# Security and Fire Alarm Systems Installers

US SOC code 49-2098. Markdown version of https://futurehistory.earth/timeline/49-2098

Also called: Alarm installer, Security alarm technician, Fire alarm technician, Security systems technician, Low-voltage technician.

## In brief

In May 2025, [BLS](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip) counted **86,340** US security and fire alarm systems installers, with median pay of **$60,070** a year. Of the BLS counts since 2003, the May 2025 count is the highest. The earliest figure here is [an estimate](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_District_Telegraph) of **3,000** from 1901, not measured the same way as today's count. The last full technology era for security and fire alarm systems installers: DIY self-monitored systems, 2015 to 2023.

## What the sources say

### Official outlook

BLS projects employment to grow 6.8% from 2025 to 2035. Source: [BLS Employment Projections 2025-35](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=49-2098&ioType=o).

### AI exposure studies

- **18.3%** of this job's tasks are exposed to large language models. Not a forecast of job losses. [Eloundou and others, 2023](https://github.com/openai/GPTs-are-GPTs/blob/main/data/occ_level.csv)

Data as of BLS OEWS May 2025; BLS Employment Projections 2025-35. BLS publishes these counts as yearly survey snapshots and cautions against reading them as a precise trend. In May 2021 BLS changed how it estimates these counts (a model-based method using three years of survey data) and moved fully to the 2018 occupation codes, so part of a change across 2021 can come from the method rather than the work.

## Security and Fire Alarm Systems Installers employment and pay by year

- On record since: 1858
- Latest US employment: 86,340 (May 2025). Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 [3]
- Latest US median pay: $60,070 (May 2025). Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 [5]
- Outlook: +6.8% by 2035. Source: BLS Employment Projections 2025-35 [21]

### All 27 years of cited US data

| Year | US employment | Annual pay (median unless marked) | Source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1901 | 3,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., ADT Inc. (Wikipedia) [1] |
| 1940 | 12,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., SIC 7382 Security Systems Services [2] |
| 1975 | 30,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., SIC 7382 Security Systems Services [2] |
| 1993 | 55,000 (estimate) | $22,000 (estimate) | Est., SIC 7382 Security Systems Services (employment) [2]; Est., BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook (pay) [4] |
| 2003 | 46,850 | $33,280 | BLS OEWS May 2003 [3] |
| 2004 | 44,710 | $33,410 | BLS OEWS May 2004 [3] |
| 2005 | 49,470 | $33,720 | BLS OEWS May 2005 [3] |
| 2006 | 51,740 | $34,810 | BLS OEWS May 2006 [3] |
| 2007 | 60,700 | $35,390 | BLS OEWS May 2007 [3] |
| 2008 | 62,720 | $36,660 | BLS OEWS May 2008 [3] |
| 2009 | 63,690 | $37,710 | BLS OEWS May 2009 [3] |
| 2010 | 57,390 | $38,500 | BLS OEWS May 2010 [3] |
| 2011 | 56,330 | $39,540 | BLS OEWS May 2011 [3] |
| 2012 | 53,960 | $41,030 | BLS OEWS May 2012 [3] |
| 2013 | 55,300 | $42,000 | BLS OEWS May 2013 [3] |
| 2014 | 60,160 | $42,560 | BLS OEWS May 2014 [3] |
| 2015 | 64,730 | $43,420 | BLS OEWS May 2015 [3] |
| 2016 | 67,700 | $44,330 | BLS OEWS May 2016 [3] |
| 2017 | 69,830 | $45,670 | BLS OEWS May 2017 [3] |
| 2018 | 70,900 | $47,190 | BLS OEWS May 2018 [3] |
| 2019 | 71,600 | $48,970 | BLS OEWS May 2019 [3] |
| 2020 | 68,920 | $50,940 | BLS OEWS May 2020 [3] |
| 2021 | 77,420 | $48,320 | BLS OEWS May 2021 [3] |
| 2022 | 80,720 | $50,130 | BLS OEWS May 2022 [3] |
| 2023 | 83,540 | $56,430 | BLS OEWS May 2023 [3] |
| 2024 | 81,510 | $59,300 | BLS OEWS May 2024 [3] |
| 2025 | 86,340 | $60,070 | BLS OEWS May 2025 [3] |

## Sources (86)

### Employment series

1. [ADT Inc. (Wikipedia) — History section: 1901 incorporation, employee counts, and early expansion](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_District_Telegraph), Wikipedia / ADT corporate history
2. [SIC 7382 Security Systems Services — Industry History (Reference for Business)](https://www.referenceforbusiness.com/industries/Service/Security-Systems-Services.html), Reference for Business / Cengage
3. BLS OEWS, national cross-industry estimates (flat file), Bureau of Labor Statistics. Editions: [2003](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm03nat.zip), [2004](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm04nat.zip), [2005](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm05nat.zip), [2006](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm06nat.zip), [2007](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm07nat.zip), [2008](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm08nat.zip), [2009](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm09nat.zip), [2010](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm10nat.zip), [2011](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm11nat.zip), [2012](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm12nat.zip), [2013](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm13nat.zip), [2014](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm14nat.zip), [2015](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm15nat.zip), [2016](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm16nat.zip), [2017](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm17nat.zip), [2018](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm18nat.zip), [2019](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm19nat.zip), [2020](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm20nat.zip), [2021](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm21nat.zip), [2022](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm22nat.zip), [2023](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm23nat.zip), [2024](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm24nat.zip), [2025](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip)

