How much do private investigators make?

Private Investigator salary 2026 · BLS occupation: Private Detectives and Investigators (SOC 33-9021) · Updated October 28, 2026

Answer

Private investigators in the US earned a median of $51,220 a year ($24.62 an hour) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The middle half earned $40,700 to $73,990.

Median annual pay: $51,220; Mean $60,150
Median hourly pay: $24.62; Mean $28.92
Typical range (10th–90th): $36.7K–$97.6K; $36,740 to $97,630
US jobs: 35,580; +5.5% projected, 2025–35

BLS OEWS, May 2025, released April 30, 2026. Wages include tips, commissions and production bonuses but not overtime premiums, shift differentials, other bonuses or benefits; self-employed workers are not included. Methodology

How to become a private investigator: steps, years and cost · Best-paying state after cost of living: Oregon

Private Investigator pay range

Annual wages, May 2025

10th percentile$36,740
25th percentile$40,700
Median$51,220
75th percentile$73,990
90th percentile$97,630

Half of all private investigators earned more than $51,220 and half earned less. The lowest-paid 10% made under $36,740; the top 10% made over $97,630. The middle 50%, from the 25th to the 75th percentile, ran from $40,700 to $73,990.

These percentiles describe everyone in the occupation at one time. They are not pay steps by years of experience: they mix new and senior workers, different states, employers and hours. Pay generally rises with experience, credentials and specialization, but BLS does not publish pay by experience.

Percentile	Annual	Hourly	Monthly
10th	$36,740	$17.66	$3,062
25th	$40,700	$19.57	$3,392
Median (50th)	$51,220	$24.62	$4,268
75th	$73,990	$35.57	$6,166
90th	$97,630	$46.94	$8,136
Mean (average)	$60,150	$28.92	$5,013

Private Investigator salary by state

Median annual pay; cost of living from BEA regional price parities 2024

Median annual pay for private investigators by state. Darker tiles pay more. A dash means BLS did not publish a figure.

Highest-paying states

1. Oregon $76,480
2. Connecticut $75,010
3. District of Columbia $72,720
4. Vermont $67,910
5. New Hampshire $65,370

Lowest-paying states

49. Mississippi $39,060
48. Oklahoma $39,680
47. Iowa $41,110
46. New Mexico $41,600
45. Missouri $41,600

Best after cost of living: Oregon. Its median of $76,480 is worth about $73,993 at national-average prices.


