Detective salary in New York City: $106,440 median.
BLS reports occupational wages for the New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ metropolitan statistical area (CBSA 35620), which includes New York City, Newark and Jersey City and surrounding communities. Figures describe that whole area, not New York City city limits. It spans New York and New Jersey.
Detectives in the New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ metropolitan area earned a median annual wage of $106,440 in May 2025, according to BLS (OEWS, SOC 33-3021); the OEWS mean annual wage was $113,870. That median is 13% above the U.S. median of $93,790. BLS estimates about 7,580 people work in this occupation across the metro.
Data Among the 45 metro areas whose estimate for this occupation meets TryHired's reliability rule, this metro ranks 14 by median wage.
Data Separately, BEA puts 2024 price levels across the New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ metropolitan area at 112.6 (U.S. = 100): prices for the average consumer are about 13% above the national level. That is context, not an adjusted salary. Cost of living in New York City.
What area these numbers cover
Data The BLS geography behind every figure on this page.
- Search label
- New York City
- BLS source geography
- New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ
- Geography type
- Metropolitan Statistical Area
- CBSA code
- 35620
- States
- New York, New Jersey
- Delineation
- OMB Bulletin 23-01, as used by BLS OEWS May 2025
Local, state and national pay
Data Same occupation (SOC 33-3021), same BLS release (May 2025). This metro spans more than one state; each state is shown.
| Geography | Median annual wage | Mean annual wage | Employment |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ (metro, CBSA 35620) | $106,440 | $113,870 | 7,580 |
| New York (state) | $101,240 | $105,880 | 9,600 |
| New Jersey (state) | $116,300 | $116,540 | 3,080 |
| United States | $93,790 | $99,430 | 114,430 |
National Detective salary · Careers in New York City.
Data Nationally, BLS projects employment in this occupation to change +0.2% from 2025 to 2035. BLS does not publish metro projections in this dataset, so that is national context, not a local forecast.
Reliable metro medians in New York
Data Metro areas that include part of this state and pass the reliability rule.
Use the local number
Advice Uses only what you type. A local, sourced median is easier to agree to than a national one.
How this page is built
BLS OEWS May 2025 estimates for the New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ metropolitan statistical area (CBSA 35620) and SOC 33-3021 (Detectives and Criminal Investigators). New York City is the search label for that area; BLS does not publish city-limit wages. Employment is the number of people working in the occupation (excluding the self-employed), not job openings. Ranks use only metro estimates that pass the reliability rule (500+ jobs, employment PRSE ≤ 20%, mean-wage PRSE ≤ 10%, non-degenerate distribution); suppressed values are never imputed. Searches this page answers include “crime scene investigator salary nyc” (Ahrefs, U.S.).
- Cost of living: wages are not adjusted for local prices.
- Pay at a specific employer, in one city's limits, or for self-employed workers.
- Local outlook: BLS projections here are national.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 metropolitan-area estimates (2018 SOC; metropolitan statistical areas per OMB Bulletin 23-01), public domain.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 estimates (public domain).
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections program, national occupational projections 2025–35 (no metro projections are published in this dataset).
- U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024 (released February 19, 2026).
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