SOC 33-3021 · Protective Service Occupations · May 2025

How much do Detectives and Criminal Investigators make in New Orleans-Metairie, LA?

In the May 2025 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics estimates, released May 15, 2026, the median annual wage for Detectives and Criminal Investigators in New Orleans-Metairie, LA is $62,430. The 10th percentile is $39,020 and the 90th percentile is $162,450. Employment is 450.

Median annual wage

$62,430

10th percentile
$39,020
25th percentile
$47,610
Median
$62,430
75th percentile
$110,760
90th percentile
$162,450
Mean
$84,230

Annual wage from the May 2025 OEWS estimates.

A transit bus driver standing beside a bus at a rest stop in Denali
Denali transit bus driver Gary at Teklanika Rest Stop, August 29, 2019. Photograph by Emily Mesner, National Park Service. Wikimedia Commons · Public domain

Percentile spread

For Detectives and Criminal Investigators, the published 10th percentile is $39,020 and the 90th percentile is $162,450. The difference is $123,430, which is 197.7% of the median. Ten percent of measured wages fall below the 10th percentile and ten percent fall above the 90th. How to read a percentile.

The middle half of the distribution, from the 25th percentile at $47,610 to the 75th at $110,760, covers $63,150.

The mean annual wage is $84,230, which sits above the median of $62,430. Median and mean measure different points in the same distribution.

National and state comparison

The New Orleans-Metairie, LA median is 33.4% lower than the national median of $93,790 for Detectives and Criminal Investigators. In 2024 national prices the local median is $67,421, which is 28.1% lower than that same national median. The national figure is already in national prices because the United States parity is 100.

It is 3.3% higher than the Louisiana median of $60,450.

Price-adjusted pay

The 2024 all-items regional price parity for New Orleans-Metairie, LA is 92.597, with the United States at 100. The Bureau of Economic Analysis released those parities on February 19, 2026. Dividing the May 2025 median of $62,430 by that parity and multiplying by 100 puts Detectives and Criminal Investigators at $67,421 in national prices. The wage year and the price year are different. Compare this wage after prices.

Nearby metros

10 other metropolitan areas within 200 miles publish a annual median for Detectives and Criminal Investigators. New Orleans-Metairie, LA ranks 5th of 11 on that median, counting itself. Distance is the great-circle mileage between Census Bureau internal points (U.S. Census Bureau, 2024 Gazetteer Files, Core Based Statistical Areas, internal points (INTPTLAT, INTPTLONG).).

  • Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux, LA is 76 miles away, with a median of $48,270 and employment of 120. That median is 22.7% lower than the median here. In 2024 national prices it is $56,720, against $67,421 here.
  • Slidell-Mandeville-Covington, LA is 81 miles away, with a median of $74,990 and employment of 40. That median is 20.1% higher than the median here. In 2024 national prices it is $80,873, against $67,421 here.
  • Gulfport-Biloxi, MS is 90 miles away, with a median of $57,060 and employment of 170. That median is 8.6% lower than the median here. In 2024 national prices it is $63,396, against $67,421 here.

Employment share

Detectives and Criminal Investigators accounts for 0.10% of wage-and-salary employment in New Orleans-Metairie, LA (450 of 445,550). Nationally the occupation is 0.07% of employment (114,430 of 155,495,730). The local share is 1.37 times the national share. That ratio is the location quotient computed from these May 2025 employment counts. It is not copied from the location-quotient column in the BLS bulk file.

Highest-paying jobs in New Orleans-Metairie, LA · Detectives and Criminal Investigators by metro · How to read these percentiles · Median and mean · When a wage is not published · How the figures are made · Compare this wage after prices

Questions this page answers

How much do Detectives and Criminal Investigators make in New Orleans-Metairie, LA?

In the May 2025 OEWS estimates, released May 15, 2026, the median annual wage for Detectives and Criminal Investigators in New Orleans-Metairie, LA is $62,430. The 10th percentile is $39,020 and the 90th percentile is $162,450. Employment is 450.

How does that compare with the national median for Detectives and Criminal Investigators?

The local median is 33.4% lower than the national median of $93,790.

What is Detectives and Criminal Investigators pay in New Orleans-Metairie, LA after local prices?

The 2024 all-items regional price parity for New Orleans-Metairie, LA is 92.597, with the United States at 100. In those national prices, the May 2025 median of $62,430 is $67,421. The wage is May 2025 and the parity is 2024.

How does New Orleans-Metairie, LA compare with nearby metros for Detectives and Criminal Investigators?

Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux, LA is the closest metropolitan area within 200 miles with a published annual median, 76 miles away, at $48,270. New Orleans-Metairie, LA ranks 5th of 11 metros within 200 miles on that median. Distances use Census Bureau internal points.