Best Cities for Detectives and Criminal Investigatorss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where detectives and criminal investigatorss get the most value from their salary after accounting for cost of living. A score above 1.00 means better than national average.

How we calculate this: City Score = (Local Salary ÷ National Median) ÷ (Local Cost ÷ National Avg Cost). A score of 1.20 means 20% better purchasing power than average.

#	Location	Score	Raw Salary	Adjusted Salary	Rent/Income
1	District of ColumbiaState	1.50	$160,760	$140,647	16%
2	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.48	$156,750	$138,963	15%
3	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.41	$158,640	$131,980	24%
4	DelawareState	1.29	$122,050	$120,842	13%
5	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	1.29	$128,440	$121,399	16%
6	MarylandState	1.24	$126,730	$116,053	16%
7	CaliforniaState	1.20	$124,840	$112,773	22%
8	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.18	$119,350	$110,714	18%
9	AlaskaState	1.17	$114,940	$110,201	14%
10	NebraskaState	1.17	$100,530	$109,869	12%
11	West VirginiaState	1.17	$92,410	$109,751	11%
12	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	1.17	$127,890	$109,777	21%
13	VirginiaState	1.16	$112,760	$108,947	17%
14	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.16	$123,820	$108,329	21%
15	WashingtonState	1.15	$115,790	$107,912	20%
16	New JerseyState	1.14	$116,300	$106,893	19%
17	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.12	$95,820	$105,066	15%
18	OregonState	1.11	$107,450	$104,320	18%
19	VermontState	1.11	$106,330	$103,737	16%
20	HawaiiState	1.10	$113,940	$103,582	25%
21	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.10	$95,120	$102,832	15%
22	ArizonaState	1.08	$102,340	$101,427	18%
23	MassachusettsState	1.08	$110,150	$101,521	25%
24	ColoradoState	1.07	$105,480	$100,076	21%
25	PennsylvaniaState	1.07	$97,580	$100,598	16%
26	MichiganState	1.05	$90,650	$98,212	15%
27	WisconsinState	1.05	$91,040	$98,635	14%
28	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.05	$91,490	$98,588	17%
29	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.03	$110,150	$97,048	28%
30	MontanaState	1.02	$92,410	$95,861	15%
31	NevadaState	1.01	$94,470	$94,281	18%
32	New MexicoState	1.01	$86,840	$94,391	14%
33	TexasState	1.01	$90,510	$94,676	18%
34	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.01	$97,580	$94,280	20%
35	IllinoisState	1.00	$91,190	$93,624	17%
36	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	1.00	$92,420	$93,827	22%
37	OklahomaState	0.97	$80,430	$90,881	14%
38	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.97	$99,080	$91,318	25%
39	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	0.97	$83,830	$91,120	19%
40	New YorkState	0.96	$101,240	$89,991	22%
41	IowaState	0.95	$79,560	$89,193	14%
42	North DakotaState	0.95	$82,290	$88,866	14%
43	ConnecticutState	0.94	$95,240	$88,513	20%
44	MaineState	0.94	$88,310	$88,487	18%
45	OhioState	0.94	$79,300	$87,721	16%
46	Rhode IslandState	0.94	$88,450	$88,010	20%
47	WyomingState	0.94	$81,880	$88,043	14%
48	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.94	$86,110	$88,591	22%
49	MissouriState	0.91	$75,650	$85,384	16%
50	South DakotaState	0.91	$77,730	$85,606	15%
51	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	0.91	$85,300	$85,729	21%
52	KansasState	0.90	$75,740	$84,156	16%
53	New HampshireState	0.90	$89,290	$84,236	21%
54	TennesseeState	0.90	$77,090	$84,251	20%
55	Columbus, OHMetro	0.90	$79,000	$84,492	20%
56	MinnesotaState	0.87	$80,000	$81,633	19%
57	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.87	$78,460	$81,559	24%
58	KentuckyState	0.86	$71,670	$80,983	16%
59	UtahState	0.84	$78,920	$78,762	23%
60	IndianaState	0.83	$70,340	$77,724	18%
61	AlabamaState	0.81	$66,290	$76,108	17%
62	FloridaState	0.81	$77,060	$75,921	27%
63	IdahoState	0.80	$72,520	$75,150	20%
64	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	0.80	$71,460	$74,593	25%
65	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	0.77	$69,900	$72,211	28%
66	GeorgiaState	0.75	$65,430	$70,054	26%
67	MississippiState	0.74	$58,640	$69,151	18%
68	South CarolinaState	0.73	$62,760	$68,217	24%
69	LouisianaState	0.72	$60,450	$67,092	21%
70	North CarolinaState	0.71	$63,280	$67,034	25%
71	ArkansasState	0.67	$54,500	$63,152	19%

Data Sources: Salary: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS). Cost of Living: BEA Regional Price Parities (2024). Rent: HUD Fair Market Rents (FY2025).