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Fact check: Which federal law enforcement agency has the highest average salary in 2024?
Executive Summary
The available analyses show that the December 2024 review identifies the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) as the federal agency with the highest average (median) salary among federal law enforcement agencies, at nearly $248,000, a finding repeated across two summaries of the same December 2024 piece [1]. Several contemporaneous federal salary tables and locality-pay notes show much lower grade-based pay scales and highlight how locality adjustments, definitions of “law enforcement,” and whether figures are median, mean, base rate, or total compensation materially change comparisons [2] [3] [4].
1. What the different claims say — a quick inventory of the assertions that matter
The set of analyses contains three core claims: one reporting the CFTC tops law enforcement average pay with a median near $248,000 [1], one showing federal grade-and-step salary tables without agency-level averages and noting top grade rates around $191,900 [2], and a set of compensation tables emphasizing special law enforcement base rates and locality adjustments that yield varied top-of-scale figures [3] [4] [2]. The principal discrepancy is between an agency-level median figure and statutory pay schedules, which are not directly comparable without mapping positions and locality pay.
2. Why the CFTC figure appears and what it specifically represents
The December 2024 article cited in two analyses reports the CFTC’s median pay at nearly $248,000 and frames it as the highest average paycheck among federal law enforcement agencies [1]. That article’s language—repeating “median pay” and “nearly $248,000”—suggests the figure comes from an agency-level median compensation calculation that likely includes senior managers and investigators whose pay exceeds line-level law enforcement base rates. This agency-level median should be read as total median compensation for employees classified under the agency’s law enforcement function, not the uniform “LEO base pay” tables used elsewhere [1].
3. What the official salary tables show and why they don’t contradict the CFTC claim on the surface
Separate salary tables referenced in the analyses list statutory grade-and-step pay schedules and specific law enforcement special base rates, with top grade rates around $186,854 to $191,900 depending on locality [4] [2], and law enforcement-grade base rates that can be much lower before locality [3]. Those tables document statutory pay ceilings and locality multipliers but do not provide agency-level averages or median compensation figures, so they are not contradictory evidence; rather, they are complementary data showing how pay is structured, and why agency medians can diverge from grade ceilings [2] [4].
4. The FBI context highlights the limits of baselines versus lived pay realities
A June 2024 report notes FBI agents earning roughly $81,000–$129,000 on average and warning about retention problems in high-cost areas [5]. This demonstrates that many line-level law enforcement positions fall well below the CFTC median and that agency averages are sensitive to occupational mix, seniority, and regional pay pressures. The FBI example underlines that headline agency medians can obscure wide intra-agency variation between entry-level investigators, senior supervisors, and specialized hires [5].
5. Reconciling the different data types — median, mean, base rate, locality, and agency mix
Comparing an agency median like the CFTC’s with grade-and-step tables requires caution: median or average compensation for an agency includes bonuses, senior executive pay, and non-base awards; statutory tables show base pay by grade and locality [1] [2] [4]. The salary tables also show locality percentages that can raise grade ceilings substantially in high-cost areas [4] [2]. Therefore, the CFTC’s high median plausibly results from a concentration of senior, high-graded employees and non-uniform compensation components rather than an across-the-board higher LEO base rate [1] [2].
6. What we can reliably conclude and the open caveats that remain
Based on the provided analyses, the best-supported statement is that the CFTC had the highest reported median compensation among federal law enforcement agencies in December 2024, as reported in the December 2024 article appearing in two summaries [1]. However, this conclusion carries explicit caveats: it relies on an agency-level median that is not directly comparable to statutory grade-and-step pay tables, does not clarify whether compensation includes non-base elements, and may be sensitive to occupational composition and locality pay factors shown in the referenced salary tables [2] [3] [4].
7. Bottom line answer and recommended next steps for precision
The immediate answer to “Which federal law enforcement agency has the highest average salary in 2024?” is: the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, by the December 2024 median-pay report [1]. For a definitive, apples-to-apples comparison, obtain the underlying dataset or methodology used to compute the agency medians, compare total compensation versus base pay, and crosswalk job classifications and locality pay—only then can one reconcile the CFTC median with the statutory grade-and-step and LEO special rates documented in the salary tables [2] [4].