Detective and Criminal Investigator Salary by State (2026)

Name: Detective and Criminal Investigator annual wages by US state, May 2025
Creator: NueCareer
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Detectives and Criminal Investigators earn the most in District of Columbia at $160,760 a year and the least in Arkansas at $54,500 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). The national median is $93,790. All 52 states and territories with reported data are ranked below, with a cost-of-living adjusted column.

Highest median: $160,760
National median: $93,790
Lowest median: $54,500
States reporting: 52

Top 5 states for Detectives and Criminal Investigators

1. District of Columbia$160,760 median · $146,277 adjusted · 2,980 employed
2. Maryland$126,730 median · $120,742 adjusted · 1,010 employed
3. California$124,840 median · $112,753 adjusted · 12,610 employed
4. Delaware$122,050 median · $122,285 adjusted · 140 employed
5. New Jersey$116,300 median · $106,888 adjusted · 3,080 employed

Lowest-paying states for Detectives and Criminal Investigators

52. Arkansas$54,500 median · $62,689 adjusted · 560 employed
51. Mississippi$58,640 median · $67,439 adjusted · 810 employed
50. Louisiana$60,450 median · $68,532 adjusted · 1,740 employed
49. South Carolina$62,760 median · $66,945 adjusted · 1,470 employed
48. North Carolina$63,280 median · $67,086 adjusted · 3,360 employed

Detective and Criminal Investigator salary in every state

Sort by any column. Employment is the number of detectives and criminal investigators OEWS estimates in that state; blank cells are estimates BLS suppressed because the sample was too small.

Annual wages by state, sortable by median, quartiles, employment and cost-of-living adjusted median
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1	District of Columbia	$160,760	$114,230	$170,810	2,980	$146,277
2	Maryland	$126,730	$93,230	$166,230	1,010	$120,742
3	California	$124,840	$99,270	$136,020	12,610	$112,753
4	Delaware	$122,050	$71,670	$149,990	140	$122,285
5	New Jersey	$116,300	$91,360	$134,000	3,080	$106,888
6	Washington	$115,790	$96,540	$126,170	1,850	$108,202
7	Alaska	$114,940	$92,110	$168,790	140	$112,291
8	Hawaii	$113,940	$106,870	$140,750	440	$103,628
9	Virginia	$112,760	$79,770	$160,760	3,180	$111,529
10	Massachusetts	$110,150	$92,020	$146,230	1,300	$104,154
11	Oregon	$107,450	$94,700	$127,860	520	$103,956
12	Vermont	$106,330	$84,430	$111,530	190	$108,547
13	Colorado	$105,480	$86,290	$115,130	1,930	$102,356
14	Arizona	$102,340	$77,730	$111,360	5,250	$101,652
15	New York	$101,240	$77,470	$124,860	9,600	$93,809
16	Nebraska	$100,530	$79,510	$123,930	290	$111,572
17	Pennsylvania	$97,580	$79,190	$116,960	3,370	$100,008
18	Connecticut	$95,240	$88,390	$103,800	940	$91,922
19	Nevada	$94,470	$77,360	$129,220	590	$94,490
20	Montana	$92,410	$71,160	$109,300	500	$97,639
21	West Virginia	$92,410	$56,770	$149,280	220	$103,255
22	Illinois	$91,190	$69,590	$114,640	3,270	$91,228
23	Wisconsin	$91,040	$78,700	$97,120	1,640	$96,753
24	Michigan	$90,650	$80,140	$120,560	2,220	$94,214
25	Texas	$90,510	$64,660	$109,300	18,870	$93,254
26	New Hampshire	$89,290	$80,770	$105,870	290	$85,720
27	Rhode Island	$88,450	$77,760	$99,100	360	$86,478
28	Maine	$88,310	$75,210	$109,300	550	$90,994
29	New Mexico	$86,840	$59,160	$109,300	2,020	$94,174
30	North Dakota	$82,290	$62,200	$106,330	420	$92,503
31	Wyoming	$81,880	$71,930	$104,080	170	$88,337
32	Oklahoma	$80,430	$60,300	$102,250	1,220	$91,561
33	Minnesota	$80,000	$69,580	$100,090	1,970	$81,119
34	Iowa	$79,560	$67,370	$90,380	410	$90,654
35	Ohio	$79,300	$64,480	$105,690	2,140	$85,477
36	Utah	$78,920	$61,240	$115,210	550	$79,827
37	South Dakota	$77,730	$63,110	$110,880	250	$87,745
38	Tennessee	$77,090	$60,730	$107,810	1,860	$83,912
39	Florida	$77,060	$60,790	$120,180	6,440	$74,516
40	Kansas	$75,740	$57,530	$91,560	1,060	$84,092
41	Missouri	$75,650	$56,870	$93,910	1,600	$83,299
42	Idaho	$72,520	$60,100	$100,420	630	$75,942
43	Kentucky	$71,670	$61,330	$96,120	720	$79,493
44	Puerto Rico	$70,760	$44,800	$115,210	620	N/A
45	Indiana	$70,340	$56,320	$82,740	1,280	$75,368
46	Alabama	$66,290	$49,860	$92,610	1,340	$74,632
47	Georgia	$65,430	$55,310	$79,220	5,070	$67,949
48	North Carolina	$63,280	$57,040	$80,330	3,360	$67,086
49	South Carolina	$62,760	$55,490	$77,200	1,470	$66,945
50	Louisiana	$60,450	$46,320	$78,700	1,740	$68,532
51	Mississippi	$58,640	$49,270	$78,230	810	$67,439
52	Arkansas	$54,500	$46,300	$66,820	560	$62,689

How the cost-of-living adjustment works

The adjusted column divides each state median by that state's BEA Regional Price Parity (RPP) and multiplies by 100. RPPs measure how much a fixed basket of goods, services and rents costs in one state relative to the national average, so the result restates local pay in national-average dollars.

For Detectives and Criminal Investigators, that changes the ranking: District of Columbia leads on raw pay at $160,760, while District of Columbia leads once prices are taken into account at $146,277.

Source: BEA Regional Price Parities by State, 2024 (public domain). The adjustment is NueCareer's calculation, not a BLS or BEA published statistic.

Detective and Criminal Investigator pay by state: FAQ

Which state pays Detectives and Criminal Investigators the most?

District of Columbia reports the highest median wage for Detectives and Criminal Investigators at $160,760 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025), followed by Maryland ($126,730) and California ($124,840).

Which state pays Detectives and Criminal Investigators the least?

Arkansas reports the lowest median for Detectives and Criminal Investigators at $54,500 a year, $106,260 below the highest-paying state (BLS OEWS, May 2025).

Where do Detectives and Criminal Investigators earn the most after cost of living?

Dividing each state median by that state's BEA Regional Price Parity puts District of Columbia first at $146,277 in national-average dollars, from a raw median of $160,760. BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024.

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