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How do ICE agent starting salaries in 2025 compare to 2015 and 2020 levels?
Executive Summary
The available 2025 data in the provided analyses show wide and conflicting figures for entry‑level ICE-related pay: a single GL‑7 posting at $48,371, multiple USAJOBS ranges from about $49,739 to $101,860 depending on grade and announcement, and market aggregates placing ICE Special Agent median/base pay near $98,770–$110,853 (May 2025). None of the supplied items contain verifiable 2015 or 2020 starting‑salary figures, so a direct, source‑based comparison across 2015, 2020 and 2025 cannot be established from the material provided [1] [2] [3] [4] [5].
1. Why the 2025 numbers don’t line up — recruitment notices, grade levels and job titles that confuse the picture
The set of 2025 figures in the supplied analyses comes from different document types and job titles, producing apparent contradictions. One source lists a 2025 GL‑7 entry salary of $48,371, which likely reflects a specific position and locality pay assumptions rather than an agency‑wide starting rate [1]. Two USAJOBS announcements present ranges: one shows GL‑5 to GL‑7 ranges of roughly $49,739–$89,528, while another shows $63,148–$101,860; these reflect different vacancy announcements, candidate pathways, or promotion ladders rather than a single canonical starting salary for all ICE entry hires [2] [3]. The discrepancies illustrate how grade level, appointment authority, and advertised step increases create different "starting" figures within the same hiring system, and the supplied items do not reconcile those administrative distinctions.
2. Market and statistical snapshots paint a higher‑paying picture for agents but don’t equate to official entry pay
Aggregated employer‑reported figures in the materials show substantially higher pay markers for ICE investigators and special agents: Salary.com reports an average base of $110,853 (May 2025), and a BLS‑styled median figure cited is $98,770 for ICE Special Agents as of May 2025 [4] [5]. These numbers likely represent median or mean pay across incumbents including locality pay, overtime, promotions, and seniority, not the advertised entry step for a new hire. The supplied analyses explicitly note that those datasets do not provide direct comparisons to 2015 or 2020 starting salaries, so while the market snapshots suggest ICE agents earn well above the lowest advertised GL steps in practice, they do not close the historical comparison gap [4] [5].
3. Missing historical context: none of the provided analyses include 2015 or 2020 starting figures
Every supplied analytic note repeats the same limitation: no source in the packet supplies starting salaries for 2015 or 2020, so you cannot compute year‑over‑year changes using only these materials [1] [2] [3] [6] [5] [7]. Several entries explicitly state that historical data are absent and recommend consulting OPM or other historical pay tables to determine change. The absence means any claim that 2025 starting pay is higher or lower than 2015 or 2020 cannot be substantiated from the provided evidence; doing so would require either historical vacancy announcements or official OPM/Federal pay‑scale records that are not included in this dataset [1] [3] [5].
4. Alternative explanations and likely drivers of differences in advertised versus realized pay
The materials hint at multiple administrative drivers that explain why advertised starting ranges diverge from aggregated pay figures: special salary rates, locality pay, overtime and law‑enforcement pay adjustments, and promotion pathways. A 2026 special‑rates discussion in the packet signals ongoing adjustments to law‑enforcement pay that could retroactively affect interpretation of 2025 figures [8] [9]. Meanwhile, vacancy ads for "Deportation Officer" vs. "Special Agent" roles show different ranges and qualifications, underscoring that job title matters. The supplied documents therefore point to a structurally complex federal pay picture where advertised GL steps are not the same as experienced median incomes in the agency [2] [3] [7].
5. Bottom line: what can be concluded and what remains an open question from the provided record
From the supplied analyses you can conclude that 2025 reported entry‑level figures vary widely and that contemporary pay aggregates place ICE Special Agent earnings substantially higher than certain advertised GL‑7 steps, but you cannot quantify how 2025 starting pay changed relative to 2015 or 2020 because the packet contains no verified historical starting‑salary data [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]. To complete a defensible comparison, the missing evidence would be specific 2015 and 2020 vacancy announcements or OPM historical pay tables for the relevant GL grades and locality adjustments; absent those items in this dataset, any numerical comparison across those years would be speculative rather than fact‑based.