Alabama	$46,810	34	$52,700	24	$22.50	530	0.25
Alaska	$53,440	18	$52,208	26	$25.69	70	0.22
Arizona	$61,030	8	$60,620	6	$29.34	790	0.24
Arkansas	$47,750	30	$54,925	18	$22.96	370	0.28
California	$61,250	7	$55,320	16	$29.45	4,190	0.23
Colorado	$48,730	27	$47,287	39	$23.43	540	0.19
Connecticut	$75,010	2	$72,396	2	$36.06	400	0.24
Delaware	$55,710	14	$55,817	14	$26.78	110	0.23
District of Columbia	$72,720	3	$66,169	4	$34.96	—	—
Florida	$50,640	24	$48,968	36	$24.35	3,660	0.37
Georgia	$45,060	38	$46,795	41	$21.66	1,460	0.30
Hawaii	$45,750	36	$41,609	49	$21.99	70	0.10
Idaho	$47,910	29	$50,171	33	$23.03	210	0.25
Illinois	$60,210	9	$60,235	7	$28.95	1,300	0.21
Indiana	$41,830	44	$44,820	47	$20.11	480	0.15
Iowa	$41,110	47	$46,843	40	$19.77	170	0.11
Kansas	$45,260	37	$50,251	32	$21.76	280	0.20
Kentucky	$47,650	31	$52,851	23	$22.91	350	0.17
Louisiana	$41,950	42	$47,559	37	$20.17	860	0.44
Maine	$43,830	41	$45,162	44	$21.07	210	0.32
Maryland	—	—	—	—	—	560	0.20
Massachusetts	$50,240	25	$47,505	38	$24.15	280	0.08
Michigan	$48,650	28	$50,563	30	$23.39	850	0.19
Minnesota	$57,880	12	$58,689	9	$27.83	600	0.20
Mississippi	$39,060	49	$44,921	46	$18.78	330	0.28
Missouri	$41,600	45	$45,806	42	$20.00	590	0.20
Montana	$47,430	32	$50,114	34	$22.80	70	0.13
Nebraska	$51,750	21	$57,434	12	$24.88	160	0.16
Nevada	—	—	—	—	—	350	0.23
New Hampshire	$65,370	5	$62,756	5	$31.43	280	0.41
New Jersey	$54,710	15	$50,283	31	$26.31	410	0.10
New Mexico	$41,600	46	$45,113	45	$20.00	—	—
New York	$59,140	10	$54,799	19	$28.43	1,300	0.13
North Carolina	$52,890	19	$56,071	13	$25.43	1,710	0.35
North Dakota	$44,310	40	$49,809	35	$21.30	60	0.13
Ohio	$47,200	33	$50,876	28	$22.69	1,560	0.28
Oklahoma	$39,680	48	$45,171	43	$19.08	370	0.22
Oregon	$76,480	1	$73,993	1	$36.77	610	0.31
Pennsylvania	$51,200	23	$52,474	25	$24.62	1,220	0.20
Rhode Island	$54,620	16	$53,402	21	$26.26	60	0.11
South Carolina	$51,530	22	$54,966	17	$24.78	620	0.27
South Dakota	$44,840	39	$50,617	29	$21.56	60	0.13
Tennessee	$49,360	26	$53,728	20	$23.73	940	0.29
Texas	$51,810	20	$53,381	22	$24.91	3,220	0.23
Utah	$57,910	11	$58,575	11	$27.84	350	0.20
Vermont	$67,910	4	$69,326	3	$32.65	90	0.29
Virginia	$56,160	13	$55,547	15	$27.00	1,280	0.31
Washington	$64,080	6	$59,881	8	$30.81	750	0.21
West Virginia	$46,410	35	$51,856	27	$22.31	170	0.24
Wisconsin	$41,850	43	$44,476	48	$20.12	410	0.14
Wyoming	$54,310	17	$58,593	10	$26.11	40	0.13

BLS OEWS, May 2025, state estimates. Adjusted pay = median ÷ (state price level ÷ 100), using BEA regional price parities for 2024; it ignores taxes. Figures for states with few workers in the occupation have larger survey errors and can change sharply from one year to the next. “—” means BLS did not publish the figure (2 states). State names link to each state’s highest-paying jobs.

Best-paying metro areas for private investigators

142 metro areas with published pay

Highest median pay
Metro area	Median	Adjusted	Jobs
Memphis, TN-MS-AR	$99,680	$108,137	310
Salem, OR	$81,070	$78,216	180
Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA	$78,330	$74,302	270
Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT	$77,540	$75,468	150
Waterbury-Shelton, CT	$76,630	$76,800	50
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA	$75,670	$68,090	430
Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC	$73,430	$75,430	860
Manchester-Nashua, NH	$70,780	$66,990	100
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI	$70,220	$66,990	410
Burlington-South Burlington, VT	$70,190	$69,530	50

Most jobs
Metro area	Jobs	Median	Adjusted
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA	1,520	$61,680	$54,312
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX	1,070	$61,460	$59,618
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ	1,040	$59,140	$52,539
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL	1,030	$54,720	$47,935
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA	980	$45,080	$45,054
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN	970	$68,310	$65,939
Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC	860	$73,430	$75,430
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV	790	$62,300	$57,217
Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX	710	$46,110	$46,751
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL	660	$51,390	$50,937

BLS OEWS, May 2025, metropolitan statistical areas; adjusted with BEA metro price parities (2024).

What moves private investigator pay: employers and settings

The employer makes the biggest difference. About a third of private detectives and investigators work for general merchandise retailers, mostly in loss prevention, where the median is $41,280. Investigation and security services firms, the classic PI agencies, pay a median of $50,670. Corporate investigators earn more: banks and lenders (credit intermediation) pay $65,580 and company headquarters (management of companies) pay $84,890. Government investigators in this category also do well, with local government at $75,500 and state government at $76,780.

