Keep Factually independent
Whether you agree or disagree with our analysis, these conversations matter for democracy. We don't take money from political groups - even a $5 donation helps us keep it that way.
What are the highest and lowest paying locations for ICE agents in 2025?
Executive Summary
The sources show no single city officially designated as the absolute highest- or lowest-paying location for ICE agents in 2025; instead pay is presented as broad salary bands that vary by rank, hiring incentives, and locality adjustments, with advertised ranges roughly from mid-$40,000s up to the low six-figures depending on role and bonuses [1] [2] [3] [4]. Public notices and reporting point to the highest nominal offers appearing in senior or returning-officer packages and in high-cost cities by implication, while entry-level deportation officer postings list the lower end of the advertised pay ranges [3] [1] [2].
1. Pay ranges reported — What the postings actually list and how they differ from headlines
USAJOBS postings for Deportation Officer list base ranges that multiple analyses record as roughly $49,739 to $89,528 or alternatively $63,148 to $101,860 depending on the vacancy announcement and grade, showing that job title and announcement date drive the published band rather than a single city premium [1] [2]. Salary aggregators and job-market reporting present overlapping figures: some resources place Deportation Officer entry ranges near the lower-mid band while Special Agent or senior Immigration Officer listings show averages and top-end figures nearer to $110k–$134k in some datasets [5] [4]. These differences reflect job series (deportation officer vs. special agent vs. returning officer), grade, locality pay, and advertised hiring bonuses, not one uniform geographic hierarchy [1] [3].
2. Where reporters and advocacy groups point to “highest” pay — implied city winners
Journalistic coverage of 2025 hiring notes large signing bonuses and elevated offers for returning officers and experienced hires — e.g., $50,000 bonuses and posted annual ranges up to $171,000 for certain returning-officer packages — and suggests these packages concentrate hiring in major urban centers such as New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco, which inherently receive higher locality-adjusted pay and more vacancies [3] [6]. The reporting frames coastal megacities as likely top nominal pay locales because locality pay multipliers and cost-of-living differentials push total compensation higher there, compounded by recruitment incentives; however, the underlying official job announcements still publish ranges by grade rather than single-city salary tables [3] [6].
3. Where the “lowest” pay shows up in the record — entry-level and advertised minimums
Multiple vacancy notices and reporting identify the base or starting salary floors for some Deportation Officer announcements in the low-to-mid $40k–$60k range [1] [2] [4]. These figures appear across diverse locations but represent starting pay for the specific job series and grade, not necessarily the permanent take-home after locality pay or overtime. Analysts in the cited sources emphasize that the nominal lowest-paid postings are typically entry-level slots and that geographic variability is mostly a matter of locality adjustments and available incentives rather than fixed city-by-city pay charts [1] [4].
4. How bonuses and “returning-officer” packages skew the picture
Reporting from mid-2025 documents substantial hiring incentives — for example, new hires offered $63k–$102k plus $50k bonuses and returning officers reportedly being offered $105k–$171k plus $50k bonuses — which materially change who looks like the “highest paid” depending on whether bonuses and one-time incentives are included [3]. These figures show that headline top pay can reflect temporary recruitment structures rather than sustained locality-differential salary schedules; cities with concentrated hiring drives may bubble to the top of media lists because they host those incentive programs, which are policy choices rather than permanent pay-rate shifts [3].
5. Conflicting datasets and why they disagree — methodology matters
Salary aggregator pages and government vacancy postings use different methodologies: USAJOBS lists advertised grade bands for specific announcements, reporting outlets summarize incentives and advertised ranges in context, and private salary sites compile self-reported employee data to produce averages and maxima [1] [3] [4] [5]. This leads to apparent contradictions — e.g., one source giving a top figure near $134k for Special Agents while another lists deportation officers topping out under $90k — that are reconciled once you separate job series, grade, and bonus structures from pure locality pay [5] [2].
6. Bottom line for someone asking “which city pays most/least in 2025?”
Official postings and aggregator data do not name a single definitive highest- or lowest-paying city in 2025; instead the record shows higher nominal compensation concentrated in senior roles and in locales receiving locality pay and targeted recruitment incentives (notably large coastal metros), while entry-level deportation officer postings across many locations list the lowest advertised base ranges [1] [2] [3] [4]. For a precise city-by-city comparison one must consult the specific USAJOBS announcement (job series and grade), add locality pay tables for the locality in question, and factor in advertised hiring incentives — none of which are consolidated into a single authoritative city ranking in the provided sources [1] [3] [5].