Detectives and Investigator Schools, Salaries, and Job Data

Job Numbers and Growth

There were about 106,000 jobs for detectives and investigators in the US in 2008. Compared to other occupations, unemployment for workers was ranked very low. The percentage of employees without jobs in 2008 was 1%.

Area Job Conditions

The cities with the most jobs for employees are Laredo (Texas), Yuma (Arizona), and Brunswick (Georgia), and cities with the least jobs are Bakersfield (California), Provo (Utah), and Bethesda (Maryland).

The highest salaries for detectives and investigators are found in Edison (New Jersey), Oakland (California), and San Jose (California), and the lowest-paying areas are in Jefferson City (Missouri), Spartanburg (South Carolina), and Monroe (Louisiana).

Training and Education

People who want to work as workers should consider getting work experience in a related occupation. More than 54% of employees have a four year degree. About 35% of detectives and investigators have attended college, but not earned a bachelor's degree. For 10% of workers a high school diploma was all that was required. Recommended schools are shown in the column to the right; request information from them to help you decide which if any could help you with this career.

Part-Time Work and Self-Employment

About 2% of detectives and investigators work part of the time.

Detectives and Investigators: An Introductory Video

Detectives and Investigators Around the Country

In the list below, each metro area is rated for the relative popularity of detectives and investigators compared to other locations (that is, jobs per population). Single or double up or down arrows indicate the relative popularity in that location. Within each state listing, metro areas are sorted by the actual number of jobs for detectives and investigators.

Alabama

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Birmingham	$61,000	260
Montgomery	$54,000	220
Huntsville	$62,000	140
Anniston	$45,000	50
Auburn	$41,000	40

Arizona

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Phoenix	$59,000	1,280
Yuma	$52,000	760
Flagstaff	$63,000	50

Arkansas

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Little Rock	$50,000	260
Fort Smith	$51,000	60
Fayetteville	$49,000	50

California

Location	Median Pay	Workers
San Diego	$63,000	2,510
Riverside	$71,000	850
Santa Ana	$84,000	810
Sacramento	$66,000	660
Oakland	$91,000	460
San Jose	$88,000	310
Fresno	$73,000	140
Bakersfield	$72,000	50

Colorado

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Denver	$75,000	1,160
Colorado Springs	$70,000	100
Greeley	$58,000	50
Boulder	$67,000	50
Fort Collins	$66,000	50

Connecticut

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Hartford	$70,000	400
Bridgeport	$69,000	220
New Haven	$79,000	200
Norwich	$69,000	70

Delaware

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Wilmington	$77,000	160

District of Columbia

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Washington	$87,000	4,490

Florida

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Tampa	$63,000	1,090
Orlando	$56,000	680
Fort Lauderdale	$73,000	610
Jacksonville		550
West Palm Beach	$65,000	390
Lakeland	$49,000	240
Palm Bay	$55,000	170
Deltona	$48,000	110
Port St Lucie	$56,000	110
Sarasota	$61,000	70
Sebastian	$51,000	50

Georgia

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Atlanta	$56,000	2,050
Brunswick	$74,000	350
Augusta	$49,000	190
Savannah	$54,000	190
Macon	$51,000	180
Albany	$44,000	110
Valdosta		50
Warner Robins	$48,000	40
Athens	$46,000	40

Hawaii

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Honolulu	$75,000	390

Idaho

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Boise	$58,000	150
Pocatello	$57,000	30

Illinois

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Chicago	$76,000	1,980
Springfield	$67,000	130
Rockford	$71,000	130
Champaign	$68,000	50
Peoria	$66,000	40

Indiana

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Indianapolis	$60,000	330
Gary	$58,000	150
Evansville	$55,000	50
Elkhart	$44,000	30

Iowa

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Des Moines	$66,000	190
Davenport	$66,000	80
Cedar Rapids		40

Kansas

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Topeka	$52,000	160

Kentucky

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Louisville	$63,000	160
Lexington	$59,000	90
Bowling Green	$64,000	30

Louisiana

Location	Median Pay	Workers
New Orleans	$59,000	520
Baton Rouge	$51,000	260
Lake Charles	$40,000	210
Shreveport	$58,000	90
Monroe	$36,000	80

Maine

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Portland	$63,000	130
Bangor	$49,000	40

Maryland

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Baltimore	$70,000	750
Bethesda	$86,000	100
Hagerstown	$66,000	50

Massachusetts

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Boston	$75,000	1,110
Springfield	$79,000	60
Worcester	$81,000	50
Barnstable Town	$65,000	50
Haverhill	$60,000	30

Michigan

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Detroit	$73,000	850
Warren	$66,000	290
Grand Rapids	$73,000	100
Ann Arbor	$70,000	70
Kalamazoo	$65,000	60
Flint	$65,000	60
Niles	$52,000	40

Minnesota

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Minneapolis	$69,000	760
Duluth	$59,000	120

Mississippi

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Jackson	$58,000	430
Gulfport	$54,000	140

Missouri

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Kansas City	$57,000	830
St Louis	$61,000	770
Jefferson City	$42,000	170
Springfield	$53,000	110
Joplin	$39,000	50

Montana

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Billings	$67,000	50
Missoula	$64,000	30

Nebraska

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Omaha	$61,000	180
Lincoln	$58,000	50

Nevada

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Las Vegas	$70,000	380

New Hampshire

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Nashua	$65,000	60
Manchester	$83,000	50

New Jersey

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Newark	$82,000	1,060
Edison	$90,000	620
Camden	$77,000	440
Atlantic City	$71,000	140
Ocean City	$74,000	60

New Mexico

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Albuquerque	$70,000	180
Farmington	$50,000	50

New York

Location	Median Pay	Workers
New York	$66,000	5,590
Albany	$69,000	1,370
Buffalo	$67,000	660
Rochester	$61,000	290
Syracuse	$68,000	170
Poughkeepsie	$69,000	110
Kingston	$55,000	40

North Carolina

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Charlotte	$55,000	480
Raleigh	$59,000	390
Greensboro	$50,000	270
Wilmington	$51,000	170
Asheville	$47,000	130
Durham	$46,000	130
Hickory	$42,000	110
Winston Salem	$45,000	90
Fayetteville	$57,000	80
Greenville	$52,000	70
Goldsboro		30

North Dakota

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Fargo	$69,000	40

Ohio

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Cleveland	$71,000	740
Columbus	$57,000	680
Cincinnati	$62,000	470
Dayton	$72,000	130
Youngstown	$49,000	120
Canton	$58,000	50

Oklahoma

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Oklahoma City	$51,000	530
Tulsa	$48,000	240
Lawton	$41,000	50

Oregon

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Portland	$69,000	400
Salem	$55,000	110

Pennsylvania

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Philadelphia	$73,000	1,580
Pittsburgh	$63,000	710
Harrisburg	$64,000	190
Lancaster	$61,000	90
Allentown	$72,000	90
Scranton	$63,000	80
Reading	$61,000	70
Erie	$57,000	70

Rhode Island

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Providence	$65,000	360

South Carolina

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Columbia	$54,000	250
Greenville	$53,000	140
Charleston	$70,000	110
Spartanburg	$38,000	30

South Dakota

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Rapid City	$53,000	60

Tennessee

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Nashville	$58,000	450
Memphis	$59,000	260
Chattanooga	$48,000	180
Knoxville	$61,000	150
Kingsport	$47,000	110
Clarksville	$41,000	100
Jackson	$52,000	70
Johnson City	$56,000	60
Cleveland	$44,000	30
Morristown	$42,000	30

Texas

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Houston	$68,000	1,530
Laredo		1,130
San Antonio	$61,000	1,100
Dallas	$65,000	1,070
Brownsville	$55,000	780
Mcallen	$51,000	770
Fort Worth	$58,000	430
Austin	$53,000	330
Corpus Christi	$58,000	150
Beaumont	$51,000	110
Tyler	$47,000	100
Lubbock	$51,000	90
San Angelo	$68,000	90
Longview	$44,000	80
Killeen	$51,000	70
College Station	$48,000	60
Texarkana	$52,000	40
Victoria	$44,000	40

Utah

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Salt Lake City	$65,000	190
Ogden	$57,000	70
Provo	$55,000	30

Vermont

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Burlington	$71,000	80

Virginia

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Virginia Beach	$65,000	430
Roanoke	$72,000	160
Lynchburg	$64,000	90
Blacksburg	$62,000	60
Charlottesville	$69,000	60

Washington

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Bellingham		200
Tacoma	$74,000	180
Olympia	$61,000	50
Bremerton	$77,000	40

West Virginia

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Charleston	$51,000	130
Parkersburg	$45,000	30
Huntington	$50,000	30

Wisconsin

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Milwaukee	$67,000	800
Madison	$65,000	220
Green Bay	$67,000	60
Eau Claire	$52,000	50

Our detectives and investigator career and school information is provided by CTI Career Search.