Pay for detectives and criminal investigators in every state, what it comes to after tax, and how far it goes after local prices and rent.
Detectives and criminal investigators earn a median of $93,790 a year, or $45.09 an hour, 84.0% more than the $50,980 median for all jobs. Pay is highest in District of Columbia ($160,760) and lowest in Arkansas ($54,500). Occupation code 33-3021 in the Bureau of Labor Statistics survey.
Half of the 114,430 detectives and criminal investigators in the survey earn between $69,330 and $120,520. The bottom tenth earn under $55,390, the figure the Bureau itself uses as a rough guide to starting pay, and the top tenth more than $160,540. The average is $99,430; it sits above the median because the top earners pull it up.
| Nationally | Per year | Per hour |
|---|---|---|
| Bottom 10% earn less than | $55,390 | $26.63 |
| Bottom quarter earn less than | $69,330 | $33.33 |
| Median | $93,790 | $45.09 |
| Top quarter earn more than | $120,520 | $57.94 |
| Top 10% earn more than | $160,540 | $77.18 |
Hourly figures divide the yearly ones by 2,080 hours, the survey's own full-time year. Convert any salary.
The highest state medians are in District of Columbia ($160,760), Maryland ($126,730), California ($124,840), Delaware ($122,050) and New Jersey ($116,300). The lowest are in Arkansas ($54,500), Mississippi ($58,640), Louisiana ($60,450), South Carolina ($62,760) and North Carolina ($63,280).
Higher pay often comes with higher prices. Adjusted for each state's price level, pay goes furthest in District of Columbia ($146,277 at national prices), Delaware ($122,285), Maryland ($120,742), California ($112,753) and Alaska ($112,291).
The most detectives and criminal investigators work in Texas (18,870), California (12,610) and New York (9,600). Relative to all jobs, the work is most common in District of Columbia (4.2 per 1,000 jobs), New Mexico (2.3) and Arizona (1.6).
On the national median of $93,790, a single filer in a state with no income tax takes home about $74,811 a year after federal tax, Social Security and Medicare, or $2,877 every two weeks. On each state's own median and taxes, take-home ranges from $44,321 in Arkansas to $109,081 in District of Columbia. Work out your own paycheck.
The typical rent in each state's median county takes a median 20.0% of a detective's gross pay, and stays under the usual 30% guideline in 47 of the 50 states and DC. With 10% down at a 7.03% mortgage rate, a single detective earning the state median could afford the typical home in its median county in 17 of the 50 states and DC, under the 28% guideline. On the national median alone, that guideline stretches to about $273,448. Try it with your own numbers, or see where this pay covers the typical rent.
| Alabama | $66,290 | $31.87 | −29.3% | $74,632 | $52,170 | 24.9% | 1,340 |
| Alaska | $114,940 | $55.26 | +22.6% | $112,291 | $89,690 | 19.1% | 140 |
| Arizona | $102,340 | $49.20 | +9.1% | $101,652 | $78,268 | 19.6% | 5,250 |
| Arkansas | $54,500 | $26.20 | −41.9% | $62,689 | $44,321 | 24.2% | 560 |
| California | $124,840 | $60.02 | +33.1% | $112,753 | $88,545 | 23.6% | 12,610 |
| Colorado | $105,480 | $50.71 | +12.5% | $102,356 | $78,394 | 23.0% | 1,930 |
| Connecticut | $95,240 | $45.79 | +1.5% | $91,922 | $71,343 | 25.1% | 940 |
| Delaware | $122,050 | $58.68 | +30.1% | $122,285 | $87,648 | 18.6% | 140 |
| District of Columbia | $160,760 | $77.29 | +71.4% | $146,277 | $109,081 | 18.9% | 2,980 |
| Florida | $77,060 | $37.05 | −17.8% | $74,516 | $63,042 | 29.8% | 6,440 |
