# Detectives and Criminal Investigators

SOC 33-3021. Page: https://educationguide.com/careers/detectives-and-criminal-investigators

Conduct investigations related to suspected violations of federal, state, or local laws to prevent or solve crimes.

## Pay and outlook
- U.S. median wage $93,790 (middle half $69,330–$120,520; BLS May 2025)
- Ages 25-34: median $76,144; 66% hold a bachelor's or higher (Census ACS 2020-2024)
- Jobs 2025-35: 0.2%; ~7.8k openings a year; typical entry: High school diploma or equivalent

## Fields of degree of young workers (ages 25-34, bachelor's+)
- Criminal Justice And Fire Protection: 33% (https://educationguide.com/degrees/criminal-justice, https://educationguide.com/degrees/security-homeland-security)
- Psychology: 6% (https://educationguide.com/degrees/psychology)
- Political Science And Government: 6% (https://educationguide.com/degrees/political-science)
- Criminology: 4% (https://educationguide.com/degrees/criminology)
- Business Management And Administration: 4% (https://educationguide.com/degrees/business-administration)
- General Business: 3% (https://educationguide.com/degrees/business)
- Accounting: 3% (https://educationguide.com/degrees/accounting)
- History: 3% (https://educationguide.com/degrees/history)
- International Relations: 3% (https://educationguide.com/degrees/international-relations)
- Sociology: 2% (https://educationguide.com/degrees/sociology)

## Median wage by state
- AK: $114,940
- AL: $66,290
- AR: $54,500
- AZ: $102,340
- CA: $124,840
- CO: $105,480
- CT: $95,240
- DC: $160,760
- DE: $122,050
- FL: $77,060
- GA: $65,430
- HI: $113,940
- IA: $79,560
- ID: $72,520
- IL: $91,190
- IN: $70,340
- KS: $75,740
- KY: $71,670
- LA: $60,450
- MA: $110,150
- MD: $126,730
- ME: $88,310
- MI: $90,650
- MN: $80,000
- MO: $75,650
- MS: $58,640
- MT: $92,410
- NC: $63,280
- ND: $82,290
- NE: $100,530
- NH: $89,290
- NJ: $116,300
- NM: $86,840
- NV: $94,470
- NY: $101,240
- OH: $79,300
- OK: $80,430
- OR: $107,450
- PA: $97,580
- PR: $70,760
- RI: $88,450
- SC: $62,760
- SD: $77,730
- TN: $77,090
- TX: $90,510
- UT: $78,920
- VA: $112,760
- VT: $106,330
- WA: $115,790
- WI: $91,040
- WV: $92,410
- WY: $81,880

Method: https://educationguide.com/how-we-score#careers

Free to reuse with attribution: cite "EducationGuide.com" with a link to the page URL. Most figures are U.S. government data (public domain); loan default rates and athletics come from the Urban Institute Education Data Portal (ODC-By 1.0, attribution required) and founding years from Wikidata (CC0). O*NET data: CC BY 4.0, O*NET 31.0 (USDOL/ETA).