Metro Nashville / Criminal Investigator
Role across Metro Nashville
Criminal Investigator
Inspect and investigate for compliance with regulations, document findings, and recommend action.
38 people hold the Criminal Investigator role across 4 departments in Metro Nashville, with a median total compensation of $47,787. Among 4 jurisdictions where this role is reported, Metro Nashville ranks #4 by median pay.
- Employees
- 38
- Median pay
- $47,787
- Departments
- 4
- Cross-jurisdiction
- #4 of 4
Compared with the local labor market
Criminal Investigator pay vs. the Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN area
Across all employers in the Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN area, the median wage for Detectives and Criminal Investigators — about 660 people — is $78,460. Metro Nashville pays a median base salary of $61,235 for this role, 22% below that figure — about the 14th percentile of local pay for the occupation.
Where Metro Nashville sits in the local pay range
The bar is the range of annual wages for Detectives and Criminal Investigators across every employer in the Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN area, from the 10th to the 90th percentile, with the middle 50% highlighted. The marker shows Metro Nashville’s median base salary for this role. Both figures are base pay only.
And across the country
Nationwide, the median wage for Detectives and Criminal Investigators — about 114,430 people — is $93,790. Metro Nashville’s median base salary is 35% below that national figure, about the 16th percentile of pay for the occupation nationally.
Local and national wages differ for reasons beyond how well a job pays — cost of living, the mix of employers, and local demand for the occupation all move the Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN range relative to the national one.
Computed over the 25 of 38 people in this role paid at least $25,000in base salary. The rest are part-year or part-time records, whose actual pay isn’t comparable to a full-time annual wage.
Median total compensation for this role at Metro Nashville is $47,787, which includes overtime and employer-paid benefits. The benchmark above excludes both, so total compensation is deliberately not compared against it.
Benchmark: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2025). BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) covers all employers in the area — private, non-profit, and government alike — so this is a comparison against the whole local labor market for the occupation, not against private-sector pay. OEWS wages are straight-time pay and exclude overtime, shift differentials, and employer-paid benefits, so the government figure shown here is base pay on the same basis. Total compensation is not comparable to it. Job titles are matched to the closest standard occupation, so the comparison is between similar work rather than an identical job classification.
Compare jurisdictions
Criminal Investigator pay in other jurisdictions
Where Criminal Investigators are paid most
Median total compensation for comparable Criminal Investigatorroles in other jurisdictions (highest first). Titles are matched by normalized name across sources, not by identical job classification, and pay is not cost-of-living adjusted. Each bar links to that jurisdiction’s page for this role.
Within Metro Nashville
Departments with this role
Largest Metro Nashville departments for this role
Departments in Metro Nashvilleemploying the most people in this role. Each bar links to that department’s page for the role.