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Investigator Average Salary in United States 2024

How much money does a person working as Investigator make in United States?


Average Yearly Salary
101,000 USD
( 8,430 USD monthly)

LOW
52,600
USD
AVERAGE
101,000
USD
HIGH
155,000
USD
All salary figures displayed here are per year except when noted otherwise.
All salary and compensation figures displayed here are gross salary figures, that is the salary before tax deductions. Because taxes may differ across sectors and locations, it is difficult to accurately calculate the net salary after tax for every career.

A person working as Investigator in United States typically earns around 101,000 USD. Salaries range from 52,600 USD (lowest) to 155,000 USD (highest).


Salary Variance

This is the average salary including housing, transport, and other benefits. Investigator salaries in United States vary drastically based on experience, skills, gender, or location. Below you will find a detailed breakdown based on many different criteria.



Investigator Pay Scale and Salaries in United States

Median and salary distribution United States Investigator yearly
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Salary Structure and Pay Scale Comparison

5% of people earn
91,600 USD or more
10% of people earn
81,600 to 91,600 USD
20% of people earn
59,600 USD or less
65% of people earn
59,600 to 81,600 USD
Minimum Salary
52,600 USD
Median
92,000 USD
Maximum
155,000 USD




Median Salary, maximum and minimum salary, minimum wage, starting salary, and the salary range

All salary figures displayed here are per year except when noted otherwise.
  • Salary Range, Minimum Wage, and Starting Salary

    Salaries for the position Investigator in United States range from 52,600 USD (starting salary) to 155,000 USD (maximum salary). It should be noted that the given figure is not the legally mandated minimum wage; rather, it represents the lowest figure reported in a salary survey that included thousands of participants and professionals from all regions of the country.

  • Median Salary

    With a median salary of 92,000 USD, half of the professionals who work as Investigator in United States earn less than this amount, and the other half earn more. The median salary denotes the middle value of salaries. Ideally, you would want to belong to the group earning more than the median salary, located on the right side of the salary distribution graph.

  • Percentiles and Salary Scale

    The median is closely associated with two other values known as the 25th and 75th percentiles. By examining the salary distribution chart, it can be determined that 25% of professionals employed as Investigator in United States earn less than 76,300 USD, while 75% earn more. Similarly, the chart shows that 75% earn less than 104,000 USD while 25% earn more.

  • Pay Scale Structure

    To provide a better understanding of expected salaries, we categorized the frequently occurring salaries into different ranges. This approach provides a more precise representation of salary distribution for the job title Investigator in United States compared to simply calculating the average. The majority of reported salaries, approximately 65%, fall within the range of 59,600 USD to 81,600 USD. About 20% of salaries are below the 59,600 USD mark, while 10% fall within the range of 81,600 USD to 91,600 USD. Only 5% of individuals have salaries exceeding 91,600 USD.

Salary Comparison by Years of Experience / Investigator / United States

How do experience and age affect pay?

0 - 2 Years
59,800 USD
2 - 5 Years+34%
80,200 USD
5 - 10 Years+30%
104,000 USD
10 - 15 Years+21%
126,000 USD
15 - 20 Years+9%
138,000 USD
20+ Years+5%
145,000 USD
Percentage increase and decrease are relative to the previous value
Salary comparison by years of experience yearly United States Investigator
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The experience level is the most important factor in determining the salary. Naturally, the more years of experience the higher the wage. We broke down salaries by experience level for people working as Investigator and this is what we found.


All salary figures displayed here are per year except when noted otherwise.

Employees with less than two years of experience earn approximately 59,800 USD.

While someone with an experience level between two and five years is expected to earn 80,200 USD, 34% more than someone with less than two year's experience.

Moving forward, an experience level between five and ten years lands a salary of 104,000 USD, 30% more than someone with two to five years of experience.

Additionally, professionals whose expertise span anywhere between ten and fifteen years get a salary equivalent to 126,000 USD, 21% more than someone with five to ten years of experience.

If the experience level is between fifteen and twenty years, then the expected wage is 138,000 USD, 9% more than someone with ten to fifteen years of experience.

Lastly, employees with more than twenty years of professional experience get a salary of 145,000 USD, 5% more than people with fifteen to twenty years of experience.

