How much does an investigator make?

The average investigator salary in the United States is $71,406. Investigator salaries typically range between $42,000 and $119,000 yearly. The average hourly rate for investigators is $34.33 per hour. Investigator salary is impacted by location, education, and experience. Investigators earn the highest average salary in California.

Investigator salary

Q: What state pays Investigators the most?

California pays Investigators the most in the United States, with an average salary of $99,885 per year, or $48.02 per hour.

Q: How do I know if I'm being paid fairly as an investigator?

You know if you are being paid fairly as an investigator if your pay is close to the average pay for the state you live in. For example, if you live in District of Columbia you should be paid close to $97,472 per year.

Q: Do criminal investigators get paid well?

Yes, criminal investigators usually get paid well. The average salary for criminal investigators is $53,000 yearly or $25.65 hourly. As most jobs go, factors like location, company, and experience can determine your exact salary. On the lower end of the salary range, they may make around $37,000, typically for entry-level positions. On the higher end, they can earn around $75,000, typically for senior-level positions.

Q: What is the salary of an investigator?

The salary of an investigator is about $59,000 yearly or $28.69 hourly. As most jobs go, factors like location, industry, and experience can determine your exact salary. On the lower end of the salary range, they may make around $40,000, typically for entry-level positions or low-paying states like Mississippi and Alabama. On the higher end of the salary range, they can earn around $88,000, typically for senior-level positions.

Average investigator salary

$71,406

$34.33 hourly rate

Entry-level investigator salary

$42,000 yearly salary

Updated January 8, 2025

Investigator Salary Overview

As of October 2025, the average investigator salary in the United States is $71,406 annually. Factors influencing this figure include geographical location, years of experience, and the specific field of investigation, such as private sector, government, or corporate investigations. For example, investigators in states like California and New York often earn higher salaries due to the cost of living and demand for skilled professionals.

Salary by State

Investigator salaries can vary significantly across different states. According to recent data, the highest paying states for investigators include:

California
New York
Texas
Florida
Illinois

Each of these states offers unique opportunities in various sectors, from law enforcement to corporate security.

Career Opportunities

In addition to traditional investigation roles, there are opportunities in related fields such as fraud examination, cyber investigation, and forensic analysis. These positions not only offer competitive salaries but also allow professionals to apply their skills in diverse environments.

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Investigator salary by:

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Where can an Investigator earn more?

Compare salary by location

133k

113k

93k

73k

53k

33k

Columbus, OH$111,801

Urban Honolulu, HI$63,388

Compare salary by company

145k

125k

105k

85k

65k

Apple$133,230

BNP Paribas$95,444

Investigator salary estimates from across the web

Based on the latest salary information compiled by Zippia, Salary.com, Indeed, Glassdoor, Ziprecruiter and SalaryExpert, the average salary for an investigator typically falls between $71,406 and $88,883.

zippia

$71,406yearly

glassdoor[1]

$88,883yearly

indeed[2]

$76,434yearly

Salary.com[3]

$77,607yearly

ZipRecruiter[4]

$81,500yearly

SalaryExpert[5]

$74,352yearly

Average investigator salary by state

The highest-paying states for investigators are California, Montana, and Oregon. The lowest average investigator salary states are Georgia, Arizona, and Indiana.

State view
County view

Average salary:

Highest paying states for investigators

Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
1	California	$99,885	$48.02
2	Montana	$90,498	$43.51
3	District of Columbia	$97,472	$46.86
4	Delaware	$84,894	$40.81
5	Oregon	$85,458	$41.09
6	Washington	$84,924	$40.83
7	Nevada	$81,017	$38.95
8	Utah	$77,835	$37.42
9	Wyoming	$79,338	$38.14
10	Maryland	$78,768	$37.87
11	Ohio	$68,565	$32.96
12	Wisconsin	$72,805	$35.00
13	Alaska	$75,442	$36.27
14	Rhode Island	$79,872	$38.40
15	New York	$78,385	$37.69
16	New Mexico	$74,501	$35.82
17	South Dakota	$78,447	$37.71
18	Arkansas	$69,591	$33.46
19	Illinois	$74,880	$36.00
20	North Carolina	$77,417	$37.22
21	Alabama	$71,149	$34.21
22	Connecticut	$72,650	$34.93
23	Kentucky	$62,522	$30.06
24	Pennsylvania	$64,883	$31.19
25	New Hampshire	$72,279	$34.75
26	Missouri	$63,419	$30.49
27	Nebraska	$62,874	$30.23
28	Hawaii	$63,333	$30.45
29	West Virginia	$66,004	$31.73
30	Texas	$66,061	$31.76
31	Tennessee	$66,359	$31.90
32	Minnesota	$67,278	$32.35
33	Massachusetts	$69,611	$33.47
34	Kansas	$65,552	$31.52
35	Michigan	$59,387	$28.55
36	Vermont	$67,819	$32.61
37	Iowa	$64,780	$31.14
38	Virginia	$62,213	$29.91
39	Colorado	$63,080	$30.33
40	Maine	$63,626	$30.59
41	New Jersey	$63,594	$30.57
42	Idaho	$61,462	$29.55
43	Louisiana	$57,809	$27.79
44	North Dakota	$61,827	$29.72
45	Mississippi	$57,143	$27.47
46	Georgia	$55,976	$26.91
47	Arizona	$53,333	$25.64
48	Oklahoma	$46,126	$22.18
49	Indiana	$48,745	$23.44
50	Florida	$43,087	$20.71
51	South Carolina	$47,901	$23.03

Top investigator jobs near you

Highest paying cities for investigators

The highest-paying cities for investigators are San Francisco, CA, Washington, DC, and Seattle, WA.

