Detectives and Criminal Investigators salary
SOC 33-3021 · BLS OEWS May 2025
What the range looks like
A single median hides most of what a job pays. The bar below is the full national range: the wash spans the 10th to 90th percentile, the solid bar is the middle half, and the tick is the median.
- 10th
- $55,390
- 25th
- $69,330
- Median
- $93,790
- 75th
- $120,520
- 90th
- $160,540
Getting in
- Typical education to enter
- High school diploma or equivalent
- Related work experience
- Less than 5 years
- On-the-job training
- Moderate-term on-the-job training
Entry requirements describe what is typical, not mandatory. Source: BLS Employment Projections, 2024–34.
Where detectives and criminal investigators earn the most
Nominal pay and pay adjusted for local prices rank states differently — a high-wage state with high costs can be worse off in real terms than a middling one. Switch between the two below.
The median wage as published, before local prices are taken into account.
| # | State | Median | Cost of living | Employed | Concentrationvs. national |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | District of Columbia | $160,760 | 109.9 | 2,980 | 5.78× |
| 2 | Maryland | $126,730 | 105.0 | 1,010 | 0.50× |
| 3 | California | $124,840 | 110.7 | 12,610 | 0.94× |
| 4 | Delaware | $122,050 | 99.8 | 140 | 0.40× |
| 5 | New Jersey | $116,300 | 108.8 | 3,080 | 0.98× |
| 6 | Washington | $115,790 | 107.0 | 1,850 | 0.71× |
| 7 | Alaska | $114,940 | 102.4 | 140 | 0.58× |
| 8 | Hawaii | $113,940 | 110.0 | 440 | 0.95× |
| 9 | Virginia | $112,760 | 101.1 | 3,180 | 1.05× |
| 10 | Massachusetts | $110,150 | 105.8 | 1,300 | 0.49× |
| 11 | Oregon | $107,450 | 103.4 | 520 | 0.36× |
| 12 | Vermont | $106,330 | 98.0 | 190 | 0.85× |
| 13 | Colorado | $105,480 | 103.1 | 1,930 | 0.91× |
| 14 | Arizona | $102,340 | 100.7 | 5,250 | 2.20× |
| 15 | New York | $101,240 | 107.9 | 9,600 | 1.35× |
| 16 | Nebraska | $100,530 | 90.1 | 290 | 0.38× |
| 17 | Pennsylvania | $97,580 | 97.6 | 3,370 | 0.76× |
| 18 | Connecticut | $95,240 | 103.6 | 940 | 0.75× |
| 19 | Nevada | $94,470 | 100.0 | 590 | 0.52× |
| 20 | Montana | $92,410 | 94.6 | 500 | 1.32× |
| 21 | West Virginia | $92,410 | 89.5 | 220 | 0.42× |
| 22 | Illinois | $91,190 | 100.0 | 3,270 | 0.73× |
| 23 | Wisconsin | $91,040 | 94.1 | 1,640 | 0.76× |
| 24 | Michigan | $90,650 | 96.2 | 2,220 | 0.69× |
| 25 | Texas | $90,510 | 97.1 | 18,870 | 1.82× |
| 26 | New Hampshire | $89,290 | 104.2 | 290 | 0.58× |
| 27 | Rhode Island | $88,450 | 102.3 | 360 | 0.98× |
| 28 | Maine | $88,310 | 97.0 | 550 | 1.17× |
| 29 | New Mexico | $86,840 | 92.2 | 2,020 | 3.15× |
| 30 | North Dakota | $82,290 | 89.0 | 420 | 1.31× |
| 31 | Wyoming | $81,880 | 92.7 | 170 | 0.82× |
| 32 | Oklahoma | $80,430 | 87.8 | 1,220 | 0.97× |
| 33 | Minnesota | $80,000 | 98.6 | 1,970 | 0.91× |
| 34 | Iowa | $79,560 | 87.8 | 410 | 0.36× |
| 35 | Ohio | $79,300 | 92.8 | 2,140 | 0.52× |
| 36 | Utah | $78,920 | 98.9 | 550 | 0.43× |
| 37 | South Dakota | $77,730 | 88.6 | 250 | 0.74× |
| 38 | Tennessee | $77,090 | 91.9 | 1,860 | 0.77× |
| 39 | Florida | $77,060 | 103.4 | 6,440 | 0.88× |
| 40 | Kansas | $75,740 | 90.1 | 1,060 | 1.00× |
| 41 | Missouri | $75,650 | 90.8 | 1,600 | 0.74× |
| 42 | Idaho | $72,520 | 95.5 | 630 | 1.00× |
| 43 | Kentucky | $71,670 | 90.2 | 720 | 0.49× |
| 44 | Indiana | $70,340 | 93.3 | 1,280 | 0.54× |
| 45 | Alabama | $66,290 | 88.8 | 1,340 | 0.86× |
| 46 | Georgia | $65,430 | 96.3 | 5,070 | 1.41× |
| 47 | North Carolina | $63,280 | 94.3 | 3,360 | 0.92× |
| 48 | South Carolina | $62,760 | 93.7 | 1,470 | 0.87× |
| 49 | Louisiana | $60,450 | 88.2 | 1,740 | 1.22× |
| 50 | Mississippi | $58,640 | 87.0 | 810 | 0.95× |
| 51 | Arkansas | $54,500 | 86.9 | 560 | 0.58× |
Cost of living is the BEA regional price parity for all items, where 100 is the national average. Concentration is the BLS location quotient: how much more of the local workforce does this job than the national average, so 2.00× means twice the national share. It is often the reason wages differ — a place that concentrates an occupation has the employers and the competition for it. States where detectives and criminal investigators wages are suppressed by BLS for confidentiality are omitted.
