Private detectives & investigators

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Total Workforce

94k

Average Age

44.2

Average Salary

$59,860

Average Male Salary

$63,662

Average Female Salary

$55,549

About

Employment

Diversity

Education

Skills

About

Private detectives & investigators are most often employed by the Investigation & security services industry. The average yearly wage for Private detectives & investigators was $59,860 in 2016. The top 3 most similar occupations to Private detectives & investigators by wage are Firstline supervisors of office & administrative support workers, Logisticians, and Entertainment and recreation managers.

Private detectives & investigators are part of the Protective service occupations, along with Firstline supervisors of correctional officers, Firstline supervisors of police & detectives, Firstline supervisors of fire fighting & prevention workers, Miscellaneous first-line supervisors, protective service workers, Firefighters, and 13 more.

The top 3 locations that employ the most Private detectives & investigators are Arlington County (South) PUMA, VA. The top 3 locations with a relatively high concentration of Private detectives & investigators are Arlington County (South) PUMA, VA.

Photo by Osajus Photography

Service Occupations Protective service occupations Protective service occupations

Employment

Information on the businesses and industries that employ Private detectives & investigators and on wages and locations for those in the field. Investigation & security services is the industry that employs the most Private detectives & investigators, both by share and by number, though the highest paid industry for Private detectives & investigators, by average wage, is Management, scientific & technical consulting services. Private detectives & investigators are paid most in Lawrence, Haverhill & Methuen Town Cities PUMA, MA but are relatively concentrated in Arlington County (South) PUMA, VA.

Wages

Yearly Wage

$59,860

AVERAGE SALARY

± $3,283

In 2018, Private detectives & investigators earned an average of $59,860, $5,972 more than than the average national salary of $53,888.

Firstline supervisors of office & administrative support workers make somewhat more than Private detectives & investigators while Entertainment and recreation managers make somewhat less. This chart shows the various occupations closest to Private detectives & investigators as measured by average annual salary in the US.

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Wage Distribution

0.32

WAGE GINI

In 2018, Private detectives & investigators had a wage GINI coefficient of 0.32, which is lower than than the national average of 0.479. In other words, wages are distributed more evenly for Private detectives & investigators (shown in red) than for the overall labor force (shown in gray).

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Wage by Location

HIGHEST PAYING PUMAS

This map shows the Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMAs) in the United States shaded by average annual wage for Private detectives & investigators.

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Spatial Concentration

PUMAs with a Relatively High Concentration of Private detectives & investigators

This map displays which Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMAs) in the United States have a relatively high population of Private detectives & investigators.

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Industries

Most Common

The most common industries employing Private detectives & investigators, by number of employees, are Investigation & security services, Banking & related activities, and Administration of economic programs & space research.

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Highest Paying

The highest paying industries for Private detectives & investigators, by average wage, are Management, scientific & technical consulting services, Management, scientific & technical consulting services, Scientific research & development services, Air transportation, Public finance activities, and National security & international affairs.

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Industries by Share

94k

2018 Workforce

± 7,523

8.45%

1 YEAR GROWTH

± 10.7%

The number of people employed as Private detectives & investigators has been growing at a rate of 8.45%, from 86,634 people in 2017 to 93,957 people in 2018.

This graphic shows the share of Private detectives & investigators employed by various industries. Investigation & security services employs the largest share of Private detectives & investigators at 21.1%, followed by Banking & related activities with 14.4% and Administration of economic programs & space research with 5.84%.

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Diversity

Demographic information on Private detectives & investigators in the US. The average age of male Private detectives & investigators in the workforce is 45.9 and of female Private detectives & investigators is 42.4, and the most common race/ethnicity for Private detectives & investigators is White (Non-Hispanic).

Gender Composition

49.9k

MALE WORKFORCE

± 5,485

44k

FEMALE WORKFORCE

± 5,151

53.1% of Private detectives & investigators are Male, making them the more common gender in the occupation. This chart shows the gender breakdown of Private detectives & investigators.

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Race & Ethnicity

Most Common Race or Ethnicity of Private detectives & investigators

White (Non-Hispanic)
Black (Non-Hispanic)
White (Hispanic)

59.6% of Private detectives & investigators are White (Non-Hispanic), making that the most common race or ethnicity in the occupation. Representing 18.9% of Private detectives & investigators, Black (Non-Hispanic) is the second most common race or ethnicity in this occupation. This chart shows the racial and ethnic breakdown of Private detectives & investigators.

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Age by Gender

45.9

AVERAGE MALE AGE

± 1.47

42.4

AVERAGE FEMALE AGE

± 1.41

The median age of Private detectives & investigators is 44.2, and Male employees are generally 3.49 years older than than their Female counterparts.

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Education

Data on higher education choices for Private detectives & investigators from The Department of Education and Census Bureau. The most common major for Private detectives & investigators is Protective Services but a relatively high number of Private detectives & investigators hold a major in Protective Services.

Majors

ACS PUMS data only shows the major for bachelor's degrees. However, we can filter the data based on highest degree obtained.

MOST COMMON MAJORS

MOST SPECIALIZED MAJORS

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Skills

Data on the critical and distinctive skills necessary for Private detectives & investigators from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Private detectives & investigators need many skills, but most especially Active Listening, Critical Thinking, and Reading Comprehension. The revealed comparative advantage (RCA) shows that Private detectives & investigators need more than the average amount of Programming, Writing, and Active Listening.