| Georgia | $65,430 | $31.46 | −30.2% | $67,949 | $51,488 | 30.7% | 5,070 |
| Hawaii | $113,940 | $54.78 | +21.5% | $103,628 | $81,436 | 33.4% | 440 |
| Idaho | $72,520 | $34.86 | −22.7% | $75,942 | $56,004 | 25.5% | 630 |
| Illinois | $91,190 | $43.84 | −2.8% | $91,228 | $68,468 | 15.8% | 3,270 |
| Indiana | $70,340 | $33.82 | −25.0% | $75,368 | $56,239 | 20.2% | 1,280 |
| Iowa | $79,560 | $38.25 | −15.2% | $90,654 | $61,777 | 15.6% | 410 |
| Kansas | $75,740 | $36.41 | −19.2% | $84,092 | $57,974 | 20.0% | 1,060 |
| Kentucky | $71,670 | $34.46 | −23.6% | $79,493 | $56,741 | 21.1% | 720 |
| Louisiana | $60,450 | $29.06 | −35.5% | $68,532 | $48,938 | 26.5% | 1,740 |
| Maine | $88,310 | $42.46 | −5.8% | $90,994 | $65,162 | 22.5% | 550 |
| Maryland | $126,730 | $60.93 | +35.1% | $120,742 | $91,848 | 18.4% | 1,010 |
| Massachusetts | $110,150 | $52.96 | +17.4% | $104,154 | $80,813 | 26.6% | 1,300 |
| Michigan | $90,650 | $43.58 | −3.3% | $94,214 | $68,750 | 17.8% | 2,220 |
| Minnesota | $80,000 | $38.46 | −14.7% | $81,119 | $60,153 | 19.3% | 1,970 |
| Mississippi | $58,640 | $28.19 | −37.5% | $67,439 | $47,352 | 29.5% | 810 |
| Missouri | $75,650 | $36.37 | −19.3% | $83,299 | $58,675 | 20.4% | 1,600 |
| Montana | $92,410 | $44.43 | −1.5% | $97,639 | $69,071 | 19.8% | 500 |
| Nebraska | $100,530 | $48.33 | +7.2% | $111,572 | $75,280 | 15.5% | 290 |
| Nevada | $94,470 | $45.42 | +0.7% | $94,490 | $75,290 | 23.0% | 590 |
| New Hampshire | $89,290 | $42.93 | −4.8% | $85,720 | $71,646 | 27.9% | 290 |
| New Jersey | $116,300 | $55.92 | +24.0% | $106,888 | $85,365 | 23.7% | 3,080 |
| New Mexico | $86,840 | $41.75 | −7.4% | $94,174 | $66,209 | 20.4% | 2,020 |
| New York | $101,240 | $48.67 | +7.9% | $93,809 | $74,647 | 18.3% | 9,600 |
| North Carolina | $63,280 | $30.43 | −32.5% | $67,086 | $50,501 | 30.7% | 3,360 |
| North Dakota | $82,290 | $39.56 | −12.3% | $92,503 | $66,062 | 17.7% | 420 |
| Ohio | $79,300 | $38.13 | −15.4% | $85,477 | $63,153 | 19.7% | 2,140 |
| Oklahoma | $80,430 | $38.67 | −14.2% | $91,561 | $62,008 | 18.9% | 1,220 |
| Oregon | $107,450 | $51.66 | +14.6% | $103,956 | $75,338 | 19.1% | 520 |
| Pennsylvania | $97,580 | $46.91 | +4.0% | $100,008 | $74,482 | 16.1% | 3,370 |
| Rhode Island | $88,450 | $42.52 | −5.7% | $86,478 | $67,674 | 33.4% | 360 |
| South Carolina | $62,760 | $30.17 | −33.1% | $66,945 | $50,304 | 29.1% | 1,470 |
| South Dakota | $77,730 | $37.37 | −17.1% | $87,745 | $63,513 | 20.0% | 250 |
| Tennessee | $77,090 | $37.06 | −17.8% | $83,912 | $63,063 | 23.2% | 1,860 |
| Texas | $90,510 | $43.51 | −3.5% | $93,254 | $72,504 | 19.5% | 18,870 |
| Utah | $78,920 | $37.94 | −15.9% | $79,827 | $60,838 | 26.5% | 550 |
| Vermont | $106,330 | $51.12 | +13.4% | $108,547 | $78,172 | 20.0% | 190 |
| Virginia | $112,760 | $54.21 | +20.2% | $111,529 | $81,930 | 19.5% | 3,180 |
| Washington | $115,790 | $55.67 | +23.5% | $108,202 | $90,288 | 18.9% | 1,850 |
| West Virginia | $92,410 | $44.43 | −1.5% | $103,255 | $70,406 | 14.3% | 220 |
| Wisconsin | $91,040 | $43.77 | −2.9% | $96,753 | $68,655 | 16.0% | 1,640 |
| Wyoming | $81,880 | $39.37 | −12.7% | $88,337 | $66,433 | 19.6% | 170 |
Click a column to sort it. “After local prices” divides the median by the state's price level (national average = 100). Take-home is for a single filer on the state median with no retirement or health deductions. Rent share is a year of the typical rent in the state's median county against the median pay. A dash means the survey publishes no figure.
Security Guard $38,020 · Police Officer $76,210 · Correctional Officer $58,940 · Firefighter $59,280