Quantifying the hidden cost of asset invisibility in the US Public Sector

The Samsara State of Connected Operations Report on Asset Theft & Loss in the US Public Sector examines the real-world financial and operational impact of equipment theft and loss on US public sector organizations—including agencies responsible for infrastructure, public works, utilities, transportation, law enforcement, emergency services, and education. The report quantifies the cost of operating without asset tracking technology, the ripple effect of missing assets on public services and taxpayer-funded resources, and the benefits of implementing an asset tracking solution for assets of all sizes.

This public sector report features insights from a Wakefield Research survey of 250 US public sector leaders who had to meet the following criteria:

• Industry segments: Local government (e.g., cities, townships, counties), state government (agencies or statewide), special districts (e.g., utilities, ports), or education (e.g., school districts, colleges, universities).

• Qualifying titles: Administrator, Chief of Police, Chief of Fire Department, City Manager, Comptroller, Department Commissioner, Property and Evidence Manager, Public Works Director, Sheriff, Transportation Director, or Treasurer.

This survey was commissioned by Samsara and conducted by an independent research firm, Wakefield Research, between February 5 and February 17, 2026. This public sector report is based on responses from 250 US public sector leaders, surveyed online in the English language. Respondents represented local government, state government, special districts, and education, and are not necessarily Samsara customers.

Key findings of the Samsara State of Connected Operations Report on Asset Theft & Loss in the US Public Sector include:

• Public sector organizations without asset tracking self-report losses from missing assets averaging $4.5 million per year—roughly 2.7x more per year than agencies with tracking in place. This estimate includes not just replacement costs, but indirect costs such as project delays, penalties, emergency rentals, and wasted labor.

• Theft is a monthly drain on taxpayer-funded resources. 72% of agencies without asset trackers experience theft at least once a month—6.5x the rate among agencies with tracking in place (11%).

• The threat is escalating. Among public sector organizations without asset trackers, 72% report that the frequency of high-value asset theft has increased over the past five years—well above the global rate of 59%.

• The cost of missing smaller assets adds up. Missing assets valued under $10,000 account for nearly two-thirds of total annual losses from theft and loss across the public sector—yet 76% of agencies admit they typically "write off" the cost of lower-value missing assets as an unavoidable cost of doing business.

• Asset invisibility puts public services on hold. 65% of public sector organizations say a missing critical asset—such as a specific tool, sensor, or part—caused a significant shutdown or delay in the past 12 months.

• Missing assets drain productivity. 99% of public sector organizations say searching for lost or misplaced assets is a weekly occurrence, and nearly a quarter of organizations without real-time visibility spend 10+ hours per week searching—equivalent to a public employee doing nothing but searching for lost equipment for three months every year.

• Agencies without tracking are hemorrhaging taxpayer dollars. 69% of public sector organizations without asset trackers face operational costs exceeding $1 million annually due to missing assets—and they are 3x as likely to report seven-figure annual losses as those with tracking.

• Asset tracking delivers measurable results. Nearly all (98%) public sector organizations with asset tracking report a positive operational impact, with tracked organizations seeing a 63% reduction in average annual operational costs due to missing assets and recovering stolen assets roughly 8x faster.

This report is a valuable resource for public sector leaders responsible for managing physical assets and taxpayer-funded resources—including city managers, public works directors, fleet managers, transportation directors, comptrollers, treasurers, police and fire chiefs, sheriffs, property and evidence managers, and school district and university administrators—particularly those evaluating asset tracking solutions or seeking to quantify the true cost of equipment theft and loss.

According to the Samsara Asset Theft & Loss Report, US public sector organizations operating without asset tracking self-report losses from missing assets averaging $4.5 million annually—roughly 2.7x more per year than agencies with tracking in place. This figure includes both direct replacement costs and indirect costs such as project delays, penalties, emergency rentals, and wasted labor. And it's likely just the tip of the iceberg: indirect costs like idle labor and operational downtime are notoriously hard to quantify and frequently underreported.

72% of public sector agencies without asset trackers experience theft at least once a month, according to the Samsara Asset Theft & Loss Report—6.5x the rate among agencies with tracking in place (11%). Theft is a recurring monthly drain on taxpayer-funded resources for untracked operations.

According to the Samsara Asset Theft & Loss Report, the most commonly lost, misplaced, or stolen equipment in the US public sector falls into three categories:

• Small equipment: Generators, power tools, utility locators, sensors, and pumps

• Heavy equipment: Excavators, tractors, and dumpsters

• Trailers: Flatbed trailers, van trailers, and more

These aren't just line items—they're the tools behind snow removal, storm response, water service, and public safety. When a utility locator goes missing, a repair crew is grounded; when a pump disappears, a flood response slows.

Yes—among public sector organizations without asset trackers, 72% report that the frequency of high-value asset theft has escalated over the past five years, well above the global rate of 59%, according to the Samsara Asset Theft & Loss Report. Notably, the trend reverses with tracking: 60% of state agencies—nearly all of which use asset tracking—report theft has actually decreased over the past five years, suggesting tracking actively deters theft.

According to the Samsara Asset Theft & Loss Report, asset invisibility creates severe secondary costs beyond the direct replacement price of a missing asset:

• Service shutdowns and delays: 65% of public sector organizations report that a missing critical asset caused a significant shutdown or delay in the past 12 months, putting essential services on hold.

• Wasted labor: 99% of public sector organizations report that searching for lost or misplaced assets is a weekly occurrence.

