Criminal Justice and CorrectionsCIP 43.01 · Homeland Security, Law Enforcement, Firefighting and Related Protective Services
1,865 colleges · 100,412 awardsCareers · Protective service
Detectives and Criminal Investigators
SOC 33-3021. National wage and employment estimates, with the fields of study that commonly prepare people for this work.
National estimates
What this work pays across the country
- Median annual wage
- $93,790
- Lower quarter
- $69,330
- Upper quarter
- $120,520
- People employed
- 114,430
These are national figures across everyone in the occupation, including people with decades of experience and people who studied something else entirely. Pay differs by state, industry, employer, and experience, and a median hides a wide spread.
Year, scope, and limits
- Cohort or year
- May 2025
- Scope
- Reported for this occupation, nationally
National median wage across all workers in the occupation, not only recent graduates of one field. Wages vary by state, industry, and experience. A wage at or above 239,200 dollars a year is published only as at or above that figure.
Study paths
Fields of study linked to this work
These fields are commonly linked to this occupation, which means they prepare people for the work. It is not a record of where graduates went and it is not a hiring promise.
Security Science and TechnologyCIP 43.04 · Homeland Security, Law Enforcement, Firefighting and Related Protective Services
522 colleges · 9,045 awardsIntelligence, Command Control and Information OperationsCIP 29.02 · Military Technologies and Applied Sciences
81 colleges · 3,883 awardsEnvironmental/Natural Resources Management and PolicyCIP 03.02 · Natural Resources and Conservation
196 colleges · 3,070 awardsYear, scope, and limits
- Cohort or year
- Current federal taxonomies
- Scope
- Reported for this occupation, nationally
This link means the field commonly prepares people for that kind of work. It is not a placement record and does not promise a job.
Before you plan around this
What this page cannot tell you
- Whether employers in your area are hiring, and at what pay.
- Whether a specific degree program leads to this work for its graduates.
- Licensing requirements, which are set by states and can add exams, hours, or fees.
- How the work will change over the years you spend studying for it.
Ask a school what its own graduates in these fields do now, and ask the state licensing board what a license requires where you plan to live.