Best paying metro areas for detectives and criminal investigators
The 40 highest-paying metros with a published estimate. BLS suppresses roughly half of all occupation-by-metro cells, so a metro absent here has no local figure rather than a low one.
The median wage as published, before local prices are taken into account.
| # | Metro area | Median | Cost of living | Employed | Concentrationvs. national |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | $158,640 | 110.4 | 280 | 0.33× |
| 2 | Brunswick-St. Simons, GA | $158,060 | 87.7 | 240 | 6.90× |
| 3 | Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | $156,750 | 108.9 | 4,830 | 2.09× |
| 4 | Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA | $153,570 | 110.5 | 70 | 0.28× |
| 5 | Urban Honolulu, HI | $140,750 | 111.0 | 350 | 1.05× |
| 6 | Great Falls, MT | $136,120 | 96.8 | 40 | 1.34× |
| 7 | Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA | $133,100 | 107.8 | 60 | 0.40× |
| 8 | Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA | $130,810 | 108.8 | 40 | 0.27× |
| 9 | Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD | $128,440 | 104.5 | 490 | 0.49× |
| 10 | Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | $127,890 | 113.6 | 3,240 | 0.70× |
| 11 | Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA | $127,420 | 106.4 | 1,510 | 1.20× |
| 12 | San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | $126,700 | 115.6 | 690 | 0.40× |
| 13 | Anchorage, AK | $125,240 | 105.4 | 90 | 0.69× |
| 14 | San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA | $124,840 | 111.9 | 2,990 | 2.64× |
| 15 | El Centro, CA | $123,970 | 95.2 | 770 | 16.07× |
| 16 | Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | $123,820 | 111.1 | 740 | 0.48× |
| 17 | Bellingham, WA | $122,840 | 103.3 | 260 | 3.88× |
| 18 | Bremerton-Silverdale-Port Orchard, WA | $121,100 | 105.6 | 50 | 0.75× |
| 19 | Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA | $119,350 | 105.4 | 310 | 0.35× |
| 20 | Roanoke, VA | $114,050 | 93.6 | 130 | 1.12× |
| 21 | Stockton-Lodi, CA | $113,360 | 105.1 | 90 | 0.43× |
| 22 | Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO | $113,340 | 105.8 | 1,230 | 1.04× |
| 23 | Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh, NY | $111,860 | 109.4 | 270 | 1.38× |
| 24 | Burlington-South Burlington, VT | $111,530 | 100.9 | 100 | 1.10× |
| 25 | Sioux Falls, SD-MN | $110,760 | 90.6 | 60 | 0.48× |
| 26 | Trenton-Princeton, NJ | $110,750 | 103.2 | 370 | 2.09× |
| 27 | Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH | $110,150 | 108.3 | 1,110 | 0.56× |
| 28 | Fresno, CA | $109,720 | 102.2 | 420 | 1.20× |
| 29 | Springfield, MA | $109,510 | 96.1 | 50 | 0.36× |
| 30 | Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA | $109,500 | 106.7 | 1,570 | 1.97× |
| 31 | Eugene-Springfield, OR | $109,460 | 101.6 | 30 | 0.27× |
| 32 | Sandusky, OH | $109,300 | 89.3 | 60 | 1.74× |
| 33 | Brownsville-Harlingen, TX | $109,300 | 86.0 | 880 | 7.61× |
| 34 | El Paso, TX | $109,300 | 89.9 | 1,790 | 7.16× |
| 35 | Yakima, WA | $108,890 | 95.5 | 30 | 0.45× |
| 36 | Vallejo, CA | $108,430 | 108.5 | 60 | 0.56× |
| 37 | Sierra Vista-Douglas, AZ | $108,350 | 89.2 | 730 | 29.35× |
| 38 | Rochester, NY | $107,660 | 97.0 | 450 | 1.25× |
| 39 | Reno, NV | $107,470 | 101.0 | 70 | 0.35× |
| 40 | Spokane-Spokane Valley, WA | $107,350 | 100.3 | 270 | 1.42× |
Cost of living is the BEA regional price parity for all items, where 100 is the national average. Concentration is the BLS location quotient: how much more of the local workforce does this job than the national average, so 2.00× means twice the national share. It is often the reason wages differ — a place that concentrates an occupation has the employers and the competition for it. Metro areas where detectives and criminal investigators wages are suppressed by BLS for confidentiality are omitted.
Similar occupations
Other jobs in the same field, with what each pays nationally.
- Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers$76,210
- Correctional Officers and Jailers$58,940
- Bailiffs$56,600
- Parking Enforcement Workers$46,730
- Fish and Game Wardens$74,060
- Transit and Railroad Police$90,230