State Investigator Family
Career series with 8 positions across 4 levels
State Investigator is a career-ladder family in New Jersey civil service, with 8 titles spanning 4 levels.
Entry is typically through State Investigator 1, Law and Public Safety, advancing through the ladder toward State Investigator 4, Law and Public Safety. Pay across the family spans $63,663 to $148,187, around the 78th percentile of all civil service job families by top pay. State payroll records show 117 people across the family's titles, most concentrated at Law and Public Safety.
State Investigator is closely related to Investigator.
Specializations
Positions in This Family
- STATE INVESTIGATOR 1, LAW AND PUBLIC SAFETY (56316) $66,592 - $97,354/year
- STATE INVESTIGATOR 1, LAW AND PUBLIC SAFETY (56317) $63,663 - $92,953/year
- STATE INVESTIGATOR 2, LAW AND PUBLIC SAFETY (56322) $76,287 - $111,856/year
- STATE INVESTIGATOR 2, LAW AND PUBLIC SAFETY (56323) $72,896 - $106,798/year
- STATE INVESTIGATOR 3, LAW AND PUBLIC SAFETY (56325) $87,507 - $128,719/year
- STATE INVESTIGATOR 3, LAW AND PUBLIC SAFETY (56326) $83,582 - $122,832/year
- STATE INVESTIGATOR 4, LAW AND PUBLIC SAFETY (56327) $100,498 - $148,187/year
- STATE INVESTIGATOR 4, LAW AND PUBLIC SAFETY (56328) $95,955 - $141,386/year
What the State Investigator family covers
State Investigator covers 8 title codes arranged into 4 levels of responsibility. Every title in it is a state title, so the employer is a state department, commission or authority rather than a county or municipality.
Sworn and investigative titles sit apart from the rest of civil service. They carry their own salary schedules, their own unions and, in most cases, an academy requirement and a medical and psychological screen on top of the exam. Rank is handled by moving between titles rather than by moving up a range, so the ladder here is a sequence of separate classifications. New Jersey also runs a large civilian investigative service alongside the sworn forces, and those titles follow ordinary competitive rules even though the work overlaps.
The ladder, ordered by pay
The State Investigator rungs, listed from the best paid down. Here the numbering happens to agree with the pay order, which is not guaranteed elsewhere in New Jersey's plan.
- State Investigator 4, Law and Public Safety — $100,498 to $148,187 (a bachelor's degree and 5 years of experience)
- State Investigator 4, Law and Public Safety — $95,955 to $141,386 (a bachelor's degree and 5 years of experience)
- State Investigator 3, Law and Public Safety — $87,507 to $128,719 (a bachelor's degree and 4 years of experience)
- State Investigator 3, Law and Public Safety — $83,582 to $122,832 (a bachelor's degree and 4 years of experience)
- State Investigator 2, Law and Public Safety — $76,287 to $111,856 (a bachelor's degree and 3 years of experience)
- State Investigator 2, Law and Public Safety — $72,896 to $106,798 (a bachelor's degree and 3 years of experience)
- State Investigator 1, Law and Public Safety — $66,592 to $97,354 (a bachelor's degree and 1 year of experience)
- State Investigator 1, Law and Public Safety — $63,663 to $92,953 (a bachelor's degree and 1 year of experience)
The distance from the bottom of State Investigator 1, Law and Public Safety to the top of State Investigator 4, Law and Public Safety is $84,524, an increase of about 133% over the entry minimum.
What each title does
Reading the definitions side by side is the quickest way to see what changes as you move through the family.
- State Investigator 1, Law and Public Safety: Under the close supervision of a State Investigator 4 or other supervisory official in the Division of Gaming…
- State Investigator 2, Law and Public Safety: Under the limited supervision of a State Investigator 4 or other supervisory official in the Division of Gaming…
- State Investigator 3, Law and Public Safety: Under the general supervision of the State Investigator 4 or other supervisory official in the Division of Gaming…
- State Investigator 4, Law and Public Safety: Under the direction of the Administrator of Investigations or other supervisory official in the Division of Gaming…
Requirements across the family
Across the 8 titles we have parsed, the education requirements read as a bachelor's degree on 8 of them. Stated experience runs from 1 year at the lowest rung to 5 at the highest, which is the main thing separating one level from the next.
On how the jobs are filled: 8 are unclassified, which means appointment at the employer's discretion and salary set individually.
Who actually employs these titles
State payroll records show 117 people working under 4 of this family's titles, spread across 1 agency. Law and Public Safety alone accounts for about 100% of them.
- Law and Public Safety — 117 employees
Median actual pay varies across the family, from $67,170 for State Investigator 1, Law and Public Safety up to $123,437 for State Investigator 4, Law and Public Safety. Those are medians of what people are really paid, not schedule minimums and maximums.
State payroll only, deduplicated by payroll title; local employers file separately, so a family with local codes looks smaller here than it is. How this is counted.
How the pay is set
Titles in this family are paid on the V-W-Y salary schedule. See every step in that schedule.
Where these jobs exist
These are state titles, hired by New Jersey departments, commissions and boards through the Civil Service Commission's announcement and eligible list process rather than by an ordinary job posting. How state hiring works, and which agencies employ what.
Related titles elsewhere in the plan
Other classifications built on the same terms as State Investigator. Worth checking if this family has no current opening.
- Special Investigator, State Lottery ($60,876 to $88,743, state jurisdiction)
- Chief of Detectives - State Investigator — in the Chief family
- Supervising Special Investigator, State Lottery ($87,507 to $128,719, state jurisdiction)
- State Investigator Trainee, Law and Public Safety (state jurisdiction)
- State Investigator Trainee, Law and Public Safety ($58,222 to $60,876, state jurisdiction)
- Detective 1 State Investigator Law & Public Safety ($55,439 to $79,490, state jurisdiction) — in the Detective family
Common questions about State Investigator jobs
How many State Investigator titles are there in New Jersey civil service?
The State Investigator family holds 8 title codes arranged across 4 levels. Each code is a separate classification with its own published specification, requirements and salary treatment.
What does a State Investigator earn in New Jersey?
Published salary data for this family runs from $63,663 at the bottom of State Investigator 1, Law and Public Safety to $148,187 at the top of State Investigator 4, Law and Public Safety. Those are schedule figures. Where the title appears on the state payroll, actual median pay is listed on the page above.
Do you need to take an exam to become a State Investigator?
Mostly no. 8 of the 8 titles here are unclassified, so appointment is at the employer's discretion rather than from an eligible list, and salary is set individually rather than by a published step. That also makes cross-agency salary comparison less reliable for these titles.
What qualifications does a State Investigator need?
The most common education requirement in this family is a bachelor's degree, named on 8 of the 8 titles. Stated experience ranges from 1 to 5 years depending on the rung. Read the individual specification for the exact wording, including any experience substitution.
Which agencies employ State Investigator staff?
State payroll records show 117 people in this family across 1 agency, with Law and Public Safety the largest at 117. Local government employers are not covered by that extract.