Money · 1 of 5
What detectives make
Median
$93,790
Bottom tenth
$55,390
Top tenth
$160,540
The national median is $93,790 a year, and the bottom tenth start near $55,390. Read the top of that range carefully: the federal survey counts city detectives and federal criminal investigators as one occupation, and the federal agents are what pull the top tenth up to $160,540. A detective in a small town is nowhere near it.