State matters too. Oregon pays a median of $76,480, Connecticut $75,010, the District of Columbia $72,720, Vermont $67,910, and New Hampshire $65,370. At the low end are Iowa at $41,110, Oklahoma at $39,680, and Mississippi at $39,060.

The overall range runs from a 10th percentile of $36,740, to a 90th percentile of $97,630, with the median at $51,220. These percentiles describe the spread across all employers and states, not steps by years of experience. About 9.8% are self-employed, and their income depends on billable hours and how many clients they keep, which these wage figures do not cover.

Where private investigators work
Industry	Share of jobs	Median pay
General Merchandise Retailers	34.5%	$41,280
Investigation and Security Services	18.8%	$50,670
Credit Intermediation and Related Activities (5221 and 5223 only)	6.6%	$65,580
Local Government, excluding Schools and Hospitals	5.6%	$75,500
Management of Companies and Enterprises	3.6%	$84,890
State Government, excluding Schools and Hospitals	3.1%	$76,780

Private employers and government
Employer type	Jobs	Median pay
Private employers	32,340	$49,260
State government (incl. schools and hospitals)	1,190	$75,850
Local government (incl. schools and hospitals)	2,050	$75,500

BLS OEWS, May 2025, national industry-specific and ownership estimates (4-digit NAICS).

Private Investigator pay over time

Median annual pay, 2015–2025

$51.2K $45.6K

2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024
2025

Nominal median (dollars of each year)In May 2025 dollars (adjusted with CPI-U)

The median rose from $45,610 in 2015 to $51,220 in 2025, up 12% in nominal dollars. After inflation, the 2015 median is worth $61,656 in May 2025 dollars, so real pay fell 17% over the period.

BLS OEWS, May 2025 and earlier May releases; inflation from the CPI-U, US city average, May of each year.

What private investigators do

A private investigator, also called a private detective or PI, finds and documents facts for paying clients: attorneys, insurance companies, businesses and individuals. Typical cases include background checks on job candidates or business partners, locating missing heirs, witnesses or people who owe money (skip tracing), checking whether an injured worker is as disabled as claimed, gathering evidence for divorce and custody disputes, and investigating employee theft.

The work splits between desk research and fieldwork. At a desk, a PI searches court records, property and business filings, paid databases and social media. In the field, they interview witnesses and neighbors and run surveillance, often for hours from a parked car with a camera. Results go into a written report, and some cases end with the investigator testifying in court. Unlike police, a PI has no arrest or search powers and must follow the same privacy and trespass laws as anyone else.

The largest employer group in the BLS count is general merchandise retailers, where many work as store detectives, the plainclothes loss prevention staff who watch for shoplifting and internal theft.

A typical day

Search court, property, business and public records for people and assets
Sit on surveillance for hours, filming a subject's activities from a vehicle
Interview witnesses, neighbors and former employers and take statements
Locate people who have moved, from witnesses to debtors to missing relatives
Write detailed, time-stamped reports with photos and video for the client
Watch store floors and camera feeds for shoplifting and employee theft
Testify in depositions or court about what they observed

Also called: private detective, asset protection detective, field investigator, investigator, loss prevention agent, loss prevention associate, loss prevention detective, loss prevention investigator.

How to become a private investigator

Full guide

Most private investigators need a high school diploma, two to three years of qualifying investigative experience, a background check and a state licensing exam; the full path usually takes 2 to 4 years. A few states, and most loss prevention jobs, require less.

Typical time: 3 to 4 years; Fastest: 2 years
Minimum education: High school diploma or GED; some employers prefer an associate or bachelor's degree in criminal justice or a related field
License: Required in most states, under state rules that differ widely in experience, exam and insurance requirements
Typical training cost: $70–$9.4K; See the guide for what it includes

Read the step-by-step guide to becoming a private investigator: each step with its time and cost, education options, exams, licensing and advancement.

