Security Guards and Patrol Services · California

Security Guards and Patrol Services in California

NAICS 561612 · Census Bureau County Business Patterns 2023

Benchmarking Security Guards and Patrol Services in California

Security Guards and Patrol Services (NAICS 561612) in California reports 157,154 workers across 2,173 establishments, with $5.3B of aggregate annual payroll flowing through Census CBP 2023 filings. That represents 19.7% of national employment for this industry, a concentration ratio that tells you whether California is a primary labor market for this NAICS code or a smaller satellite. A share above 5% signals a meaningful regional cluster; below 1% usually means the state is not a structural fit for this industry at scale. California accounts for 19.6% of the national Security Guards and Patrol Services establishment count (2,173 of 11,104), according to Census County Business Patterns.

Wage benchmarking is where state-level data earns its keep. The average annual compensation for Security Guards and Patrol Services employees in California is $33,949/yr, versus a national average of $31,538/yr. California pays above the national average for this industry, which usually reflects higher skill concentration, union density, or regional cost of living.

Profitability data is only available at the national level because the IRS Statistics of Income program does not publish state-level margin breakdowns. The national net profit margin for Security Guards and Patrol Services is not reported, and while margins do vary by state, the direction of variance usually follows labor cost and establishment size, both shown above. For a complete picture, pair this state-industry view with the Security Guards and Patrol Services national page (entity structure, SBA lending, sub-industries) and the California overview (top employers, payroll dispersion across industries).

Employment

157,154

Establishments

2,173

Annual Payroll

$5.3B

Avg Payroll/Employee

$33,949/yr

Compare to National Average

Profit Margin (National)

N/A National

National avg, IRS SOI (no state-level profit data)

Avg Payroll/Employee

$33,949/yr California
$31,538/yr National

California vs National avg

Employment

157,154 California
799,400 National

California share of national

Frequently Asked Questions

How many Security Guards and Patrol Services businesses are in California?
There are 2,173 Security Guards and Patrol Services (NAICS 561612) establishments in California, according to Census Bureau County Business Patterns 2023 data. These establishments employ 157,154 workers.
What is the average payroll for Security Guards and Patrol Services in California?
The average annual payroll per employee for Security Guards and Patrol Services in California is $33,949/yr. The national average for this industry is $31,538/yr. This data comes from the Census Bureau County Business Patterns 2023 survey.
How does California compare nationally for Security Guards and Patrol Services?
California accounts for 19.7% of national employment in Security Guards and Patrol Services, with 157,154 of 799,400 total US workers in this industry.
What is the profit margin for Security Guards and Patrol Services?
Profit margin data for Security Guards and Patrol Services is not available in the current IRS SOI dataset.
Disclaimer: PlainBizBench provides publicly available IRS and Census data for informational purposes only. This is not financial, tax, or business advice. Consult a qualified accountant or financial advisor for business-specific guidance.
Source: Census Bureau County Business Patterns (CBP) 2023 · NAICS 561612 · CA
Data sourced from official public datasets. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainBizBench

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns / SUSB Industry employment scale, payroll, and firm-size benchmarks · 2025

Verify with IRS →

Every figure on PlainBizBench is rendered directly from federal source data, no number is typed in by an editor. This page compares this industry's state-level benchmark against the national figure, live from the dataset. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.

Disclaimer: Public IRS/Census data, not financial or tax advice. See our full disclaimer.