According to the State of Virginia’s Labor Market Information website, the range of salaries for detectives, homicide detectives, criminologists and criminal investigators in Virginia is between $48,383 at the entry level and $107,144 at the experienced level. That’s a large gap, but the median salary statewide is pretty much in the middle at $79,830. The highest paying area in the state is the metropolitan area of Washington, Arlington, and Alexandria. There, the median salary is $116,201 with those in the experienced category earning in excess of $130,000 per year.
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Below is a look at how criminal investigator salaries compare by city:
Richmond
- Entry: $46,989
- Median: $69,472
- Experience: $91,299
Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Newport News
- Entry: $46,621
- Median: $75,491
- Experience: $96,236
Lynchburg
- Entry: $48,444
- Median: $75,727
- Experience: $84,185
Roanoke
- Entry: $45,776
- Median: $66,603
- Experience: $85,681
Charlottesville
- Entry: $42,886
- Median: $60,489
- Experience: $80,032
For comparison, the table shown here provides further salary information for criminal investigators and detectives in Virginia as reported by the US Department of Labor: