Detectives And Criminal Investigators: Job, Salary, and School Information from The Riley Guide

Job Numbers and Growth

The count of detectives and criminal investigators working in the US is about 106,000. Unemployment for this career is very low compared to other careers.

Part-Time Work and Self-Employment

A government survey revealed that 2% of employees work only part of the time.

Training and Education

Many employers require work experience in a related occupation from job applicants. Bachelor's degrees are held by 54% of workers. People with some college experience but no degree make up 35% of employees. The highest level of education for for 10% of detectives and criminal investigators was a high school diploma. 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.

Area Job Conditions

There are comparatively more jobs of this type in Laredo (Texas), Yuma (Arizona), and Brunswick (Georgia), and comparatively fewer in Bakersfield (California), Provo (Utah), and Bethesda (Maryland).

The earning potential for employees appears to be highest in Edison (New Jersey), Oakland (California), and San Jose (California), and lowest (comparatively speaking) in Jefferson City (Missouri), Spartanburg (South Carolina), and Monroe (Louisiana).

Career Overview Video About Detectives And Criminal Investigators

Detectives And Criminal Investigators: Job and Salary Data by Metropolitan Area

The table below shows data for Detectives And Criminal Investigators, as of 2008. The Popularity in Area number tells you how common jobs for Detectives And Criminal Investigators are in the area, compared to other US metro areas. A value of 1.0 means an average number of people in the position for area population. Lower numbers mean fewer of these positions in the metro area. The most popular areas for Detectives And Criminal Investigators are starred .

