# Private Detectives and Investigators

US SOC code 33-9021. Markdown version of https://futurehistory.earth/timeline/33-9021

## In brief

In May 2025, [BLS](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip) counted **35,580** US private detectives and investigators, with median pay of **$51,220** a year. Of the BLS counts since 2003, the highest was **38,700**, in May 2024. The earliest figure here is [an estimate](https://www.historydefined.net/pinkerton-detective-agency/) of **2,000** from 1920, not measured the same way as today's count. The last full technology era for private detectives and investigators: Commercial databases, Internet OSINT, and GPS tracking, 1990 to 2010.

Figures: Official statistic (latest count and pay, highest count); Researched context (earliest figure).

## What the sources say

### Official outlook

BLS projects employment to grow 5.5% from 2025 to 2035. Source: [BLS Employment Projections 2025-35](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=33-9021&ioType=o) (Official statistic).

### AI exposure studies

- **0.31** estimated probability that the whole occupation could be computerised, over an unspecified number of years. Not a forecast of job losses. [Frey and Osborne, 2013](https://oms-www.files.svdcdn.com/production/downloads/academic/The_Future_of_Employment.pdf) (Official statistic)

### Since the 2013 prediction

In 2013, Frey and Osborne put this job's probability of computerisation at 0.31. BLS counted **25,820** of these jobs in May 2013 and **35,580** in May 2025 (+38%, a change derived by Future History). Figures: Official statistic.

Data as of BLS OEWS May 2025; BLS Employment Projections 2025-35. BLS publishes these counts as yearly survey snapshots and cautions against reading them as a precise trend. In May 2021 BLS changed how it estimates these counts (a model-based method using three years of survey data) and moved fully to the 2018 occupation codes, so part of a change across 2021 can come from the method rather than the work.

## Private Detectives and Investigators employment and pay by year

- On record since: 1850
- Latest US employment: 35,580 (May 2025). Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 [3]
- Latest US median pay: $51,220 (May 2025). Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 [5]
- Outlook: +5.5% by 2035. Source: BLS Employment Projections 2025-35 [13]

### All 26 years of cited US data

| Year | US employment | Annual pay (median unless marked) | Source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1920 | 2,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., History Defined [1] |
| 1947 | 15,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., PNAI Historical Case File 001 [2] |
| 1980 | n/a | $16,000 (average) (estimate) | Est., FRASER / Bureau of Labor Statistics [4] |
| 2003 | 30,460 | $30,410 | BLS OEWS May 2003 [3] |
| 2004 | 31,220 | $32,110 | BLS OEWS May 2004 [3] |
| 2005 | 33,720 | $32,650 | BLS OEWS May 2005 [3] |
| 2006 | 35,980 | $33,750 | BLS OEWS May 2006 [3] |
| 2007 | 37,410 | $37,640 | BLS OEWS May 2007 [3] |
| 2008 | 35,820 | $41,760 | BLS OEWS May 2008 [3] |
| 2009 | 31,250 | $42,110 | BLS OEWS May 2009 [3] |
| 2010 | 28,210 | $42,870 | BLS OEWS May 2010 [3] |
| 2011 | 26,080 | $43,710 | BLS OEWS May 2011 [3] |
| 2012 | 23,390 | $45,740 | BLS OEWS May 2012 [3] |
| 2013 | 25,820 | $46,250 | BLS OEWS May 2013 [3] |
| 2014 | 26,880 | $44,570 | BLS OEWS May 2014 [3] |
| 2015 | 30,460 | $45,610 | BLS OEWS May 2015 [3] |
| 2016 | 28,490 | $48,190 | BLS OEWS May 2016 [3] |
| 2017 | 30,980 | $50,700 | BLS OEWS May 2017 [3] |
| 2018 | 30,990 | $50,090 | BLS OEWS May 2018 [3] |
| 2019 | 35,000 | $50,510 | BLS OEWS May 2019 [3] |
| 2020 | 32,200 | $53,320 | BLS OEWS May 2020 [3] |
| 2021 | 28,860 | $59,380 | BLS OEWS May 2021 [3] |
| 2022 | 32,050 | $52,120 | BLS OEWS May 2022 [3] |
| 2023 | 34,600 | $49,540 | BLS OEWS May 2023 [3] |
| 2024 | 38,700 | $52,370 | BLS OEWS May 2024 [3] |
| 2025 | 35,580 | $51,220 | BLS OEWS May 2025 [3] |

## Sources (68)

### Employment series

1. [History Defined: "The History of the Pinkerton Detective Agency: America's Premier Private Detectives" (2,000+ agents by 1920s, $2M revenues)](https://www.historydefined.net/pinkerton-detective-agency/), History Defined
2. [PNAI Historical Case File 001: In the Beginning (Pacific Northwest Association of Investigators, founded 1947, documenting the post-WWII professionalization of private investigation)](https://pnai.com/pnai-historical-case-file-001-in-the-beginning/), Pacific Northwest Association of Investigators
3. BLS OEWS, national cross-industry estimates (flat file), Bureau of Labor Statistics. Editions: [2003](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm03nat.zip), [2004](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm04nat.zip), [2005](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm05nat.zip), [2006](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm06nat.zip), [2007](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm07nat.zip), [2008](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm08nat.zip), [2009](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm09nat.zip), [2010](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm10nat.zip), [2011](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm11nat.zip), [2012](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm12nat.zip), [2013](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm13nat.zip), [2014](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm14nat.zip), [2015](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm15nat.zip), [2016](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm16nat.zip), [2017](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm17nat.zip), [2018](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm18nat.zip), [2019](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm19nat.zip), [2020](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm20nat.zip), [2021](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm21nat.zip), [2022](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm22nat.zip), [2023](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm23nat.zip), [2024](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm24nat.zip), [2025](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip)

