Security & Alarm Services Data: Street-Level Crime, Victimization Interviews, Installer Registers and Market Sizing · Head-to-head
SEC EDGAR Full-Text Search vs US Census API
Which security & alarm services data: street-level crime, victimization interviews, installer registers and market sizing data fits your job: SEC EDGAR Full-Text Search, or US Census API. API, files, or your warehouse. Daily, weekly, or hourly.
SEC EDGAR Full-Text Search
US Census API
Where the fields line up
No shared field names. These two answer different questions.
| Field | SEC EDGAR Full-Text Search | US Census API |
|---|---|---|
_id | Accession number concatenated with the document filename, uniquely identifying the filed document - the handle every other identifier resolves against. | not in this set |
display_names | Human-readable filer name with ticker and CIK, exactly as registered - the column that turns a hit into a named company. | not in this set |
ciks | Central Index Key(s) of the filer entity - the stable company identifier that joins filings to firmographics, tickers and corporate trees. | not in this set |
form | Form type of the filing the document rode in on - 10-K, 10-Q, 8-K, 8-K/A and the rest of the disclosure alphabet. | not in this set |
file_type | Specific document type within the submission - the annual report itself versus an EX-99.1 press release or an EX-10 material contract. | not in this set |
root_forms | Root form of the underlying submission, keeping amendments and exhibits tied to their parent filing family. | not in this set |
file_date | Date the filing was accepted - the timestamp event studies and announcement windows hang on. | not in this set |
period_ending | Fiscal period the document covers, distinct from when it was filed - the difference between a December year-end and a February filing. | not in this set |
adsh | Accession number of the parent submission - the join back to the full submission record and every sibling document inside it. | not in this set |
sics | Standard Industrial Classification code(s) of the filer - the column that carves the security-alarm universe (SIC 7381 and neighbors) out of every public issuer. | not in this set |
NAICS industry code | not in this set | documented |
Geographic area name and identifier | not in this set | documented |
Coverage, side by side
| SEC EDGAR Full-Text Search | US Census API | |
|---|---|---|
| Geographic | All SEC-registered issuers, US and foreign filers; hits carry filer business location and state of incorporation | United States, reaching county, place, CBSA and ZIP Code Business Patterns levels |
| Temporal | Filings from 2001 to the present, searchable across the whole span at once | County Business Patterns annual observations from 1986; Nonemployer Statistics from 1997; Economic Census five-yearly 2002-2022; ACS 2005-2024; Decennial 2000/2010/2020 |
| Granularity | Individual filed documents and exhibits within submissions | Aggregated business counts and payroll by NAICS x geography x employment-size class |
What each contains
They tie on 1 attribute. Pick by fit, not by loyalty.
| SEC EDGAR Full-Text Search | US Census API | |
|---|---|---|
| Geography | All SEC-registered issuers, US and foreign filers; hits carry filer business location and state of incorporation | United States, reaching county, place, CBSA and ZIP Code Business Patterns levels |
| Temporal reach | Filings from 2001 to the present, searchable across the whole span at once | County Business Patterns annual observations from 1986; Nonemployer Statistics from 1997; Economic Census five-yearly 2002-2022; ACS 2005-2024; Decennial 2000/2010/2020 |
| Granularity | Individual filed documents and exhibits within submissions | Aggregated business counts and payroll by NAICS x geography x employment-size class |
| Unit of analysis | The filing document, tagged to the filer entity | The establishment population of a place - no firm-level records |
| Scale | Millions of filings indexed; a single-term ADT query returns over 10,000 hits | 548 dataset endpoints in the catalog |
| Field dictionary | About ten documented field groups: ciks, display_names, form types, dates, adsh, locations, SIC codes | Eleven documented fields: ESTAB, EMP, PAYANN, EMPSZES, NAICS2017, NAME, GEO_ID, NESTAB, NRCPTOT, RCPSZES, LFO |
| Best for | Reading what public alarm companies actually said, keyword by keyword | Sizing the security-systems market county by county |
Or take both in one feed
They stack because they occupy different layers of the same industry. A defensible workflow: size the map first - Census establishment, payroll and nonemployer counts rank counties and ZIPs by where demand for security-systems services actually sits - then overlay the named-player layer, screening EDGAR for which public issuers are expanding, merging or warning in their latest filings.
Align expectations before joining. There is no shared identifier: a CIK points at a registrant, a GEO_ID at a place, and SIC 7381 maps onto NAICS 561621 only through a crosswalk. Treat the pair as two lenses on one industry rather than one table. Browse the rest of the shelf at the security & alarm services data hub.
Datadory ships either record alone or both merged onto one calendar, aligned so the comparison arrives done - delivered daily, weekly, or hourly - your call. Or take both in one feed.
API, files, or your warehouse. Daily, weekly, or hourly.
Fair questions
Which dataset covers more security-alarm businesses?
County Business Patterns and Nonemployer Statistics enumerate every establishment including unincorporated one-person operators back to 1997 and 1986 respectively, while EDGAR sees only SEC registrants - ADT, Alarm.com, Resideo, Napco and a long tail of smaller issuers. The typical alarm dealer exists solely in the Census rows.
Can Datadory deliver both datasets together?
Yes - alone or merged onto one calendar, delivered daily, weekly, or hourly, your call. Each arrives normalized to its documented dictionary with sample rows attached for validation, so the Census sizing grid and the EDGAR filing screen land ready to use. Or take both in one feed.