State	Area	Positions	Typical Pay	Popularity in Area
Alabama	Anniston	50	$44,880	1.9
Alabama	Auburn	40	$40,640	1.6
Alabama	Birmingham	260	$61,290	0.8
Alabama	Huntsville	140	$62,180	1.1
Alabama	Montgomery	220	$53,730	2.1
Arizona	Flagstaff	50	$63,080	1.6
Arizona	Phoenix	1,280	$58,720	1.1
Arizona	Yuma	760	$51,940	22.2
Arkansas	Fayetteville	50	$48,510	0.4
Arkansas	Fort Smith	60	$51,320	0.9
Arkansas	Little Rock	260	$50,100	1.2
California	Bakersfield	50	$72,080	0.3
California	Fresno	140	$72,520	0.7
California	Oakland	460	$91,230	0.7
California	Riverside	850	$71,100	1
California	Sacramento	660	$65,950	1.2
California	San Diego	2,510	$62,890	2.9
California	San Jose	310	$88,130	0.5
California	Santa Ana	810	$84,100	0.8
Colorado	Boulder	50	$66,940	0.5
Colorado	Colorado Springs	100	$69,990	0.6
Colorado	Denver	1,160	$75,450	1.4
Colorado	Fort Collins	50	$65,950	0.7
Colorado	Greeley	50	$58,020	1.2
Connecticut	Bridgeport	220	$69,290	0.8
Connecticut	Hartford	400	$69,780	1.1
Connecticut	New Haven	200	$79,450	1.1
Connecticut	Norwich	70	$69,370	0.9
Delaware	Wilmington	160	$77,370	0.8
District of Columbia	Washington	4,490	$87,250	3
Florida	Deltona	110	$47,660	1.2
Florida	Fort Lauderdale	610	$72,610	1.3
Florida	Jacksonville	550		1.4
Florida	Lakeland	240	$49,190	2
Florida	Orlando	680	$55,610	1
Florida	Palm Bay	170	$54,540	1.4
Florida	Port St Lucie	110	$56,070	1.4
Florida	Sarasota	70	$60,850	0.4
Florida	Sebastian	50	$50,830	1.9
Florida	Tampa	1,090	$63,270	1.4
Florida	West Palm Beach	390	$65,230	1.1
Georgia	Albany	110	$43,770	3.2
Georgia	Athens	40	$46,000	0.9
Georgia	Atlanta	2,050	$56,470	1.3
Georgia	Augusta	190	$48,990	1.5
Georgia	Brunswick	350	$74,150	15.1
Georgia	Macon	180	$50,570	3.1
Georgia	Savannah	190	$53,900	2.1
Georgia	Valdosta	50		1.6
Georgia	Warner Robins	40	$48,050	1.4
Hawaii	Honolulu	390	$75,320	1.4
Idaho	Boise	150	$58,280	0.9
Idaho	Pocatello	30	$56,990	1.9
Illinois	Champaign	50	$67,870	0.9
Illinois	Chicago	1,980	$75,930	0.8
Illinois	Peoria	40	$66,110	0.4
Illinois	Rockford	130	$71,170	1.4
Illinois	Springfield	130	$66,990	2.1
Indiana	Elkhart	30	$44,190	0.4
Indiana	Evansville	50	$54,970	0.5
Indiana	Gary	150	$57,670	0.9
Indiana	Indianapolis	330	$59,770	0.6
Iowa	Cedar Rapids	40		0.5
Iowa	Davenport	80	$66,100	0.7
Iowa	Des Moines	190	$65,730	0.9
Kansas	Topeka	160	$52,040	2.4
Kentucky	Bowling Green	30	$63,600	0.9
Kentucky	Lexington	90	$58,680	0.6
Kentucky	Louisville	160	$62,820	0.4
Louisiana	Baton Rouge	260	$50,940	1.1
Louisiana	Lake Charles	210	$40,090	4.2
Louisiana	Monroe	80	$35,820	1.8
Louisiana	New Orleans	520	$58,610	1.6
Louisiana	Shreveport	90	$57,660	0.8
Maine	Bangor	40	$49,090	1.1
Maine	Portland	130	$63,350	1
Maryland	Baltimore	750	$70,490	0.9
Maryland	Bethesda	100	$86,340	0.3
Maryland	Hagerstown	50	$66,310	0.9
Massachusetts	Barnstable Town	50	$65,060	0.8
Massachusetts	Boston	1,110	$74,950	1
Massachusetts	Haverhill	30	$59,630	0.7
Massachusetts	Springfield	60	$78,760	0.3
Massachusetts	Worcester	50	$81,020	0.3
Michigan	Ann Arbor	70	$69,510	0.7
Michigan	Detroit	850	$73,260	1.9
Michigan	Flint	60	$65,430	0.7
Michigan	Grand Rapids	100	$72,930	0.4
Michigan	Kalamazoo	60	$64,920	0.7
Michigan	Niles	40	$52,210	1.1
Michigan	Warren	290	$65,950	0.4
Minnesota	Duluth	120	$59,280	1.6
Minnesota	Minneapolis	760	$69,060	0.7
Mississippi	Gulfport	140	$53,520	2.2
Mississippi	Jackson	430	$57,860	2.7
Missouri	Jefferson City	170	$42,020	4.3
Missouri	Joplin	50	$39,020	1.1
Missouri	Kansas City	830	$57,320	1.3
Missouri	Springfield	110	$52,660	0.9
Missouri	St Louis	770	$60,500	0.9
Montana	Billings	50	$67,050	1.1
Montana	Missoula	30	$64,140	1
Nebraska	Lincoln	50	$58,430	0.5
Nebraska	Omaha	180	$60,510	0.6
Nevada	Las Vegas	380	$69,850	0.6
