Private Detectives and Investigators Salary — Portland, Oregon

The average Private Detectives and Investigators in Portland, Oregon earns $77,440 a year.

$77,440 / year, mean
↑ 26.9% above national average 67th percentile in Oregon

Portland sits roughly in the middle of the pack for this role within Oregon — neither a standout nor a laggard. That's a substantial premium — this metro pays far more for private detectives and investigators than the U.S. average. Cost of living here is close to the national average — not a major factor either way. This is a high-confidence estimate, based on a large sample of reported wages.

Percentile within Oregon

0th 50th 100th
Employment (this metro)
270
Estimate confidence
RSE 2.1%
Cost of living 105 #21 most expensive of 188 cities in this dataset 100 = U.S. average · Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024
Crime index 2419 #180 safest of 188 cities in this dataset Per 100k residents · Source: FBI Crime Data Explorer
Median home value $552,022 #24 priciest of 188 cities in this dataset Source: zillow_real
Median household income $94,573 #19 highest of 188 cities in this dataset Source: Census Bureau ACS 5-year

Combining these four figures gives a fuller picture than salary alone: Portland ranks #21 for cost of living and #24 for home prices among the 188 cities in this pilot dataset, which matters as much as the headline salary number when comparing where to live.

San Francisco $78,960 Salem $78,540 Portland $77,440 Seattle $77,230 San Jose $77,160 New York $71,950 Chicago $68,020 Los Angeles $67,920 Harrisburg $67,380 Eugene $65,860 Vallejo $64,790 Kiryas Joel $64,270 Visalia $63,810 Richmond $63,490 Deltona $63,060 Dallas $62,630 Spokane $62,220 Olympia $62,180 Philadelphia $62,090 Stockton $61,260 Riverside $61,050 San Antonio $60,730 San Diego $60,370 Modesto $60,200 Oxnard $59,960 Rochester $59,380 Albany $59,320 Miami $58,660 Buffalo $58,470 Sacramento $58,440 Beaumont $57,630 Louisville $56,040 Houston $55,970 Pensacola $55,930 Crestview $55,560 Port St. Lucie $55,200 Tampa $54,910 Sarasota $54,880 Tyler $54,790 Detroit $54,780 Tallahassee $54,490 Gainesville $54,140 Grand Rapids $53,830 Fort Myers $53,650 Pittsburgh $53,540 Ocala $53,460 Panama City $53,370 Corpus Christi $53,070 Indianapolis $52,750 Allentown $52,640 Jacksonville $52,210 Orlando $51,930 Fresno $51,350 Reading $51,150 Lakeland $50,870 Bakersfield $50,310 Syracuse $50,220 Scranton $50,060 Evansville $49,840 Lexington $49,380 Palm Bay $48,730 Virginia Beach $48,290 Lansing $46,930 Fort Wayne $46,820 McAllen $46,240 Lubbock $45,660 El Paso $44,450
CityMean salaryvs. Portland
Albany, New York$59,320-23.4%
Allentown, Pennsylvania$52,640-32.0%
Bakersfield, California$50,310-35.0%
Beaumont, Texas$57,630-25.6%
Buffalo, New York$58,470-24.5%
Fort Myers, Florida$53,650-30.7%
Chicago, Illinois$68,020-12.2%
Corpus Christi, Texas$53,070-31.5%
Crestview, Florida$55,560-28.3%
Dallas, Texas$62,630-19.1%
Deltona, Florida$63,060-18.6%
Detroit, Michigan$54,780-29.3%
El Paso, Texas$44,450-42.6%
Eugene, Oregon$65,860-15.0%
Evansville, Indiana$49,840-35.6%
Fort Wayne, Indiana$46,820-39.5%
Fresno, California$51,350-33.7%
Gainesville, Florida$54,140-30.1%
Grand Rapids, Michigan$53,830-30.5%
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania$67,380-13.0%
Houston, Texas$55,970-27.7%
Indianapolis, Indiana$52,750-31.9%
Jacksonville, Florida$52,210-32.6%
Kiryas Joel, New York$64,270-17.0%
Lakeland, Florida$50,870-34.3%
Lansing, Michigan$46,930-39.4%
Lexington, Kentucky$49,380-36.2%
Los Angeles, California$67,920-12.3%
Louisville, Kentucky$56,040-27.6%
Lubbock, Texas$45,660-41.0%
McAllen, Texas$46,240-40.3%
Miami, Florida$58,660-24.3%
Modesto, California$60,200-22.3%
New York, New York$71,950-7.1%
Sarasota, Florida$54,880-29.1%
Ocala, Florida$53,460-31.0%
Olympia, Washington$62,180-19.7%
Orlando, Florida$51,930-32.9%
Oxnard, California$59,960-22.6%
Palm Bay, Florida$48,730-37.1%
Panama City, Florida$53,370-31.1%
Pensacola, Florida$55,930-27.8%
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania$62,090-19.8%
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania$53,540-30.9%
Port St. Lucie, Florida$55,200-28.7%
Reading, Pennsylvania$51,150-33.9%
Richmond, Virginia$63,490-18.0%
Riverside, California$61,050-21.2%
Rochester, New York$59,380-23.3%
Sacramento, California$58,440-24.5%
Salem, Oregon$78,540+1.4%
San Antonio, Texas$60,730-21.6%
San Diego, California$60,370-22.0%
San Francisco, California$78,960+2.0%
San Jose, California$77,160-0.4%
Scranton, Pennsylvania$50,060-35.4%
Seattle, Washington$77,230-0.3%
Spokane, Washington$62,220-19.7%
Stockton, California$61,260-20.9%
Syracuse, New York$50,220-35.1%
Tallahassee, Florida$54,490-29.6%
Tampa, Florida$54,910-29.1%
Tyler, Texas$54,790-29.2%
Vallejo, California$64,790-16.3%
Virginia Beach, Virginia$48,290-37.6%
Visalia, California$63,810-17.6%

