Private detectives & investigators

About

Private detectives & investigators are most often employed by the Banking & related activities industry. The average yearly wage for Private detectives & investigators was $75,682 in 2024.

The locations that employ the most Private detectives & investigators are District of Columbia (Northeast) PUMA, DC, Columbus (North) & Westerville Cities PUMA, OH, and King County (Central)--Sammamish, Issaquah, Mercer Island & Newcastle Cities PUMA, WA. The locations with a relatively high concentration of Private detectives & investigators are Miami-Dade County (South)--Homestead City (North) & Florida City (North) PUMA, FL, Escambia County (Southeast) PUMA, FL, and District of Columbia (Northeast) PUMA, DC.

Photo by Osajus Photography

Service Occupations Protective service occupations

Employment and salary information for the Private detectives & investigators workforce. Private detectives & investigators workforce in 2024 was 105,267 people, of which 49.3% were women and 50.7% were men. Private detectives & investigators are paid most in Bucks County (Southern Central) PUMA, PA but are relatively concentrated in Miami-Dade County (South)--Homestead City (North) & Florida City (North) PUMA, FL.

Employment Over Time

Metric

Grouping

53,387

Male Workforce

± 5.67k

51,880

Female Workforce

± 5.59k

The Private detectives & investigators workforce in 2024 was 105,267 people (49.3% women and 50.7% men). This implies an average annual growth of 36.9% between 2014 (76,878) and 2024 (105,267).

Employment by Location

Level

Metric

This map shows the states in the United States shaded by average wage for Private detectives & investigators.

During 2024, the states that concentrated the best average annual wage were Maryland ($105,646), California ($97,500), and Virginia ($96,335).

Yearly Wage Ranking

$75,682

AVERAGE WAGE

#132 in the ranking (2014)

$69,878

NATIONAL AVERAGE WAGE

For all occupations across the US

In 2024, Private detectives & investigators earned an average of $75,682, $5,804 more than the average national salary of $69,878

The graph shows the ranking of Private detectives & investigators in relation to all Detailed Occupation in 2014.

Wage Distribution

Gender

0.333

WAGE GINI

In 2024, Private detectives & investigators had a wage GINI coefficient of 0.333, which is lower than the national average of 0.474. In other words, wages are distributed more evenly for Private detectives & investigators (shown in red) than for the overall labor force (shown in gray).

The graphic shows the distribution of average salaries by buckets for Private detectives & investigators compared to the entire workforce in the country.

Industry

Information on the industries that employ Private detectives & investigators and on wages for those in the field. Banking & related activities is the industry that employs the most Private detectives & investigators, both by share and by number, though the highest paid industry for Private detectives & investigators, by average wage, is Motor vehicles & motor vehicle equipment manufacturing ($206,616).

Occupations by Industries

Metric

Value

105k

2024 Workforce

± 7,963

4.49%

1 YEAR GROWTH

± 10.4%

This graphic shows the share of Private detectives & investigators employed by various industries. Banking & related activities employs the largest share of Private detectives & investigators at 40.8%, followed by Investigation & security services with 32.1% and Administration of human resource programs with 14.6%.

Diversity

Demographic information on Private detectives & investigators in the US. The workforce of Private detectives & investigators in 2024 was 105,267 people, with 49.3% woman, and 50.7% men. The average age of male Private detectives & investigators in the workforce is 44.4 and of female Private detectives & investigators is 42, and the most common race/ethnicity for Private detectives & investigators is White.

Gender and Age

Metric

The workforce of Private detectives & investigators in 2024 was 105,267 people, with 49.3% woman, and 50.7% men.

The age ranges that concentrated the largest workforce were 30 to 34 years (14,701 people), 40 to 44 years (13,724 people), and 35 to 39 years (13,466 people). Among them they concentrated 39.9% of the total workforce.

Ethnicity

Gender

In 2024, 17.2% of Private detectives & investigators workers were Hispanic and 82.8% non-Hispanic.

The treemap shows the distribution of Hispanic workers according to their origin, highlighting Mexican (55.5%), Puerto Rican (14.5)%, and Cuban (4.78)%

You can review this information by gender using the selectors above.

Races

In 2024, 61.6% of the Private detectives & investigators workforce were White, of which 47.1% were women and 52.9% men. Other races that concentrated a significant number of workers were Black (16.1%) and Two or More Races (12.2%).

Education & Skills

Data on higher education choices for Private detectives & investigators from The Department of Education and Census Bureau. The most common major for Private detectives & investigators is Business but the most specialized major according to RCA in 2024 were Protective Services.

Among the necessary skills for Private detectives & investigators, Active Listening stands, but the revealed comparative advantage (RCA) shows that Private detectives & investigators need more than the average amount of Programming.

Majors

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

Type of Majors

Degree

The most common majors achieved by Private detectives & investigators in 2024 (counting all academic degrees) were Business (13,059 people), Protective Services (10,845 people), and Social Sciences (7,988 people).

You can review this information for different academic grades by modifying the option selected in the selector above.

Education Levels

Metric

The main educational levels achieved by the Private detectives & investigators workers were Bachelors Degree (41,321 people), Some college (21,378 people), and Graduate Degree (18,757 people).

The graphic shows the Private detectives & investigators workforce by gender and educational level.

Skills

Chart

Value

Data on the critical and distinctive skills necessary for Private detectives & investigators from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Private detectives & investigators need many skills, but most especially Active Listening, Critical Thinking, Reading Comprehension.

Projections

Projections on job growth for Private Detectives and Investigators from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The 10-year national workforce is projected to grow 3.07%, but Private Detectives and Investigators are expected to see a growth of 5.96% over the same period. This occupation is expected to grow more than the national average.

Job Growth

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

5.96%

Estimated Job Growth

10-year Projection

3.07%

National Growth

10-year Projection

This line chart shows the projected 10-year growth in the number of jobs for Private detectives & investigators. This profession is expected to grow more than than 3.07%, the average rate of national job growth.

Private detectives & investigators

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