Rank	City	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
1	San Francisco, CA	$111,801	$53.75
2	Washington, DC	$97,598	$46.92
3	Seattle, WA	$85,833	$41.27
4	Portland, OR	$85,226	$40.97
5	Raleigh, NC	$80,342	$38.63
6	Providence, RI	$80,024	$38.47
7	Baltimore, MD	$79,158	$38.06
8	Albany, NY	$78,994	$37.98
9	Salt Lake City, UT	$77,812	$37.41
10	Chicago, IL	$75,510	$36.30
11	Boston, MA	$69,578	$33.45
12	Little Rock, AR	$68,847	$33.10
13	Columbus, OH	$67,454	$32.43
14	Minneapolis, MN	$67,289	$32.35
15	Dallas, TX	$66,867	$32.15
16	Philadelphia, PA	$65,161	$31.33
17	Portland, ME	$64,169	$30.85
18	Des Moines, IA	$64,113	$30.82
19	Kansas City, MO	$63,762	$30.65
20	Urban Honolulu, HI	$63,388	$30.48

Investigators are the most in-demand in these five cities:

Investigator salary details

An investigator's salary ranges from $42,000 a year at the 10th percentile to $119,000 at the 90th percentile.

Average investigator salary graph, trends, and summary

What is an investigator's salary?

Percentile	Annual salary	Monthly salary	Hourly rate
90th Percentile	$119,000	$9,917	$57
75th Percentile	$93,000	$7,750	$45
Average	$71,406	$5,951	$34
25th Percentile	$54,000	$4,500	$26
10th Percentile	$42,000	$3,500	$20

Highest paying investigator jobs

The highest paying types of investigators are senior investigator, lead investigator, and criminal investigator.

Job title	Annual salary	Monthly salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
Store Detective	$32,824	$2,735	$15.78	67,322
Background Investigator	$51,076	$4,256	$24.56	4,428
Criminal Investigator	$54,520	$4,543	$26.21	5,131
Special Investigator	$50,623	$4,219	$24.34	14,799
Private Investigator	$48,019	$4,002	$23.09	6,675
Fraud Investigator	$49,010	$4,084	$23.56	5,470

Top companies hiring investigators now:

Which companies pay investigators the most?

Investigator salaries at Apple and Meta are the highest-paying according to our most recent salary estimates. In addition, the average investigator salary at companies like Microsoft and Novartis are highly competitive.

Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate
1	Apple	$133,230	$64.05
2	Meta	$132,851	$63.87
3	Microsoft	$126,738	$60.93
4	Novartis	$121,672	$58.50
5	Mintz	$118,940	$57.18
6	Bristol-Myers Squibb	$118,057	$56.76
7	Credit Suisse	$113,055	$54.35
8	Cisco	$112,327	$54.00
9	Standard Chartered	$107,023	$51.45
10	Square	$106,872	$51.38
11	Fox News	$106,758	$51.33
12	Agilent Technologies	$105,967	$50.95
13	Pfizer	$105,608	$50.77
14	Salt River Project	$105,025	$50.49
15	Amylin Pharmaceuticals	$101,627	$48.86
16	Deutsche Bank	$101,119	$48.61
17	LinkedIn	$100,771	$48.45
18	Seagate Technology	$99,098	$47.64
19	Expedia Group	$96,744	$46.51
20	BNP Paribas	$95,444	$45.89

Wage gap by gender, race and education

$81,000$78,400$75,800$73,200$70,600$68,000

MaleFemale

Investigator salary trends

The average investigator salary has risen by $12,870 over the last ten years. In 2014, the average investigator earned $58,536 annually, but today, they earn $71,406 a year. That works out to a 11% change in pay for investigators over the last decade.

Compare investigator salaries for cities or states with the national average over time.

Average investigator salary over time

Compare investigator salaries for individual cities or states with the national average.

Investigator salary by year

Year	Avg. salary	Hourly rate	% Change
2025	$71,400	$34.33	+5.3%
2024	$67,600	$32.52	+0.8%
2023	$67,100	$32.25	-1.2%
2022	$67,900	$32.64	+5.0%
2021	$64,500	$31.03	+5.4%

Recently added investigator salaries

Company	Job	Location	Date added	Salary
Albuquerque Public Schools	District Investigator	Albuquerque, NM	06/30/2025	$63,780
Independent Living Resources	Incident Management Investigator	Albany, NY	06/30/2025	$55,000
University of Hawaii System	Investigator	Urban Honolulu, HI	06/30/2025	$65,208
Pico de Gallo	Investigative Supervisor	Meridian, MS	06/29/2025	$47,840
Chicagotransit	Investigator	Chicago, IL	06/29/2025	$85,269
Allen Institute for Ai	Young Investigator, Scientific Discovery	Seattle, WA	06/29/2025	$159,650
Paragoncommunity	Investigator I-Payment Integrity SIU	Norfolk, VA	06/29/2025	$63,000
Concentric Advisors	Insider Threat Investigator	San Francisco, CA	06/29/2025	$140,000
Contact Government Services	Financial Investigator	Wyoming	06/29/2025	$57,677
Security Director In San Diego, California	SIU Investigator	Chicago, IL	06/29/2025	$56,349

Investigator salary FAQs

What state pays Investigators the most?

How do I know if I'm being paid fairly as an investigator?

Do criminal investigators get paid well?

What is the salary of an investigator?

Have more questions? See all answers to common protective service questions.

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Updated January 8, 2025

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