### Wage series

4. [BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook — "Telephone, Telegraph, and Cable TV Line Installers and Repairers" (1990s wage benchmarks for low-voltage trades)](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/), Bureau of Labor Statistics
5. BLS OEWS, national cross-industry estimates (flat file), Bureau of Labor Statistics. Editions: [2003](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm03nat.zip), [2004](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm04nat.zip), [2005](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm05nat.zip), [2006](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm06nat.zip), [2007](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm07nat.zip), [2008](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm08nat.zip), [2009](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm09nat.zip), [2010](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm10nat.zip), [2011](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm11nat.zip), [2012](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm12nat.zip), [2013](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm13nat.zip), [2014](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm14nat.zip), [2015](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm15nat.zip), [2016](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm16nat.zip), [2017](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm17nat.zip), [2018](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm18nat.zip), [2019](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm19nat.zip), [2020](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm20nat.zip), [2021](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm21nat.zip), [2022](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm22nat.zip), [2023](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm23nat.zip), [2024](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm24nat.zip), [2025](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip)

### Tool eras

6. [Edwin Holmes (inventor) — Wikipedia: History of Holmes Electric Protective Company and electromagnetic alarm technology](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edwin_Holmes_%28inventor%29), Wikipedia
7. [Mammoth Security — "The History of the Burglar Alarm": electromagnetic alarm origins, Holmes commercialisation](https://mammothsecurity.com/blog/burglar-alarm-history), Mammoth Security
8. [ADT Inc. (Wikipedia) — History: 1874 founding, 1877 telephone-line integration, 1901 incorporation, 1964 monopoly finding](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_District_Telegraph), Wikipedia / ADT corporate history
9. [Fire Safety Alarms — "The Evolution Of Emergency: A Brief History Of Fire Alarm Systems": heat detectors, post-war commercial expansion](https://firesafetyalarms.com/the-evolution-of-emergency-a-brief-history-of-fire-alarm-systems/), Fire Safety Alarms
10. [NIST Fire History — "Driving Residential Smoke Alarm Adoption (1970s)": 1969 NIST recommendation, UL 217 standard 1974](https://www.nist.gov/fire/history/1970s/driving-residential-smoke-alarm-adoption-1970s), National Institute of Standards and Technology
11. [Digitize Inc. — "How the History and Future of NFPA 72 Affects Your Alarm Monitoring Purchasing": NFPA 72 first issued 1993](https://www.digitize-inc.com/blog/nfpa-72-history-future.php), Digitize Inc.
12. [Origin Wireless AI — "Home Security: The History, The Evolution, The Future": WiFi 1997, wireless sensor adoption, cellular monitoring](https://www.originwirelessai.com/insights/home-security-the-history-the-evolution-the-future/), Origin Wireless AI
13. [SIC 7382 Security Systems Services — Reference for Business: Alert Holdings 400 acquisitions 1985-1991, industry consolidation](https://www.referenceforbusiness.com/industries/Service/Security-Systems-Services.html), Reference for Business / Cengage
14. [NICET — Fire Alarm Systems Certification Requirements (149,000+ certified since 1961 founding)](https://www.nicet.org/certification-programs/electrical-and-mechanical-systems/fire-alarm-systems/certification-requirements/), National Institute for Certification in Engineering Technologies
15. [Alarm.com — Partner Portal Knowledge Base: cloud-managed alarm programming platform](https://answers.alarm.com/Partner), Alarm.com
16. [Verkada — Verkada Certified Engineer (VCE) Program: cloud VMS and IP camera platform](https://www.verkada.com/partners/trainings/), Verkada
17. [SafeHome.org — 2026 Home Security Market Report: DIY overtakes professional installation (49% vs 42%)](https://www.safehome.org/resources/home-security-industry-annual/), SafeHome.org
18. [SDM Magazine — "2026 Predictions: Security Experts Talk AI, Proactive Deterrence, Video Analytics"](https://www.sdmmag.com/articles/104966-2026-predictions-security-experts-talk-ai-proactive-deterrence-video-analytics-and-more), SDM Magazine
19. [Alarm.com — Gopher Info AI Dealer Tool announcement (July 2023)](https://alarm.com/au/in-the-news/gopher-info-is-new-alarm-com-ai-dealer-tool/), Alarm.com
20. [Ambient.ai — Pulsar Vision-Language Model for Physical Security (November 2025)](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ambientai-unveils-pulsar-the-first-reasoning-vision-language-model-for-agentic-physical-security-302619452.html), Ambient.ai / PR Newswire

