Detectives & criminal investigators

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Total Workforce

126k

Average Age

43.3

Average Salary

$82,571

Average Male Salary

$87,284

Average Female Salary

$69,782

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 $82,571 in 2016. The top 3 most similar occupations to Detectives & criminal investigators by wage are Advertising & promotions managers, Credit counselors & loan officers, and Sales representatives, wholesale & manufacturing.

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 Carr 2 (Norte) PUMA, PR, Carr 2 (Sur) PUMA, PR, and Dale City, Lake Ridge & Woodbridge PUMA, VA. The top 3 locations with a relatively high concentration of Detectives & criminal investigators are Carr 2 (Sur) PUMA, PR, Carr 2 (Norte) PUMA, PR, and Bayamón Municipio (Este) PUMA, PR.

Photo by Osajus Photography

Service Occupations Protective service occupations Protective service occupations

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 Architectural, engineering & related services. Detectives & criminal investigators are paid most in Ashburn (Southwest/Belmont Ridge) & Dulles Airport PUMA, VA but are relatively concentrated in Carr 2 (Sur) PUMA, PR.

Wages

Yearly Wage

$82,571

AVERAGE SALARY

± $2,941

In 2018, Detectives & criminal investigators earned an average of $82,571, $28,683 more than than the average national salary of $53,888.

Advertising & promotions managers make somewhat more than Detectives & criminal investigators while Credit counselors & loan officers 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 2018, Detectives & criminal investigators had a wage GINI coefficient of 0.268, which is lower than than the national average of 0.479. 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, and Executive offices & legislative bodies.

Highest Paying

The highest paying industries for Detectives & criminal investigators, by average wage, are Architectural, engineering & related services, National security & international affairs, Administration of environmental quality & housing programs, Administration of environmental quality & housing programs, National security & international affairs, and Public finance activities.

Industries by Share

126k

2018 Workforce

± 8,710

6.79%

1 YEAR GROWTH

± 9.31%

The number of people employed as Detectives & criminal investigators has been growing at a rate of 6.79%, from 117,964 people in 2017 to 125,977 people in 2018.

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 75.2%, followed by National security & international affairs with 6.44% and Executive offices & legislative bodies with 3.09%.

Diversity

Demographic information on Detectives & criminal investigators in the US. The average age of male Detectives & criminal investigators in the workforce is 44.4 and of female Detectives & criminal investigators is 40.3, and the most common race/ethnicity for Detectives & criminal investigators is White (Non-Hispanic).

Gender Composition

92.1k

MALE WORKFORCE

± 7,447

33.9k

FEMALE WORKFORCE

± 4,521

73.1% of Detectives & criminal investigators are Male, making them the more common gender in the occupation. This chart shows the gender breakdown of Detectives & criminal investigators.

Race & Ethnicity

Most Common Race or Ethnicity of Detectives & criminal investigators

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

68.6% of Detectives & criminal investigators are White (Non-Hispanic), making that the most common race or ethnicity in the occupation. Representing 11.3% 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 Gender

44.4

AVERAGE MALE AGE

± 0.818

40.3

AVERAGE FEMALE AGE

± 1.43

The median age of Detectives & criminal investigators is 43.3, and Male employees are generally 4.12 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 degree-majorss. However, we can filter the data based on highest degree-majors 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 Active Listening. The revealed comparative advantage (RCA) shows that Detectives & criminal investigators need more than the average amount of Operation and Control, Operation Monitoring, and Critical Thinking.