureau — 2022 Economic Census.

Business model & economics

Revenue model

Recurring per-hour guarding contracts

Key economics

Revenue per firm
$4,806,545
Revenue per employee
$45,197
Employees per firm
99.2
Recurring revenue
High

multi-year guarding contracts with steady renewal

EBITDA margin
5–10%
Capex intensity
Low

Characteristics

  • Labor-intensive — payroll is 65% of revenue; margin comes from utilization, not scale
  • Deep strategic-buyer pool — 171 firms exceed 500 employees, so a scaled asset has trade buyers
  • Wage-dominated cost structure keeps margins thin.
  • Recurring contracts provide steady, predictable revenue.
  • Remote monitoring and technology are reshaping the labor model.

NAICS 561612. U.S. Census Bureau — 2022 Statistics of U.S. Businesses; U.S. Census Bureau — 2022 Economic Census.

Geographic concentration

AlabamaAlaskaArizonaColoradoFloridaGeorgiaIndianaKansasMaineMassachusettsMinnesotaNew JerseyNorth CarolinaNorth DakotaOklahomaPennsylvaniaSouth DakotaTexasWyomingConnecticutMissouriWest VirginiaIllinoisNew MexicoArkansasDelawareIowaKentuckyMarylandMichiganMississippiMontanaNew HampshireOhioOregonTennesseeUtahVirginiaWashingtonWisconsinNebraskaSouth CarolinaIdahoNevadaVermontLouisianaRhode IslandCaliforniaDistrict of ColumbiaHawaiiNew York

Measured by where guards actually work rather than where the firm is registered — a security company deploys its people to client sites, so employment is the honest footprint. On that basis it concentrates where the high-value targets are: Washington, D.C. (federal buildings, with Virginia just behind), Hawaii (military and tourism), and the dense urban markets of New York and California. Security demand isn't uniform; it follows what needs protecting.

District of ColumbiaHawaiiNew YorkCalifornia

NAICS 561612. U.S. Census Bureau — 2022 County Business Patterns (employment by state). Concentration shown by location quotient.

M&A deal context

Deal activityHigh

Who’s acquiring

  • Global guarding consolidators
  • Security-technology integrators
  • PE-backed security platforms

What’s driving deals

  • Rapid roll-up of regional guarding firms by global operators.
  • Shift toward remote monitoring and security technology.
  • Scale economics in a labor-intensive, low-margin market.

Find Physical Security Consulting & Design acquisition targets

Search Acquisera’s index for companies classified under Physical Security Consulting & Design (1.6.5.3) and build a targeted deal pipeline.

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