Private Detectives and Investigators in Idaho
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$38,990
after federal, FICA and Idaho tax
Tax takes
$8,920
18.6% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$42,647
Idaho costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Idaho — roughly, since only five points along the band are published.
One filer, standard deduction, no dependants and nothing paid in before tax — the same household the rest of this page uses, so the comparison holds. City and school-district income taxes are not included.
Median here
$47,910
Kept after tax
$38,990
Worth in national money
$42,647
State rank
29
of 49 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Idaho is 29 of 49 states for this job, with a middle wage of $47,910. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 476 occupations Idaho reports figures for, this is number 305.
- Idaho is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $47,910 the take-home is $38,990; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $42,647 would nationally. The average comes to $54,530, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Idaho ranks 29 of 49 for private detectives and investigators at $47,910. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- In Idaho's occupational distribution, private detectives and investigators sits at 305 of 476 — neither quartile. This local position is what a resident compares against, and it is determined by the state's own labor market rather than by national patterns for this occupation.
- Post-tax income for private detectives and investigators in Idaho, on $47,910, is $38,990 — equivalent to $42,647 once regional price parity is applied. ⚠️ The adjustment uses a statewide index that describes no particular address; within-state price variation, concentrated in housing, routinely exceeds the difference between two states. At $54,530 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Private Detectives and Investigators
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $39,520 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $47,910 |
| Top tenth earn over | $69,710 |
| This salary | $47,910 |
Positions between the published tenth, quarter, half, three-quarter and ninetieth points are estimated by straight line.
The same pay, somewhere else
The state median for this job
| Take-home in Idaho | $38,990 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $40,676 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$789 |
The raise and the real gain point in opposite directions here.
State income tax and state price levels only. No city income tax, and no housing market.
What you would need there
The state median for this job
| To match take-home only | $45,812 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$954 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 91 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- A median is the middle, not an offer. Half of private detectives and investigators in Idaho earn under $47,910 and half over. The published range runs $39,520 at the tenth percentile to $69,710 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Idaho's $38,990, worked from $47,910. That is on purpose. It lets states be compared with each other, not with each other's family circumstances. Local city taxes are left out. Locally this work ranks 305 of 476.
- Two cautions on $42,647, the adjusted value of that $47,910 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of Idaho. No actual address matches that. The wage figures and price figures are also from different years. Each is published on its own timetable. This work sits at 305 of 476 locally.
- Figures are distribution medians for private detectives and investigators in Idaho, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $39,520 to $69,710; within-state dispersion of that width routinely exceeds the dispersion between states, so tenure, employer and metropolitan area predict an individual's pay better than geography does.
- The Idaho take-home of $38,990, on $47,910 for work ranking 305 of 476 locally, models the simplest household deliberately: holding it constant is what makes the interstate comparison meaningful. It also means the absolute figure overstates liability for most real filers, and municipal income taxes are outside the model entirely. The occupation ranks 305 of 476 in the state.
- This $42,647 adjusted figure, worked from $47,910, rests on a state-level price parity averaging over within-state dispersion larger than much of the between-state dispersion. Wage and price vintages differ by publication schedule. The result is directionally sound and not address-specific, for work at 305 of 476 in the state. The occupation ranks 305 of 476 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $54,530, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $39,520 and the top tenth $69,710, so most people doing this work in Idaho sit within a fairly tight band.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
More than the figure suggests. Prices in Idaho sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $42,647 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Four deductions, stacked. The federal layer and the two payroll taxes apply wherever you work; Idaho then takes its own share, leaving $38,990.
Why is this job missing from some states?
A blank is a suppression, not a zero. 49 states have a published figure for this work; the others had too few responses to release one.
How does the published median differ from the mean for this occupation?
The median is the midpoint of the distribution; the mean for this occupation in Idaho is $54,530. Wage distributions are right-skewed, so the mean exceeds the median wherever a minority earn substantially more. BLS publishes both because substituting one for the other misstates a typical worker's pay.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($39,520 to $69,710) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Idaho rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Idaho's regional price parity is at or below the national average, so nominal wages understate purchasing power. Take-home deflated by the state price level is $42,647 in national-average terms. The adjustment uses an all-items index and does not isolate housing.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $38,990 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Idaho income tax for a single filer with no adjustments. The state layer is levied in addition to the federal one; only its rate and base differ between states.
Why does this occupation lack published estimates in every state?
BLS suppresses estimates failing disclosure or reliability criteria. This occupation has published state-level estimates in 49 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.