Locksmiths and Safe Repairers

Moderate Risk
Low High

Explore safer careers (5)

Lower estimated automation risk

First-Line Supervisors of Mechanics, Installers, and Repairers
21% automation risk | Low Risk
Pays better Higher growth
30.1 pts lower View career
Why it fits

Fits experienced locksmiths using job scheduling, field quality, parts, customer issues, safety, and technician coaching.

Security Management Specialists
10% automation risk | Minimal Risk
Pays better Higher growth
40.3 pts lower View career
Why it fits

Fits commercial locksmiths advising on physical security using access control, risk awareness, policies, vendors, and site assessments.

Control and Valve Installers and Repairers, Except Mechanical Door
41% automation risk | Moderate Risk
Pays better Higher growth
10.1 pts lower View career
Why it fits

Applies mechanical devices, installation tolerances, seals, controls, troubleshooting, hand tools, and field repair practices.

Maintenance and Repair Workers, General
38% automation risk | Low Risk
Higher growth More jobs
12.9 pts lower View career
Why it fits

Reuses building access, hardware repair, tools, work orders, customer service, troubleshooting, and property maintenance.

Mechanical Door Repairers
43% automation risk | Moderate Risk
Higher growth More jobs
7.6 pts lower View career
Why it fits

Directly reuses door hardware, locks, closers, alignment, hand tools, customer sites, troubleshooting, and repair judgment.

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Occupation snapshot

What does this snowflake show?
The Snowflake is a visual summary of the five badges: Automation Risk (calculated), Risk (polled), Growth, Wages and Volume. It gives you an instant snapshot of an occupations profile. The colour of the Snowflake relates to its size. The better the occupation scores in relation to others, the larger and greener the Snowflake becomes.
JOB SCORE
3.8/10
What's this?
Job Score (higher is better):

We rate jobs using four factors. These are:

- Chance of being automated
- Job growth
- Wages
- Volume of available positions

These are some key things to think about when job hunting.

Risk & user votes

Calculated automation risk

51% (Moderate Risk)

Moderate Risk (41-60%): This occupation may be meaningfully affected by automation. Some parts of the role may be suitable for AI, software, or robotics, while others still rely on human skill, judgement, trust, or real-world context. People in this range may benefit from building skills that complement automation and reduce replacement risk.

More information on what this score is, and how it is calculated is available here.

Human strengths important in this job

These are human abilities and work contexts that are important in this occupation. They may help explain why parts of the role are harder to replace end-to-end, but they are not the only inputs into the automation score.

Working directly with the public

Very important
Why this matters
The job involves face-to-face interaction with customers, clients, or guests—answering questions, handling requests, and managing service situations in real time. Roles with frequent public interaction are harder to replace end-to-end because they rely on trust, communication, and adapting to unpredictable human needs.
Jobs that also use this strength

Decision-making and problem solving

Very important
Why this matters
Analyze information, weigh tradeoffs, and choose the best solution—especially when situations are ambiguous, high-stakes, or have real-world consequences.
Jobs that also use this strength

Thinking creatively

Quite important
Why this matters
Coming up with original ideas and designs—creating new concepts, products, systems, or artistic work. This kind of open-ended invention and taste-based judgment is harder to automate end-to-end than routine, rule-based tasks.
Jobs that also use this strength

Coordinating others’ work

Quite important
Why this matters
Bringing people together, assigning tasks, and keeping a group aligned so work gets done.
Jobs that also use this strength

Consulting and advising others

Quite important
Why this matters
Provide guidance and expert advice to managers or teams on technical, system, or process decisions—explaining options, tradeoffs, and recommended actions.
Jobs that also use this strength
Show 1 more strength

Education and training expertise

Quite important
Why this matters
Designing and delivering instruction—adapting lessons to different learners and measuring whether training actually works.
Jobs that also use this strength

What users think

Based on 57 votes

34% chance of full automation within the next two decades

Our visitors have voted there's a low chance this occupation will be automated. However, the automation risk level we have generated suggests a higher chance of automation: 51% chance of automation.

What do you think the risk of automation is?

What is the likelihood that Locksmiths and Safe Repairers will be replaced by robots or artificial intelligence within the next 20 years?

Sentiment

Based on user votes over time

View sentiment trend

How opinions have changed over time

Pay & outlook

Wages

Low paid relative to other professions

In 2024, the median annual wage for Locksmiths and Safe Repairers was $50,490 ($24 per hour).

The median annual wage for Locksmiths and Safe Repairers was 2.0% higher than the national median annual wage, which stood at $49,500.

View wage trend

Wages over time

* Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics

Growth

Very slow growth relative to other professions.

The number of 'Locksmiths and Safe Repairers' job openings is expected to decline 8.3% by 2034

View employment trend

Total employment, and estimated job openings

* Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics for the period between 2023 and 2033
Updated projections are due 09-2025.

Volume

Lower range of job opportunities compared to other professions

As of 2024 there were 15,550 people employed as 'Locksmiths and Safe Repairers' within the United States.

This represents around < 0.001% of the employed workforce across the country

Put another way, around 1 in 9 thousand people are employed as 'Locksmiths and Safe Repairers'.

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What people are saying (3)

Dave (Moderate)
29 May 2019 16:55
I think we will probably begin to shift from mechanical locks to digital/electric locks, resulting in locksmithing becoming obsolete, apart from hobby. Even if mechanical locks don't get replaced, they will most likely be enhanced with electronics, and I would say that electronics are AI specialties.
Ajax
06 May 2025 13:37
Do you agree that mechanical locks are more secure because AI and Electronics in general can be hacked?
jeff (Highly likely)
17 Apr 2019 10:25
easy work
Leave a reply about this occupation
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Job description

Repair and open locks, make keys, change locks and safe combinations, and install and repair safes.

O*NET-SOC code: 49-9094.00