Crime Scene Investigator salary: the two BLS occupations that count the job.
What BLS publishes for crime scene investigators, labelled for the occupation it actually describes, and what O*NET publishes about the specialty itself.
BLS does not publish pay for crime scene investigators separately, and O*NET lists the title in two occupations. Every pay figure on this page is for one of those two broader BLS occupations, “Detectives and Criminal Investigators” (SOC 33-3021) and “Forensic Science Technicians” (SOC 19-4092); neither is a figure for crime scene investigators alone.
BLS does not publish a wage for crime scene investigators on their own, and the job does not sit in one BLS occupation: O*NET 31.0 lists the title “Crime Scene Investigator (CSI)” under Police Identification and Records Officers (O*NET-SOC 33-3021.02, counted by BLS in “Detectives and Criminal Investigators”) and “CSI (Crime Scene Investigator)” under Forensic Science Technicians (SOC 19-4092). BLS medians for those two whole occupations were $93,790 (BLS: Detectives and Criminal Investigators) and $72,060 (BLS: Forensic Science Technicians) in May 2025. Neither is a salary figure for crime scene investigators.
Figures for the two whole occupations
Data BLS OEWS, May 2025. Each figure describes the whole BLS occupation named in its row, not crime scene investigators.
| BLS occupation | SOC | Median annual wage (whole occupation) | Employed (whole occupation) | Full pay data |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Detectives and Criminal Investigators | 33-3021 | $93,790 | 114,430 | Detectives and Criminal Investigators pay by percentile and state |
| Forensic Science Technicians | 19-4092 | $72,060 | 19,120 | Forensic Science Technicians pay by percentile and state |
Why the occupation's median is not crime scene investigator pay
Data How BLS counts specialties.
- BLS's Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey asks employers to report jobs by SOC occupation. crime scene investigators are reported inside the occupations above, and BLS does not break the specialty out.
- A median for the whole occupation mixes every job in it. Crime Scene Investigators can sit anywhere in that range; the data does not say whether they earn more or less than the occupation as a whole.
- Experience, setting, shift work, overtime and location all move pay inside an occupation, and none of them is separated for this specialty in the BLS data.
What crime scene investigators do
Data O*NET 31.0 describes crime scene investigators (Police Identification and Records Officers, O*NET-SOC 33-3021.02) separately from the broader BLS occupation, so the job itself is documented even though its pay is not. The tasks and survey below are from that record; O*NET also lists the title under Forensic Science Technicians (O*NET-SOC 19-4092.00). O*NET places it in Job Zone 3 of 5 (medium preparation). In O*NET's survey of workers in this occupation, the most common answer for the education the job requires was a high school diploma or equivalent (35%).
Core tasks rated most important by workers in the role (O*NET).
- Photograph crime or accident scenes for evidence records.
- Maintain records of evidence and write and review reports.
- Submit evidence to supervisors, crime labs, or court officials for legal proceedings.
- Testify in court and present evidence.
- Look for trace evidence, such as fingerprints, hairs, fibers, or shoe impressions, using alternative light sources when necessary.
- Dust selected areas of crime scene and lift latent fingerprints, adhering to proper preservation procedures.
How to find pay for crime scene investigators specifically
Advice
- Read the pay range in crime scene investigator job postings for the places you would work, where employers publish one.
- Ask the recruiter or hiring manager for the range for this exact title and shift before the final interview.
- Use the detectives and criminal investigators figures as context for the wider occupation, not as a quote for this specialty: the full Detectives and Criminal Investigators pay data shows the percentiles and states BLS publishes.
- Compare like with like: the same setting, the same shift pattern and the same years of experience.
More for Crime Scene Investigators
How this page is built
How this page is built
The occupations are the BLS occupations O*NET 31.0 maps the specialty to (O*NET-SOC 33-3021.02 and the second O*NET occupation that lists the title). Each median, employment count and title is copied from the BLS OEWS May 2025 national file for that occupation and labelled with its name. Nothing is adjusted, estimated or split out for the specialty.
- Pay for crime scene investigators alone: BLS does not publish it.
- Pay at a specific employer, or for self-employed workers (OEWS covers employees).
- Your own offer: experience, setting and location change it.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 estimates (public domain).
- O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. TryHired selected, ranked and combined the data; O*NET is not responsible for these pages.
How TryHired builds this data: sources, methods and downloads. Spotted an error? Report a correction.