### Wage series

4. [FRASER BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook 1980-81 Edition (BLS Bulletin No. 2075) -- private detectives earnings described; see also Working PI Magazine "Imprinted in Time" citing 1980s portable-recorder and telephoto-lens era](https://fraser.stlouisfed.org/title/occupational-outlook-handbook-3964/occupational-outlook-handbook-1980-81-edition-498765), FRASER / Bureau of Labor Statistics
5. BLS OEWS, national cross-industry estimates (flat file), Bureau of Labor Statistics. Editions: [2003](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm03nat.zip), [2004](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm04nat.zip), [2005](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm05nat.zip), [2006](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm06nat.zip), [2007](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm07nat.zip), [2008](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm08nat.zip), [2009](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm09nat.zip), [2010](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm10nat.zip), [2011](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm11nat.zip), [2012](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm12nat.zip), [2013](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm13nat.zip), [2014](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm14nat.zip), [2015](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm15nat.zip), [2016](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm16nat.zip), [2017](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm17nat.zip), [2018](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm18nat.zip), [2019](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm19nat.zip), [2020](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm20nat.zip), [2021](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm21nat.zip), [2022](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm22nat.zip), [2023](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm23nat.zip), [2024](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm24nat.zip), [2025](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip)

### Tool eras

6. [Legends of America: "Pinkerton Detective Agency -- For 150 Years" (founding, methods, scale at peak, world's largest mugshot collection)](https://www.legendsofamerica.com/pinkertons/), Legends of America
7. [Library of Congress Research Guide: Pinkerton's National Detective Agency Records (manuscript division introduction, scope of records)](https://guides.loc.gov/pinkerton-papers), Library of Congress
8. [My PSPA: "The Private Investigator" (general history article: "not until the prosperity of the 1920s did the private investigator become accessible to the average American")](https://www.mypspa.org/article/more/the-private-investigator), My PSPA
9. [Working PI Magazine: "Imprinted in Time: The Abridged History of Private Investigation" (2025, covering 1920s photography, miniature surveillance equipment, Harold Lipset)](https://workingpimag.com/2025/12/02/imprinted-in-time-the-abridged-history-of-private-investigation/), Working PI Magazine
10. [California Bureau of Security and Investigative Services (BSIS): "A Brief History" (1970s employee-registration and firearm-training requirements; workers-comp era regulation)](https://www.bsis.ca.gov/about_us/history.shtml), California Bureau of Security and Investigative Services
11. [Atlas Investigations: "The Evolution of Private Investigation: From Hoover's Era to the Digital Age" (Atlas launched 1996, digital revolution underway, public databases accessed with a click)](https://atlassrvs.com/the-evolution-of-private-investigation/), Atlas Investigations
12. [Kinsey Investigations: "The Digital Detective: How Modern Technology Is Transforming Private Investigation" (social media monitoring, GPS tracking, facial recognition, AI analytics)](https://www.kinseyinvestigations.com/the-digital-detective-how-modern-technology-is-transforming-private-investigation/), Kinsey Investigations

### Forecasts and exposure studies

13. [BLS Employment Projections 2025-35, National Employment Matrix: 33-9021 Private detectives and investigators (2025: 39.5 thousand; 2035: 41.7 thousand; +5.5%)](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=33-9021&ioType=o), Bureau of Labor Statistics
14. [Frey & Osborne (2013), "The Future of Employment: How Susceptible Are Jobs to Computerisation?", Appendix (SOC 33-9021 Private Detectives and Investigators: probability 0.31, rank 243 of 702)](https://oms-www.files.svdcdn.com/production/downloads/academic/The_Future_of_Employment.pdf), Oxford Martin School, University of Oxford

### Historical notes

15. [Legends of America: "Pinkerton Detective Agency -- For 150 Years" (founding, methods, early scale)](https://www.legendsofamerica.com/pinkertons/), Legends of America
16. [PNAI: "PNAI Historical Case File 001: In the Beginning" (Kate Warne, first female private detective, 1856)](https://pnai.com/pnai-historical-case-file-001-in-the-beginning/), Pacific Northwest Association of Investigators
17. [Wikipedia: "Anti-Pinkerton Act of 1893" (passage, text, Homestead Strike context)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-Pinkerton_Act_of_1893), Wikipedia
18. [California BSIS: "A Brief History" (1915 Detective Licensing Board founding, regulatory milestones through 1986)](https://www.bsis.ca.gov/about_us/history.shtml), California Bureau of Security and Investigative Services
19. [WAD: "About W.A.D. -- Global Association of Detectives Since 1925" (founding year, organizational scope)](https://wad.net/about-us/), World Association of Detectives
20. [Working PI Magazine: "Imprinted in Time: The Abridged History of Private Investigation" (2025, Gideon v. Wainwright 1963 establishing defendants' right to investigative resources)](https://workingpimag.com/2025/12/02/imprinted-in-time-the-abridged-history-of-private-investigation/), Working PI Magazine
21. [History Defined: "The History of the Pinkerton Detective Agency" (acquired by Securitas AB 1999)](https://www.historydefined.net/pinkerton-detective-agency/), History Defined

### Predecessors & successors

22. [BLS OOH -- Private Detectives and Investigators (work experience in law enforcement is the most common entry path; many PIs are retired police officers)](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/protective-service/private-detectives-and-investigators.htm), Bureau of Labor Statistics

### Present-day analysis

- [Eloundou et al. 2024 — GPTs are GPTs (Science)](https://arxiv.org/abs/2303.10130), accessed 2026-05-21
- [O\*NET 30.3 — US Department of Labor](https://www.onetcenter.org/database.html), accessed 2026-05-21

How to read these figures: https://futurehistory.earth/methodology. Every figure links to its own source; gaps stay gaps.