On average, a person's salary doubles their starting salary by the time they cross the 10 years* experience mark.
* Based on the average change in salary over time. Salary variations differ from person to person.

Typical Salary Progress for Most Careers

Salary Comparison By Experience Level
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Salary Comparison By Education / Investigator / United States

How do education levels affect salaries?

Displayed below is the average salary variance between different education levels of professionals working as Investigator.

Certificate or Diploma
75,100 USD
Bachelor's Degree+80%
135,000 USD
Percentage increase and decrease are relative to the previous value
Salary comparison by education level yearly United States Investigator
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We all know that higher education equals a bigger salary, but how much more money can a degree add to your income? We broke down salaries by education level for the position Investigator in order to make a comparison.


Level 1: Certificate or Diploma

Employees at this education level have an average salary of 75,100 USD.


Level 2: Bachelor's Degree

At this level, the average salary becomes 135,000 USD, 80% more than the previous level.



Typical Salary Difference by Education for Most Careers

Salary Comparison By Education Level
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Salary and Compensation Comparison By Gender / Investigator / United States

Salary comparison by gender United States Investigator yearly
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Though gender should not have an effect on pay, in reality, it does. So who gets paid more: men or women? For the people who work as Investigator in United States, the average difference between the salary of male and female employees is 5%.

Male
104,000 USD
Female-5%
98,800 USD
Percentage increase and decrease are relative to the previous value

Salary Comparison By Gender in United States for all Careers

Salary comparison by gender yearly United States
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Average Annual Salary Increment Percentage / Investigator / United States

How much are annual salary increments in United States for individuals working as Investigator? How often do employees get salary raises?

Individuals working as Investigator in United States are likely to observe a salary increase of approximately 9% every 19 months. The national average annual increment for all professions combined is 8% granted to employees every 16 months.

Annual Salary Increment Rate United States Investigator
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The figures provided here are averages of numbers. Those figures should be taken as general guidelines. Salary increments will vary from person to person and depend on many factors, but your performance and contribution to the success of the organization remain the most important factors in determining how much and how often you will be granted a raise.

United States / All Professions

Annual Salary Increment Rate United States
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The term Annual Salary Increase usually refers to the increase in 12 calendar month period, but because it is rare that people get their salaries reviewed exactly on the one-year mark, it is more meaningful to know the frequency and the rate at the time of the increase.

How to calculate the salary increment percentage?

The annual salary Increase in a calendar year (12 months) can be easily calculated as follows: Annual Salary Increase = Increase Rate x 12 / Increase Frequency

The average salary increase in one year (12 months) in United States is 6%.

Worldwide Salary Raises: All Countries and All Jobs

World Average Annual Salary Increment
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Salary Packages and Schemes

Not all compensation increases are reflected directly in the salary. Some companies offer upgraded packages to their staff instead of cash money. The figures displayed here account only for direct increments to the base salary.



Bonus and Incentive Rates / Investigator / United States

How much and how often are bonuses being awarded?Annual Salary Bonus Rate United States Investigator
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71% of surveyed staff reported that they haven't received any bonuses or incentives in the previous year while 29% said that they received at least one form of monetary bonus.

Those who got bonuses reported rates ranging from 1% to 3% of their annual salary.

Received Bonus
29%
No Bonus
71%

Types of Bonuses Considered

Individual Performance-Based Bonuses

The most standard form of bonus, where the employee is awarded based on their exceptional performance.

Company Performance Bonuses

Occasionally, some companies like to celebrate excess earnings and profits with their staff collectively in the form of bonuses that are granted to everyone. The amount of the bonus will probably be different from person to person depending on their role within the organization.

Goal-Based Bonuses

Granted upon achieving an important goal or milestone.

Holiday / End of Year Bonuses

These types of bonuses are given without a reason and usually resemble an appreciation token.

Bonuses Are Not Commissions!

People tend to confuse bonuses with commissions. A commission is a prefixed rate at which someone gets paid for items sold or deals completed while a bonus is in most cases arbitrary and unplanned.


What makes a position worthy of good bonuses and a high salary?

The main two types of jobs

Revenue GeneratorsSupporting Cast

Employees that are directly involved in generating revenue or profit for the organization. Their field of expertise usually matches the type of business.

