Apr 30, 2026
President Trump has seized on the shooting incident at the White House Correspondents' Association dinner on April 25 as a reason to upgrade his home security.
Of course, if your home is the White House, that means military-grade protection. That's why Trump and his allies argue that his proposed $400-million, 90,000 square feet East Wing ballroom — currently held up in a lawsuit — would be safer for functions like the press gala (1).
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"It's actually a larger room, and it's much more secure," Trump said at a press conference following the incident (2). "It's drone-proof, it's bulletproof-glass. We did the ballroom, that's why Secret Service, that's why the military, are demanding it."
But it's not just Trump who wants a bulletproof, blast-proof residence. A growing number of Americans want to protect themselves and their homes with bullet- and blast-proof windows, doors and panels, also known as ballistics solutions.
While the majority of ballistics solutions firms serve institutional clients like governments, businesses, hospitals and schools, some cater to residential customers.
Here's a look at the ballistics solutions business and what customers are buying.
When shootings make headlines, people buy bulletproof doors
Michael Mendoza is a technical specialist with Fortified Estates, a ballistics solutions firm in Plano, Texas that provides home security all over the U.S.
Mendoza told Moneywise that as soon as he heard about the shots fired at the Washington Hilton Hotel when Trump was there, he knew his team would be in for a busy week (3).
"Messaging was already going on between team members when it hit the news," he said, noting that his company tends to get more calls from prospective clients when shootings make headlines anywhere in the U.S.
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Similarly, the company saw an uptick in inquiries after United Healthcare executive Brian Thompson was shot and killed in New York in 2024 (4). Calls came in from New York and New Jersey, where people's homes are at sidewalk level, as well as from California.
"We got calls from high net-worth individuals," Mendoza recalls. "If they didn't fortify their front door, they were converting their closets."
Converting closets into safe rooms is common, he said. Bulletproof wall panels can be installed directly into closets in new builds or added into an older closet after the existing drywall is removed. The panels come in a range of thicknesses and increasing levels of protection, ranging in price from $350 to $680 each.
For example, the less expensive Level 3 panels can protect occupants from shots fired from handguns — up to a Dirty Harry-style .44 Magnum. The more expensive Level 8 panels, which can deter a high-powered rifle, are the thickest and weigh up to 200 lbs., making them a little trickier to install.
Clients can then add a bulletproof door to the closet. These doors — also available in front-door options — can be custom-made to blend in with a home's overall design (5).
According to spec sheets, while they might look like attractive wood doors, they're built to U.S. Department of State standards for embassy attacks, designed to withstand up to four hours of battering rams, sledge hammers, axes and more.
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Mendoza says the custom doors start at $10,000. He says standard bulletproof steel doors are not so discreet, but they are less expensive ($3,500 to $4,500) — and can resist military rifles, plasma torches and concrete saws.
The panels and doors are blast-proof and fireproof, too, he adds. Such considerations may be on some homeowners' minds after a man threw a Molotov cocktail at Sam Altman's San Francisco home earlier in April (6).
With an increase in tensions and violent incidents on home soil and internationally, the market for ballistics building products — both institutional and residential — is exploding.
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Bulletproofing is big business
According to Custom Market Insights, the worldwide market for bulletproof and blast-resistant building products is expected to reach $25.2 billion by 2033 (7).
Jonathan Peitz, a business development specialist at Total Security Solutions, told Moneywise that he has seen that growth at the Fowlerville, Michigan firm. It serves clients in government, health care, education and business across North America — and has installed ballistics systems worldwide (8), up to 30,000 at this point.
Peitz notes a big increase in demand for the company's bulletproof doors, windows and panels in the past five years, as well as a marked increase in demand for executive protection in corporate spaces. Peitz said he expects that demand to continue moving forward.
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"With incidents happening throughout the past five years, and repeatedly in the past two years, with news outlets covering them, there is an increased fear and need for security in industries that maybe didn't think of this two years ago," Peitz told Moneywise.
So does everyone need to bulletproof their home? That's a personal decision, as it’s a costly endeavor.
It makes sense to bulletproof institutions like government buildings, businesses, schools and hospitals — and the homes of high-profile individuals who could be targets. But there are simpler, less expensive options for regular homeowners — and potentially greater threats to your home than gunfire, like hurricanes, floods or forest fires.
Fortified & Ballistics Security in Boca Raton, Florida installs bulletproof doors and windows for clients (9), but advises homeowners to think about whether they want to spend money on a bulletproof window ($480 per sq. ft.) or a security window (at $306 per sq. ft.), which is likelier to keep intruders out. Bulletproof windows are harder to see through, the company notes.
Instead, Fortified & Ballistics Security recommends doing a full security audit of your home before spending big bucks on bulletproofing.
Article Sources
We rely only on vetted sources and credible third-party reporting. For details, see our ethics and guidelines.
The Hill (1); X (2); The New York Times (3); Le Monde (4); Fortified Estate (5); NBC News/YouTube (6); Custom Market Insights (7); Inc (8); Custom Security Doors (9).
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Laura Boast is an Associate Editor with Moneywise.com and a lifelong content creator who has reached international audiences at Discovery, CBC, Blue Ant Media, Bond Brand Loyalty and more.