### Forecasts and exposure studies

21. [BLS Employment Projections 2025-35, National Employment Matrix: 49-2098 Security and fire alarm systems installers (2025: 86.3 thousand; 2035: 92.1 thousand; +6.8%)](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=49-2098&ioType=o), Bureau of Labor Statistics
22. [Eloundou, Manning, Mishkin & Rock (2023), "GPTs are GPTs", occupation-level exposure data occ\_level.csv (O\*NET-SOC 49-2098.00, human-rated β 0.183)](https://github.com/openai/GPTs-are-GPTs/blob/main/data/occ_level.csv), OpenAI

### Historical notes

23. [Mammoth Security — "The History of the Burglar Alarm": Augustus Pope 1853 patent, Holmes acquisition](https://mammothsecurity.com/blog/burglar-alarm-history), Mammoth Security
24. [Edwin Holmes (inventor) — Wikipedia: 1858 Boston sales start, 1866 milestone of 1,200 installed alarms](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edwin_Holmes_%28inventor%29), Wikipedia
25. [ADT Inc. (Wikipedia) — History: August 14 1874 founding, Roundsmen employment model](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_District_Telegraph), Wikipedia
26. [Jade Alarm — "The History of the Burglar Alarm": AT&T acquisition of Holmes business in 1905](https://www.jadealarm.com/blog/2025/01/09/the-history-of-the-burglar-alarm/), Jade Alarm
27. [NIST Fire History — "Driving Residential Smoke Alarm Adoption (1970s)": UL 217 1974, NFPA 101 1976, smoke alarm sales figures](https://www.nist.gov/fire/history/1970s/driving-residential-smoke-alarm-adoption-1970s), National Institute of Standards and Technology
28. [Digitize Inc. — "How the History and Future of NFPA 72 Affects Your Alarm Monitoring Purchasing": NFPA 72 first issued 1993](https://www.digitize-inc.com/blog/nfpa-72-history-future.php), Digitize Inc.
29. [O\*NET 30.3 — 49-2098.00: occupation overview and employment context (post-9/11 commercial security demand)](https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/49-2098.00), O\*NET / BLS
30. [SafeHome.org — 2026 Home Security Market Report: DIY 49% vs professional 42% install share, Ring and SimpliSafe history](https://www.safehome.org/resources/home-security-industry-annual/), SafeHome.org

### Predecessors & successors

31. [Edwin Holmes (inventor) — Wikipedia: Holmes trained installers came from the telegraph trade](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edwin_Holmes_%28inventor%29), Wikipedia

### Present-day analysis

- [O\*NET 30.3 — Security and Fire Alarm Systems Installers (49-2098.00)](https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/49-2098.00), accessed 2026-06-05
- [BLS OEWS May 2024 — 49-2098 Security and Fire Alarm Systems Installers (national flat file)](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm24nat.zip), accessed 2026-10-07
- [Eloundou et al. 2024 — GPTs are GPTs (Science)](https://arxiv.org/abs/2303.10130), accessed 2026-06-05
- [Alarm.com — Gopher Info AI Dealer Tool announcement (2023)](https://alarm.com/au/in-the-news/gopher-info-is-new-alarm-com-ai-dealer-tool/), accessed 2026-06-05
- [Ambient.ai — AI Video Analytics for Physical Security (2025)](https://www.ambient.ai/blog/ai-video-analytics-in-physical-security), accessed 2026-06-05
- [SDM Magazine — 2026 Predictions: AI, Proactive Deterrence, Video Analytics](https://www.sdmmag.com/articles/104966-2026-predictions-security-experts-talk-ai-proactive-deterrence-video-analytics-and-more), accessed 2026-06-05
- [Verkada — Verkada Certified Engineer (VCE) Program](https://www.verkada.com/partners/trainings/), accessed 2026-06-05
- [Alarm.com — Partner Portal Knowledge Base](https://answers.alarm.com/Partner), accessed 2026-06-05
- [Alarm Grid — Qolsys IQ4 NS Programming with IQ Installer App](https://www.alarmgrid.com/faq/how-do-i-setup-a-qolsys-iq4-ns-with-the-iq-installer-app), accessed 2026-06-05
- [Ambient.ai — Pulsar Vision-Language Model for Physical Security (Nov 2025)](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ambientai-unveils-pulsar-the-first-reasoning-vision-language-model-for-agentic-physical-security-302619452.html), accessed 2026-06-05
- [SafeHome.org — AI-Powered Home Security 2026](https://www.safehome.org/security-systems/ai-powered-security/), accessed 2026-06-05

How to read these figures: https://futurehistory.earth/methodology. Every figure links to its own source; gaps stay gaps.