Is it worth it? Training cost against pay

Compare careers

Training time: 3 to 4 years; Typical path in our guide
Training cost: $70–$9.4K; Tuition and exam fees, before aid
Median pay: $51,220; $240 above the all-jobs median ($50,980)
Cost vs. one year's pay: 0–18%; Training cost as a share of a year at the median

Once qualified, the pay difference over the typical US job at the median ($240 a year before tax) would repay the training cost in less than a year to 39.3 years after training ends (3 to 4 years in our guide). This is a rough guide: it ignores taxes, financial aid, interest, earnings given up while training and how pay changes over a career. How we calculate ROI.

Job outlook for private investigators

BLS Employment Projections 2025–35

Projected growth: +5.5%; All occupations +3.5%
Jobs in 2025: 39,500; 41,700 projected for 2035
Openings each year: 3,200; New jobs plus replacements
Self-employed: 9.8%; Not in the pay figures above

BLS projects private detective and investigator jobs to grow 5.5% from 2025 to 2035, from 39,500 to 41,700, a bit faster than the 3.5% for all occupations. That works out to about 3,200 openings a year, most of them replacing people who retire or change careers.

The demand comes from lawsuits, insurance and financial fraud, and plain mistrust between people and businesses. Background checks remain steady work because online searches alone often miss things.

Related careers and their pay

Related occupations from O*NET 31.0; median annual pay from BLS OEWS, May 2025.

Private Investigator salary FAQ

How much do private investigators make an hour?

The median hourly wage for private investigators was $24.62 in May 2025. The lowest-paid 10% earned less than $17.66 an hour and the highest-paid 10% more than $46.94. Hourly figures are BLS estimates for all workers in the occupation, full-time and part-time.

Which state pays private investigators the most?

Oregon has the highest median pay for private investigators, $76,480 a year, followed by Connecticut ($75,010) and District of Columbia ($72,720). After adjusting for each state's price level, Oregon comes out ahead at about $73,993 in national-average dollars.

Do private investigators make six figures?

Few do: based on the BLS percentiles, fewer than 10% of private investigators earn more than $100,000 a year. The median is $51,220, and the top 10% earn more than $97,630. Pay generally rises with experience, specialization and location.

What is the difference between a private investigator and a detective?

A police detective is a sworn officer who investigates crimes for a government agency and can make arrests, get search warrants and compel cooperation. A private investigator works for clients, has no police powers, and must gather information legally like any private citizen. Many PIs are former police detectives, but the private side covers far more civil work, such as insurance claims, lawsuits and background checks.

Can private investigators carry a gun?

It depends on the state, and a PI license by itself is not a gun permit everywhere. California, for example, issues a separate firearms permit to licensees who are at least 21 and are U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents; it expires two years from issuance, and holders must requalify on the range during that time. Check your own state's licensing agency before carrying on the job.

What do loss prevention detectives do?

Loss prevention detectives, or store detectives, work for retailers to cut theft. They watch shoppers on the floor and on cameras, stop and document shoplifting according to company policy, investigate employee theft and refund fraud, and work with police and prosecutors. Retail is the largest employer of private investigators in the BLS data, and it is where many people start before moving to agency or corporate investigations.

Sources

Data updated October 28, 2026 · Text checked against its sources October 28, 2026

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 estimates, released April 30, 2026, SOC 33-9021
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025–2035, released September 2026
O*NET 31.0 Database (33-9021.00), U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under CC BY 4.0; tasks rewritten by Careers and Salaries
U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities by state and metro area, 2024
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), US city average, May values
U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard field-of-study and institution data, most recent cohorts, released 2026-10-15
Private Detectives and Investigators, Occupational Outlook Handbook, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · checked October 28, 2026
Private Investigator Fact Sheet, California Bureau of Security and Investigative Services · checked October 28, 2026
Class "C" Private Investigator License Requirements, Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services · checked October 28, 2026
Class "CC" Private Investigator Intern License Requirements, Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services · checked October 28, 2026
License Finder, CareerOneStop, U.S. Department of Labor · checked October 28, 2026
PCI (Professional Certified Investigator), ASIS International · checked October 28, 2026

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