Private Detectives and Investigators in Utah
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$46,134
after federal, FICA and Utah tax
Tax takes
$11,776
20.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$48,561
Utah costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Utah — 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
$57,910
Kept after tax
$46,134
Worth in national money
$48,561
State rank
11
of 49 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for this job is strong here. Utah's middle earner gets $57,910, putting the state 11 of 49 — about 13.06% ahead of the national figure.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 487 occupations Utah reports figures for, this is number 249.
- Utah is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $57,910 the take-home is $46,134; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $48,561 would nationally. The average comes to $59,830, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- For private detectives and investigators, Utah sits in the upper band nationally: a median of $57,910, ranking 11 of 49 and running about 13.06% above the national midpoint. Nominal advantage of this size is usually, though not always, large enough to survive the state's own tax and price levels.
- In Utah's occupational distribution, private detectives and investigators sits at 249 of 487 — 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 Utah, on $57,910, is $46,134 — equivalent to $48,561 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 $59,830 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 | $38,690 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $57,910 |
| Top tenth earn over | $89,900 |
| This salary | $57,910 |
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 Utah | $46,134 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $48,711 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$1,566 |
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 | $54,703 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$1,894 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 95 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Utah earn less than $57,910. The published range is $38,690 up to $89,900, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- That $46,134 take-home in Utah comes from $57,910. It is the no-frills case: single filer, standard deduction, nothing set aside before tax. Real circumstances almost always reduce the tax. City and school-district taxes are not counted at all. Locally the work ranks 249 of 487.
- One number stands for prices across all of Utah, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $48,561, the adjusted value of that $57,910 median, as a way to compare states fairly, not as a quote for any particular place. The two datasets are also from different years. This job sits at 249 of 487 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for private detectives and investigators in Utah the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $38,690 to $89,900. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Retained pay of $46,134, from $57,910, assumes a single Utah filer with the standard deduction and no elective deferrals. Pre-tax retirement or HSA contributions, dependants and itemized deductions all reduce it further; local income taxes, excluded here, would increase it in the states that levy them. This occupation ranks 249 of 487 locally, and the state ranks 11 of 49 for it.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Utah, so $48,561 — the adjusted value of that $57,910 median — establishes comparability between states rather than accuracy within one. The wage and parity series are dated independently, each following its own publication cycle, and neither is projected forward. This occupation sits at 249 of 487 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
No — it is the middle. Half of these workers earn more and half earn less. The average is $59,830, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $38,690 at the bottom tenth to $89,900 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
A smaller wage in a cheaper place is not automatically less. Adjusted for local prices, this is worth $48,561.
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; Utah then takes its own share, leaving $46,134.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 49 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
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 Utah is $59,830. 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 drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($38,690) and the ninetieth ($89,900) exceeds the family median dispersion. SOC codes aggregate roles differing in seniority, industry and specialisation, and BLS does not disaggregate below the detailed occupation level, so within-title variance is not separable from the published series.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Utah'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 $48,561 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 $46,134 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Utah 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.