Employees that support and facilitate the work of revenue generators. Their expertise is usually different from that of the core business operations.

Example:
A graphics designer working for a graphics designing company.

Example:
A graphic designer in the marketing department of a hospital.


Revenue generators usually get more and higher bonuses, higher salaries, and more frequent salary increments. The reason is quite simple: it is easier to quantify your value to the company in monetary terms when you participate in revenue generation.

Try to work for companies where your skills can generate revenue. We can't all generate revenue and that's perfectly fine.

Bonus Comparison by Seniority Level

Top management personnel and senior employees naturally exhibit higher bonus rates and frequencies than juniors. This is very predictable due to the inherent responsibilities of being higher in the hierarchy. People in top positions can easily get double or triple bonus rates than employees down the pyramid.

Average Hourly Wage / Investigator / United States


49 USD per hour

The average hourly wage (pay per hour) for individuals working as Investigator in United States is 49 USD.This is the rate they get paid for every worked hour.


Hourly Wage = Annual Salary / ( 52 x 5 x 8 )

About The Hourly Pay Rate

The hourly wage is the salary paid in one worked hour. Usually, jobs are classified into two categories: salaried jobs and hourly jobs. Salaried jobs pay a fixed amount regardless of the hours worked. Hourly jobs pay per worked hour. To convert salary into hourly wage the above formula is used (assuming 5 working days in a week and 8 working hours per day which is the standard for most jobs). The hourly wage calculation may differ slightly depending on the worked hours per week and the annual vacation allowance. The figures mentioned above are good approximations and are considered to be the standard. One major difference between salaried employees and hourly paid employees is overtime eligibility. Salaried employees are usually exempt from overtime as opposed to hourly paid staff.

What is the minimum hourly rate of pay?

The minimum pay rate per hour for people working as Investigator in United States is 25 USD. This is the minimum as per the gathered data in the salary survey not the minimum hourly rate mandated by law.

Salary comparison with similar jobs

Job TitleAverage Salary
Law Enforcement / Security / Fire-100%
Accreditation Coordinator79,500 USD-21%
Accreditation Manager116,000 USD+15%
Advocate68,900 USD-32%
Armed Security Officer69,500 USD-31%
Behavioral Analyst95,100 USD-6%
Body-Worn Camera Technician63,500 USD-37%
Civilian Review Board Investigator80,500 USD-20%
Company Guard33,400 USD-67%
Control Room Operator31,400 USD-69%
Correctional Officer51,700 USD-49%
Crime Scene Reconstructionist81,600 USD-19%
Criminal Investigator104,000 USD+3%
Crisis Negotiator95,800 USD-5%
Cyberbullying Investigator86,200 USD-15%
Digital Forensic Analyst92,500 USD-9%
E-crime Investigator105,000 USD+4%
Facility Monitor61,800 USD-39%
Fire Chief101,000 USD-0%
Fire Dispatcher51,200 USD-49%
Fire Education Specialist90,200 USD-11%
Fire Extinguisher Technician31,600 USD-69%
Fire Fighter55,000 USD-46%
Fire Inspector102,000 USD+1%
Fire Investigator94,800 USD-6%
Fire Prevention Engineer90,300 USD-11%
Fire Prevention Officer71,500 USD-29%
Fire Protection Specialist87,900 USD-13%
Forensic Artist63,000 USD-38%
Forensic Entomologist69,800 USD-31%
Forensic Investigator93,900 USD-7%
Forensic Science Technician100,000 USD-1%
Fraud and Forensic Specialist101,000 USD-0%
Fraud Examiner107,000 USD+6%
Grants Specialist126,000 USD+25%
Hate Crime Investigator73,200 USD-28%
Human Trafficking Investigator84,200 USD-17%
Identity Theft Investigator81,700 USD-19%
Intellectual Property Associate88,800 USD-12%
Intelligence Research Specialist152,000 USD+50%
Investigator101,000 USD-0%
Jail Officer44,100 USD-56%
Juvenile Probation Officer70,600 USD-30%
Juvenile Supervision Officer72,600 USD-28%
Licensing and Permitting Specialist90,700 USD-10%
Lock-Smith30,100 USD-70%
Open Source Intelligence Analyst93,800 USD-7%
Parole Officer50,700 USD-50%
Police Captain123,000 USD+22%
Police Communications Officer74,700 USD-26%
Police Officer55,600 USD-45%
Police Patrol Officer51,600 USD-49%
Police Social Worker57,000 USD-44%
Predictive Analyst80,800 USD-20%
Prison Officer44,200 USD-56%
Prisoner Custody Officer35,900 USD-65%
Private Detective / Investigator103,000 USD+2%
Problem-Oriented Policing Specialist87,900 USD-13%
School Resource Officer48,200 USD-52%
Security Adviser96,100 USD-5%
Security Guard28,300 USD-72%
Security Management Specialist141,000 USD+39%
Security Manager146,000 USD+44%
Security Officer35,200 USD-65%
Security Supervisor81,300 USD-20%
Security Systems Installer78,500 USD-22%
Security Technician31,700 USD-69%
Social Media Investigator82,700 USD-18%
Surveillance Operator39,100 USD-61%
Tactical Analyst87,300 USD-14%
Technological Crime Investigator97,200 USD-4%
Traffic Controller57,500 USD-43%

