Private detectives & investigators

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2019 Workforce

96.1k

Average Age

43.1

Average Salary

$61,161

Average Male Salary

$65,515

Average Female Salary

$56,372

About

Private detectives & investigators are most often employed by the Investigation & security services industry. The average yearly wage for Private detectives & investigators was $61,161 in 2016. The top 3 most similar occupations to Private detectives & investigators by wage are Fashion designers, Firstline supervisors of production & operating workers, and Speechlanguage pathologists.

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 Ashburn (Southwest/Belmont Ridge) & Dulles Airport PUMA, VA. The top 3 locations with a relatively high concentration of Private detectives & investigators are Ashburn (Southwest/Belmont Ridge) & Dulles Airport 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 Public finance activities. Private detectives & investigators are paid most in Lawrence, Haverhill & Methuen Town Cities PUMA, MA but are relatively concentrated in Ashburn (Southwest/Belmont Ridge) & Dulles Airport PUMA, VA.

Wages

Yearly Wage

$61,161

AVERAGE SALARY

± $3,170

In 2019, Private detectives & investigators earned an average of $61,161, $5,637 more than than the average national salary of $55,524.

Fashion designers make somewhat more than Private detectives & investigators while Firstline supervisors of production & operating workers make somewhat less. This chart shows the various occupations closest to Private detectives & investigators as measured by average annual salary in the US.

Wage Distribution

0.344

WAGE GINI

In 2015, Private detectives & investigators had a wage GINI coefficient of 0.344, which is lower than than the national average of 0.478. In other words, wages are distributed more evenly for Private detectives & investigators (shown in red) than for the overall labor force (shown in gray).

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.

Spatial Concentration

Ashburn (Southwest/Belmont Ridge) & Dulles Airport PUMA, VA

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.

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 human resource programs.

Highest Paying

The highest paying industries for Private detectives & investigators, by average wage, are Public finance activities, Management, scientific & technical consulting services, Management, scientific & technical consulting services, Public finance activities, Scientific research & development services, Air transportation, Computer Systems Design, Computer Systems Design, Public finance activities, Securities, commodities, funds, trusts & other financial investments, Management, scientific & technical consulting services, National security & international affairs, National security & international affairs, National security & international affairs, National security & international affairs, Other general government & support, Insurance carriers, and Executive offices & legislative bodies.

Industries by Share

96.1k

2019 Workforce

± 7,609

2.29%

1 YEAR GROWTH

± 11%

The number of people employed as Private detectives & investigators has been growing at a rate of 2.29%, from 93,957 people in 2018 to 96,107 people in 2019.

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 18.5%, followed by Banking & related activities with 17.9% and Administration of human resource programs with 7.03%.

Diversity

Demographic information on Private detectives & investigators in the US. The average age of male Private detectives & investigators in the workforce is 45 and of female Private detectives & investigators is 40.9, and the most common race/ethnicity for Private detectives & investigators is White (Non-Hispanic).

Gender Composition

50.3k

MALE WORKFORCE

± 5,508

45.8k

FEMALE WORKFORCE

± 5,251

52.4% 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.

Race & Ethnicity

Most Common Race or Ethnicity of Private detectives & investigators

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

59.2% of Private detectives & investigators are White (Non-Hispanic), making that the most common race or ethnicity in the occupation. Representing 16.8% 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.

Age by Gender

AVERAGE MALE AGE

± 1.44

40.9

AVERAGE FEMALE AGE

± 1.42

The median age of Private detectives & investigators is 43.1, and Male employees are generally 4.15 years older than than their Female counterparts.

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 degree-majorss. However, we can filter the data based on highest degree-majors obtained.

MOST COMMON MAJORS

MOST SPECIALIZED MAJORS

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.