Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between licensed private investigators and lead investigators can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both a licensed private investigator and a lead investigator. Additionally, a lead investigator has an average salary of $60,060, which is higher than the $47,204 average annual salary of a licensed private investigator.
The top three skills for a licensed private investigator include background checks, child abuse and insurance fraud. The most important skills for a lead investigator are law enforcement agencies, background investigations, and data analysis.
| Licensed Private Investigator | Lead Investigator | |
| Yearly salary | $47,204 | $60,060 |
| Hourly rate | $22.69 | $28.88 |
| Growth rate | 6% | 6% |
| Number of jobs | 16,954 | 21,299 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 55% | Bachelor's Degree, 64% |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 6 |
Licensed private investigators and lead investigators have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Licensed Private Investigator | Lead Investigator | |
| Average salary | $47,204 | $60,060 |
| Salary range | Between $30,000 And $74,000 | Between $31,000 And $113,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | South San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | - | Delaware |
| Best paying company | - | BNY Mellon |
| Best paying industry | - | Pharmaceutical |
There are a few differences between a licensed private investigator and a lead investigator in terms of educational background:
| Licensed Private Investigator | Lead Investigator | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 55% | Bachelor's Degree, 64% |
| Most common major | Criminal Justice | Criminal Justice |
| Most common college | California State University - Bakersfield | California State University - Bakersfield |
Here are the differences between licensed private investigators' and lead investigators' demographics:
| Licensed Private Investigator | Lead Investigator | |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 66.2% Female, 33.8% | Male, 68.6% Female, 31.4% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 13.6% Unknown, 5.7% Hispanic or Latino, 19.6% Asian, 4.7% White, 56.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% | Black or African American, 13.2% Unknown, 5.8% Hispanic or Latino, 18.2% Asian, 4.6% White, 57.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% |
| LGBT Percentage | 8% | 8% |