Salary Comparison By City

CityAverage Salary
Boston103,000 USD
Chicago124,000 USD
Houston116,000 USD
Las Vegas104,000 USD
Los Angeles116,000 USD
New York118,000 USD
San Francisco105,000 USD
San Jose108,000 USD

Salary Comparison By State

StateAverage Salary
Alabama107,000 USD
Alaska93,100 USD
Arizona110,000 USD
Arkansas102,000 USD
California116,000 USD
Colorado105,000 USD
Connecticut101,000 USD
Delaware94,000 USD
District of Columbia91,800 USD
Florida114,000 USD
Georgia112,000 USD
Hawaii95,300 USD
Idaho95,100 USD
Illinois112,000 USD
Indiana107,000 USD
Iowa98,600 USD
Kansas98,400 USD
Kentucky101,000 USD
Louisiana101,000 USD
Maine92,800 USD
Maryland105,000 USD
Massachusetts104,000 USD
Michigan108,000 USD
Minnesota102,000 USD
Mississippi95,800 USD
Missouri102,000 USD
Montana90,500 USD
Nebraska93,200 USD
Nevada95,000 USD
New Hampshire90,900 USD
New Jersey105,000 USD
New Mexico93,400 USD
New York109,000 USD
North Carolina106,000 USD
North Dakota95,100 USD
Ohio117,000 USD
Oklahoma106,000 USD
Oregon106,000 USD
Pennsylvania118,000 USD
Rhode Island96,300 USD
South Carolina108,000 USD
South Dakota96,000 USD
Tennessee112,000 USD
Texas119,000 USD
Utah101,000 USD
Vermont93,100 USD
Virginia113,000 USD
Washington112,000 USD
West Virginia98,800 USD
Wisconsin108,000 USD
Wyoming91,200 USD

Government vs Private Sector Salary Comparison

Where can you get paid more, working in a private company or the government? The difference between the public or government sector salaries and the private sector salaries in United States is 5% on average across all career fields.

Private Sector
92,800 USD
Public Sector+5%
97,500 USD
Percentage increase and decrease are relative to the previous value

Salary Statistics and Calculation Guide

What is considered to be a good and competitive salary for the job title Investigator in United States?

A good and competitive compensation would range anywhere between 92,000 USD and 104,000 USD. This is a very rough estimate. Experience and education play a very huge part in the final earnings.

Gross Salary (before tax) and Net Salary (after tax)

All salary and compensation figures displayed here are gross salary figures, that is the salary before tax deductions. Because taxes may differ across sectors and locations, it is difficult to accurately calculate the net salary after tax for every career.

Base / Basic Salary

The base salary for a careers like Investigator in United States ranges from 52,600 USD to 76,300 USD. The base salary depends on many factors including experience and education. It is not easy to provide a figure with very little information, so take this range with a grain of salt.


What is the difference between the median and the average salary?

Both are indicators. If your salary is higher than both the average and the median then you are doing very well. If your salary is lower than both, then many people earn more than you and there is plenty of room for improvement. If your wage is between the average and the median, then things can be a bit complicated. We wrote a guide to explain all about the different scenarios. How to compare your salary


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