New Hampshire	Manchester	50	$83,010	0.8
New Hampshire	Nashua	60	$64,800	0.7
New Jersey	Atlantic City	140	$71,050	1.6
New Jersey	Camden	440	$76,600	1.3
New Jersey	Edison	620	$90,340	0.9
New Jersey	Newark	1,060	$82,080	1.6
New Jersey	Ocean City	60	$74,440	2.7
New Mexico	Albuquerque	180	$70,130	0.7
New Mexico	Farmington	50	$49,800	1.7
New York	Albany	1,370	$68,630	4.9
New York	Buffalo	660	$66,750	1.9
New York	Kingston	40	$55,100	1.2
New York	New York	5,590	$65,580	1.7
New York	Poughkeepsie	110	$69,370	0.7
New York	Rochester	290	$60,990	0.9
New York	Syracuse	170	$67,520	0.9
North Carolina	Asheville	130	$46,510	1.2
North Carolina	Charlotte	480	$55,440	0.8
North Carolina	Durham	130	$45,690	0.8
North Carolina	Fayetteville	80	$57,030	1.1
North Carolina	Goldsboro	30		1.5
North Carolina	Greensboro	270	$50,330	1.2
North Carolina	Greenville	70	$52,360	1.7
North Carolina	Hickory	110	$41,600	1.1
North Carolina	Raleigh	390	$58,570	1.2
North Carolina	Wilmington	170	$50,550	1.9
North Carolina	Winston Salem	90	$44,830	0.7
North Dakota	Fargo	40	$68,600	0.6
Ohio	Canton	50	$58,390	0.5
Ohio	Cincinnati	470	$61,750	0.7
Ohio	Cleveland	740	$71,430	1.1
Ohio	Columbus	680	$57,470	1.1
Ohio	Dayton	130	$71,570	0.5
Ohio	Youngstown	120	$49,150	0.8
Oklahoma	Lawton	50	$40,750	2.5
Oklahoma	Oklahoma City	530	$51,180	1.5
Oklahoma	Tulsa	240	$48,310	0.9
Oregon	Portland	400	$69,340	0.6
Oregon	Salem	110	$55,040	1.2
Pennsylvania	Allentown	90	$71,990	0.4
Pennsylvania	Erie	70	$57,160	0.9
Pennsylvania	Harrisburg	190	$63,630	1
Pennsylvania	Lancaster	90	$60,930	0.6
Pennsylvania	Philadelphia	1,580	$72,600	1.3
Pennsylvania	Pittsburgh	710	$62,900	1
Pennsylvania	Reading	70	$61,220	0.7
Pennsylvania	Scranton	80	$62,990	0.5
Rhode Island	Providence	360	$65,070	1
South Carolina	Charleston	110	$69,950	0.6
South Carolina	Columbia	250	$53,920	1.1
South Carolina	Greenville	140	$53,090	0.7
South Carolina	Spartanburg	30	$37,560	0.4
South Dakota	Rapid City	60	$52,880	1.7
Tennessee	Chattanooga	180	$48,260	1.2
Tennessee	Clarksville	100	$40,550	2.3
Tennessee	Cleveland	30	$43,850	1.6
Tennessee	Jackson	70	$51,780	2.2
Tennessee	Johnson City	60	$56,180	1.4
Tennessee	Kingsport	110	$47,040	1.6
Tennessee	Knoxville	150	$61,470	0.7
Tennessee	Memphis	260	$58,860	0.7
Tennessee	Morristown	30	$41,870	1.2
Tennessee	Nashville	450	$57,700	0.9
Texas	Austin	330	$52,790	0.7
Texas	Beaumont	110	$51,170	1.2
Texas	Brownsville	780	$54,920	10.5
Texas	College Station	60	$47,940	1.3
Texas	Corpus Christi	150	$58,020	1.4
Texas	Dallas	1,070	$65,450	0.8
Texas	Fort Worth	430	$57,770	0.8
Texas	Houston	1,530	$68,050	0.9
Texas	Killeen	70	$50,540	1
Texas	Laredo	1,130		23.5
Texas	Longview	80	$43,960	1.5
Texas	Lubbock	90	$50,690	1.2
Texas	Mcallen	770	$51,050	5.7
Texas	San Angelo	90	$68,170	4.1
Texas	San Antonio	1,100	$60,980	2
Texas	Texarkana	40	$51,850	1.3
Texas	Tyler	100	$46,960	1.9
Texas	Victoria	40	$43,700	1.6
Utah	Ogden	70	$56,950	0.6
Utah	Provo	30	$54,750	0.3
Utah	Salt Lake City	190	$65,070	0.5
Vermont	Burlington	80	$71,330	1.2
Virginia	Blacksburg	60	$62,120	1.7
Virginia	Charlottesville	60	$68,590	1.1
Virginia	Lynchburg	90	$63,580	1.5
Virginia	Roanoke	160	$72,280	1.7
Virginia	Virginia Beach	430	$65,400	0.9
Washington	Bellingham	200		4.3
Washington	Bremerton	40	$76,630	0.8
Washington	Olympia	50	$60,890	0.9
Washington	Tacoma	180	$74,450	1.1
West Virginia	Charleston	130	$50,890	1.5
West Virginia	Huntington	30	$49,650	0.4
West Virginia	Parkersburg	30	$45,420	0.8
Wisconsin	Eau Claire	50	$52,470	1.1
Wisconsin	Green Bay	60	$67,190	0.6
Wisconsin	Madison	220	$65,020	1.1
Wisconsin	Milwaukee	800	$67,060	1.5

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Detectives And Criminal Investigators