• Lost productivity: Nearly a quarter of organizations without real-time visibility say employees spend more than 10 hours every week looking for missing assets—equivalent to a public employee doing nothing but searching for three months of the year instead of maintaining roads, responding to service requests, or supporting emergency operations.

• Seven-figure secondary losses: 69% of public sector organizations without asset trackers face operational costs exceeding $1 million annually due to missing assets—and they are 3x as likely to report seven-figure annual losses as those with an asset tracking solution.

Asset invisibility is a major drain on public sector labor. According to the Samsara Asset Theft & Loss Report, 99% of public sector organizations report that searching for lost or misplaced assets is a weekly occurrence. At nearly a quarter of organizations without real-time visibility, employees spend more than 10 hours every week looking for missing assets—equivalent to more than 520 hours per year, or a public employee doing nothing but searching for lost equipment for three months every year instead of maintaining roads, responding to service requests, or supporting emergency operations.

According to the Samsara Asset Theft & Loss Report, public sector organizations without asset visibility often fall into a "repurchase culture": on average, 22% of new asset, equipment, or tool purchases go toward replacing items that were lost, stolen, or misplaced. For roughly every five tools purchased, one is simply a replacement for a "ghost" asset that may still exist somewhere in the field. Nearly all public sector organizations (97%) confirm that at least some of their new equipment budget is consumed by these replacement purchases—taxpayer dollars spent paying for the same inventory twice.

More than three-quarters (76%) of public sector agencies admit they typically "write off" the cost of lower-value missing assets as an unavoidable cost of doing business—essentially baking inefficiency into their budgets, according to the Samsara Asset Theft & Loss Report. This "expensed and forgotten" mindset is costly: missing assets valued under $10,000 account for nearly two-thirds of total annual losses from theft and loss across the public sector. State government agencies are most susceptible to normalizing this drain, with 89% admitting they write off missing lower-value assets—meaning millions in taxpayer-funded assets silently disappear from state inventories each year.

It takes a public sector agency an average of 18 days to locate a stolen high-value asset, according to the Samsara Asset Theft & Loss Report. For state agencies, the average balloons to more than 25 days, with 75% reporting timelines exceeding 21 days—almost a month where a critical asset isn't available for the next emergency, outage, or call for service. Even then, recovery isn't guaranteed: 53% of public sector organizations are unable to recover even half of their stolen high-value equipment. For local governments, that figure rises to 74%.

Public sector organizations that track the majority of their assets are roughly 8x more likely to recover a stolen asset within the first 5 days compared to those without tracking, according to the Samsara Asset Theft & Loss Report. Without tracking, agencies take an average of 18 days to locate a stolen high-value asset—if it's recovered at all—and 53% are unable to recover even half of their stolen high-value equipment. A digital record of assets also makes it far easier to prove ownership to law enforcement, which is nearly impossible without a digital trail.

Yes. According to the Samsara Asset Theft & Loss Report, more than a third (34%) of public sector organizations have successfully lowered their insurance premiums by implementing asset tracking—underscoring how asset tracking can reduce a recurring overhead expense funded by taxpayer dollars.

Nearly all (98%) public sector organizations with asset tracking report it has positively impacted their operations, with 61% describing the impact as substantial or transformative, according to the Samsara Asset Theft & Loss Report. Top-cited benefits include:

• Less time spent searching: Most report less staff time spent tracking or searching for missing items.

• Fewer operation shutdowns: Most report fewer project shutdowns and delays—driving a 63% reduction in average annual operational costs due to missing assets compared to those without tracking.

• Quicker asset recovery: Organizations that track the majority of their assets are roughly 8x more likely to recover a stolen asset within the first 5 days.

• Lower insurance premiums: 34% have successfully lowered their insurance premiums by implementing asset tracking.

The Samsara Asset Theft & Loss Report found notable differences between state and local government operations:

• State agencies are more likely to have asset tracking in place—and 60% report theft has actually decreased over the past five years. But they remain vulnerable to disruption: 74% reported a significant shutdown or delay from a missing critical asset in the past year, 52% cite safety and compliance violations as an acute concern (vs. 19% of local governments), and 89% admit to writing off lower-value missing assets. When state assets are stolen, recovery averages more than 25 days.

• Local governments face some of the highest loss rates in the survey: 54% report theft frequency has increased over the past five years, 73% report lost employee time searching for missing items, 69% suffer direct work or project delays, 60% are forced into repurchasing missing assets, and a striking 74% are unable to recover even half of their stolen high-value equipment—dramatically worse than the public sector average of 53%.

Yes. Here are just a few examples of government agencies that have recovered stolen assets with Samsara:

• City of El Paso recovered a $1.3 million excavator in a single instance of theft using real-time video and location data.

• City of St. Petersburg reduced the time to locate assets from days to minutes across 5,000 vehicles and assets, including locating generators quickly in the aftermath of emergencies like hurricanes.

• Michigan State University protected $1 million in capital assets (assets worth $5K+) from theft and loss using Asset Tag.

• Tennessee Department of General Services' Vehicle and Asset Management (VAM)  uses real-time tracking across Vehicle Gateways, Asset Gateways, and Asset Tags to enable fast emergency response and recover stolen vehicles, reducing the need for costly replacements.

The full Samsara State of Connected Operations Report on Asset Theft & Loss in the US Public Sector is available for free as a downloadable PDF of the report [here]. This report is a valuable resource for public sector leaders, fleet managers, public works directors, and agency executives seeking to quantify the cost of equipment theft and loss and make informed decisions about asset tracking solutions.