This metro area spans more than one state — where you actually pay income tax depends on where you work, not just where BLS assigns the area. Choose your work state:

Gross salary
77,440/yr
Estimated take-home
57,809/yr
Est. total withheld
25.4%

Single filer, federal + state tax (where the selected state levies one) + FICA, 2025 rates, for whichever state you select above. Does not include state-specific payroll withholdings beyond income tax (see Data transparency). Not tax advice — verify with a professional.

View cost of living in this state All Private Detectives and Investigators salaries in Oregon → All Private Detectives and Investigators salaries →
Community reality check

Community reality check for Portland

These notes add local color around Portland, Oregon: comfort ranges, budget constraints and location trade-offs reported in public discussions.

Relocation gap2.0× calculator gap
City comparison anecdotal

Discussion highlights that calculators may imply roughly 2x gross income for comparable standard of living, while some employers offer only about 10% location premiums. Tech total compensation can be an exception, so the page should distinguish salary from total compensation.

2.0×calculator multiplier10%HCOL premium cited$200KAtlanta TC example$450KBay Area TC example

Anecdotal public-discussion signals, not official salary data, rent data or financial advice. Read this alongside the official figures on the page.

Data transparency

Sources used for this page

Official occupation and area metadata behind the visible salary, cost, housing and safety signals.

Occupation 33-9021 SOC code
Official area Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA BLS metro/geographic area
Area code 38900 Stable geographic key
Reference year 2025 BLS OEWS
Cost: bea_realHousing: zillow_realCrime: latest availableNet-pay source: or_dor_verificado 2025
Metro also includes
VancouverHillsboro
Multi-state area: OR;WA
Methodology

How this page is built

The salary figure is the mean annual wage reported by the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) program for this occupation and metro area. Percentile and national-average comparisons are calculated directly from the 188 cities currently in this dataset, not from a fixed external benchmark. Cost of living, crime and housing figures come from BEA, FBI and Zillow respectively — see "Data transparency" above for the exact sources and reference years used on this specific page.

Confidence: the RSE (relative standard error) shown under Overview indicates how reliable the salary estimate is for this metro — a lower RSE means a larger underlying sample.

On this page

Where this is

AK HI

Highlighted: Oregon

Population (metro area)
2,510,529