Highest-paying Cities for Private Detectives and Investigators

The top 100 highest paying cities for private detectives and investigators (ranked by average annual salary) are listed in Table 1. The entry level salary (as measured by the salary of the lowest 10% paid earners) and the number of employment of private detectives and investigators in those cities are also shown in the table. As shown in the table, with a annual salary of $102,110, Jackson, Michigan is the highest paying city for private detectives and investigators. It is followed by Olympia, Washington (average annual salary $98,070). The salary and employment information is computed from data published by U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) in April 2023 [1]. For more salary information of private detectives and investigators in a specific city, use the links in the table.

Table 1. 100 Highest-paying cities/areas for Private Detectives and Investigators

Rank	City/Area	Average Salary i	Entry Level Salary i	# of Empl. i
1	Jackson, Michigan	$102,110	$51,090	40
2	Olympia, Washington	$98,070	$35,290	50
3	Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, Missouri	$81,930	$34,840	120
4	Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, Massachusetts	$79,520	$23,880	1,300
5	Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, Arkansas	$79,130	$34,320	40
6	Tyler, Texas	$77,190	$44,870	60
7	Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, Washington	$76,480	$47,190	200
8	San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, California	$76,110	$41,730	590
9	Oakland-Fremont-Hayward, California	$76,070	$47,550	160
10	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, California	$75,450	$48,650	550
11	Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill, South Carolina	$73,910	$39,520	390
12	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, California	$73,670	$40,100	180
13	Trenton-Ewing, New Jersey	$72,530	$35,460	30
14	York-Hanover, Pennsylvania	$72,050	$32,520	30
15	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, West Virginia	$71,570	$30,490	2,180
16	Salem, Oregon	$71,320	$49,460	160
17	Boulder, Colorado	$71,300	$32,780	n/a
18	Manchester, New Hampshire	$71,230	$37,440	30
19	Detroit-Livonia-Dearborn, Michigan	$71,190	$43,960	50
20	Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, Connecticut	$70,240	$38,030	150
21	Waterbury, Connecticut	$70,240	$36,750	40
22	Detroit-Warren-Livonia, Michigan	$69,580	$31,300	500
23	Naples-Marco Island, Florida	$69,050	$62,630	n/a
24	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, Washington	$68,700	$36,230	220
25	Huntsville, Alabama	$68,170	$52,480	30
26	Midland, Texas	$67,310	$36,250	n/a
27	Poughkeepsie-Newburgh-Middletown, New York	$66,520	$32,310	70
28	Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, Connecticut	$66,310	$36,340	80
29	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, District of Columbia	$66,070	$34,680	910
30	Colorado Springs, Colorado	$66,000	$34,250	30
31	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, Florida	$64,960	$34,030	1,520
32	New Haven, Connecticut	$64,360	$41,280	60
33	Denver-Aurora-Broomfield, Colorado	$64,220	$34,580	300
34	San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City, California	$63,720	$43,220	160
35	Far Western Pennsylvania nonmetropolitan area, Pennsylvania	$63,620	$32,510	50
36	Minneapolis-St Paul-Bloomington, Wisconsin	$63,440	$34,580	310
37	Chicago-Joliet-Naperville (IL-IN-WI Area), Illinois	$63,250	$38,370	1,360
38	Newark-Union, Pennsylvania	$63,200	$36,160	50
