Detectives & criminal investigators

About

Detectives & criminal investigators are most often employed by the Justice, public order, & safety activities industry. The average yearly wage for Detectives & criminal investigators was $86,064 in 2016. The top 3 most similar occupations to Detectives & criminal investigators by wage are Chiropractors, Sales representatives, wholesale & manufacturing, and Budget analysts.

Detectives & criminal investigators are part of the Protective service occupations, along with Firstline supervisors of correctional officers, Firstline supervisors of police & detectives, Firstline supervisors of fire fighting & prevention workers, Miscellaneous first-line supervisors, protective service workers, Firefighters, and 13 more.

The top 3 locations that employ the most Detectives & criminal investigators are Arlington County (South) PUMA, VA, George Washington Regional Commission (North) PUMA, VA, and Middle Rio Grande Development Council PUMA, TX. The top 3 locations with a relatively high concentration of Detectives & criminal investigators are Arlington County (South) PUMA, VA, Carr 52-Carr 150 PUMA, PR, and Carr 2 (Norte) PUMA, PR.

Photo by Osajus Photography

Service Occupations Protective service occupations

Employment

Information on the businesses and industries that employ Detectives & criminal investigators and on wages and locations for those in the field. Justice, public order, & safety activities is the industry that employs the most Detectives & criminal investigators, both by share and by number, though the highest paid industry for Detectives & criminal investigators, by average wage, is Insurance carriers. Detectives & criminal investigators are paid most in Bristol, Southington & Burlington Towns PUMA, CT but are relatively concentrated in Arlington County (South) PUMA, VA.

Wages

Yearly Wage

$86,064

AVERAGE SALARY

± $3,058

In 2020, Detectives & criminal investigators earned an average of $86,064, $30,110 more than than the average national salary of $55,954.

Chiropractors make somewhat more than Detectives & criminal investigators while Sales representatives, wholesale & manufacturing make somewhat less. This chart shows the various occupations closest to Detectives & criminal investigators as measured by average annual salary in the US.

Wage Distribution

0.268

WAGE GINI

In 2015, Detectives & criminal investigators had a wage GINI coefficient of 0.268, which is lower than than the national average of 0.478. In other words, wages are distributed more evenly for Detectives & criminal investigators (shown in red) than for the overall labor force (shown in gray).

Wage by Location

HIGHEST PAYING PUMAS

This map shows the Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMAs) in the United States shaded by average annual wage for Detectives & criminal investigators.

Spatial Concentration

PUMAs with a Relatively High Concentration of Detectives & criminal investigators

This map displays which Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMAs) in the United States have a relatively high population of Detectives & criminal investigators.

Industries

Most Common

The most common industries employing Detectives & criminal investigators, by number of employees, are Justice, public order, & safety activities , National security & international affairs, Administration of human resource programs, Executive offices & legislative bodies, Investigation & security services, Administration of economic programs & space research, Postal Service, Public finance activities, U. S. Army, Banking & related activities, and Architectural, engineering & related services.

Highest Paying

The highest paying industries for Detectives & criminal investigators, by average wage, are Insurance carriers, National security & international affairs, and Architectural, engineering & related services.

Industries by Share

137k

2020 Workforce

± 9,084

5.99%

1 YEAR GROWTH

± 8.98%

The number of people employed as Detectives & criminal investigators has been growing at a rate of 5.99%, from 129,278 people in 2019 to 137,019 people in 2020.

This graphic shows the share of Detectives & criminal investigators employed by various industries. Justice, public order, & safety activities employs the largest share of Detectives & criminal investigators at 73%, followed by National security & international affairs with 9% and Administration of human resource programs with 3.19%.

Diversity

Demographic information on Detectives & criminal investigators in the US. The average age of male Detectives & criminal investigators in the workforce is 43.8 and of female Detectives & criminal investigators is 41.7, and the most common race/ethnicity for Detectives & criminal investigators is White (Non-Hispanic).

Composition by Sex

100k

MALE WORKFORCE

± 7,776

36.6k

FEMALE WORKFORCE

± 4,699

73.3% of Detectives & criminal investigators are Male, making them the more common sex in the occupation. This chart shows the sex breakdown of Detectives & criminal investigators.

Race & Ethnicity

Most Common Race or Ethnicity of Detectives & criminal investigators

White (Non-Hispanic)
Black (Non-Hispanic)
White (Hispanic)

68.3% of Detectives & criminal investigators are White (Non-Hispanic), making that the most common race or ethnicity in the occupation. Representing 10.2% of Detectives & criminal investigators, Black (Non-Hispanic) is the second most common race or ethnicity in this occupation. This chart shows the racial and ethnic breakdown of Detectives & criminal investigators.

Age by Sex

43.8

AVERAGE MALE AGE

± 0.788

41.7

AVERAGE FEMALE AGE

± 1.37

The median age of Detectives & criminal investigators is 43.2, and Male employees are generally 2.09 years older than than their Female counterparts.

Education

Data on higher education choices for Detectives & criminal investigators from The Department of Education and Census Bureau. The most common major for Detectives & criminal investigators is Protective Services but a relatively high number of Detectives & criminal investigators hold a major in Protective Services.

Majors

ACS PUMS data only shows the major for bachelor's degrees. However, we can filter the data based on highest degree obtained.

MOST COMMON MAJORS

MOST SPECIALIZED MAJORS

Skills

Data on the critical and distinctive skills necessary for Detectives & criminal investigators from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Detectives & criminal investigators need many skills, but most especially Reading Comprehension, Critical Thinking, and Active Listening. The revealed comparative advantage (RCA) shows that Detectives & criminal investigators need more than the average amount of Programming, Negotiation, and Science.

Radar Distribution

Bar Chart

Projections

Projections on job growth for Detectives and Criminal Investigators from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The 10-year national workforce is projected to grow 3.71%, but Detectives and Criminal Investigators are expected to see a growth of 1.06% over the same period. This occupation is expected to grow less than the national average.

Job Growth

For growth projections, the closest comparible industry reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics is Detectives and Criminal Investigators.

1.06%

Estimated Job Growth

10-year Projection

3.71%

National Growth

10-year Projection

This line chart shows the projected 10-year growth in the number of jobs for Detectives and Criminal Investigators. This profession is expected to grow less than than 3.71%, the average rate of national job growth.

Detectives & criminal investigators

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