39	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, California	$63,120	$34,390	1,620
40	West Central Illinois nonmetropolitan area, Illinois	$62,920	$22,880	30
41	Camden, New Jersey	$62,900	$30,790	40
42	Richmond, Virginia	$62,710	$31,670	110
43	Tucson, Arizona	$62,690	$34,130	70
44	Urban Honolulu, Hawaii	$62,660	$37,440	40
45	Coeur dAlene, Idaho	$62,420	$38,710	n/a
46	Springfield, Missouri	$62,170	$44,040	30
47	Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, Massachusetts	$61,930	$39,470	470
48	Des Moines-West Des Moines, Iowa	$61,700	$30,540	30
49	New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, New York	$61,260	$36,550	1,740
50	Duluth, Wisconsin	$60,780	$36,090	n/a
51	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, Washington	$60,720	$39,120	410
52	Stockton, California	$60,480	$35,490	100
53	Syracuse, New York	$60,110	$35,710	40
54	Edison-New Brunswick, New Jersey	$60,080	$43,800	60
55	Montgomery, Alabama	$59,990	$34,460	50
56	Northeast Lower Peninsula of Michigan nonmetropolitan area, Michigan	$59,940	$35,360	n/a
57	Providence-Fall River-Warwick, Rhode Island	$59,290	$37,440	190
58	Dayton, Ohio	$58,910	$31,340	90
59	Central Missouri nonmetropolitan area, Missouri	$58,870	$47,210	n/a
60	Las Vegas-Paradise, Nevada	$58,650	$28,280	260
61	Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, Texas	$58,560	$35,360	240
62	Roanoke, Virginia	$58,490	$28,970	30
63	Fort Smith, Oklahoma	$58,460	$39,100	n/a
64	Omaha-Council Bluffs, Nebraska	$58,140	$36,970	50
65	Vallejo-Fairfield, California	$58,140	$37,930	30
66	Anchorage, Alaska	$58,140	$37,720	50
67	Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, Wisconsin	$57,980	$27,420	80
68	Miami-Miami Beach-Kendall, Florida	$57,950	$41,060	100
69	Waco, Texas	$57,920	$51,950	n/a
70	Cincinnati-Middletown, Ohio	$57,690	$35,090	340
71	Augusta-Richmond County, South Carolina	$57,680	$27,380	50
72	Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, Iowa	$57,650	$19,320	n/a
73	St Louis, Missouri	$57,410	$35,260	220
74	Honolulu, Hawaii	$57,270	$43,280	190
75	Saginaw-Saginaw Township North, Michigan	$57,260	$33,050	40
76	Akron, Ohio	$56,690	$31,000	50
77	Fayetteville, North Carolina	$56,600	$42,260	80
78	Brockton-Bridgewater-Easton, Massachusetts	$56,490	$31,350	40
79	Lubbock, Texas	$56,380	$18,610	n/a
80	Harrisburg-Carlisle, Pennsylvania	$56,200	$36,920	90
81	Chicago-Joliet-Naperville (IL Metropolitan Division), Illinois	$56,060	$39,100	600
82	Worcester, Massachusetts	$55,480	$37,320	30
83	Muskegon-Norton Shores, Michigan	$54,490	$41,170	n/a
84	Lake County-Kenosha County, Wisconsin	$54,320	$34,470	50
85	New York-White Plains-Wayne, New York	$53,830	$32,150	710
86	Raleigh-Cary, North Carolina	$53,460	$30,480	40
87	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas	$52,790	$30,250	840
88	Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent, Florida	$52,310	$32,490	40
89	Norwich-New London, Rhode Island	$52,210	$33,110	n/a
90	Nassau-Suffolk, New York	$52,190	$23,390	170
91	Peabody, Massachusetts	$52,080	$22,500	130
92	Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, Texas	$52,030	$30,190	400
93	Phoenix-Mesa-Glendale, Arizona	$52,000	$36,530	690
94	Lake Charles, Louisiana	$51,830	$39,290	n/a
95	Lancaster, Pennsylvania	$51,820	$28,370	50
96	Memphis, Tennessee	$51,790	$35,360	200
97	Lansing-East Lansing, Michigan	$51,400	$31,770	60
98	Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas	$51,190	$30,200	130
99	Indianapolis-Carmel, Indiana	$50,890	$30,840	160
100	Knoxville, Tennessee	$50,770	$24,960	70

See also: 💰 Highest paying industries for private detectives and investigators.