How Much Do Forensic Psychologists Make?
The forensic psychology field has received more publicity in recent years with such television shows as Criminal Minds and many others. This is part of the reason more students are considering a Ph.D. in forensic psychology.
The American Psychological Association (APA) describes forensic psychology as applying clinical specialties to legal subjects. This stresses the application of clinical psychological principles to the forensic environment. This field also is defined as the application of research and experimentation to other parts of psychology, including cognitive and social, to the legal field. This could be the application of results from studies in areas of cognitive psychology to legal questions. (APA.org)
Forensic psychologists focus on these areas:
- Research: Develop and administer research in the field on topics related to the legal system. For instance, you may perform research about how reliable eyewitness testimony is, or how misidentification in police lineups can happen from witness tainting.
- Evaluation: This can be performed for a court or the litigants. Many legal cases need a psychological evaluation for a binding legal decision to be made. For instance, whether the defendant that was convicted of a sex crime must register as a sex offender depends on a psychological assessment – is the person a sexual predator? Or, a child custody decision may not be made by the judge until a decision has been made by a forensic psychologist looking at the parents, and determining if any abuse has occurred.
- Consultation: This is normally done for attorneys who are handling a criminal or civil case. The type of consulting can change, but it generally involves assisting the client in obtaining the desired outcome in the court case.
Duties of a forensic psychologist also can include:
- Evaluating insurance claims
- Providing psychotherapy in family court
- Performing visitation risk assessments
- Investigating potential child abuse cases
To work as a forensic psychologist, it is required to earn a Ph.D. or Psy.D. in the field. You also must have at least two years of supervised professional experience. One year of this must be an APA-accredited predoctoral internship.
SEE ALSO: Online PhD in Forensic Psychology Degree Programs
Becoming a forensic psychologist requires a lot of time and study, so knowing what a forensic psychologist makes is an important part of your career decision process. Below is detailed forensic psychologist salary information.
Forensic Psychologist Salary Information
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) is an excellent source of salary information for psychologists. It reports the median salary for psychologists in general is $92,740. The lowest 10% earn $52,430 and below, and the top 10% earn a salary that starts at $151,880 per year. These numbers include many types of psychologists at various levels of education. If you have your PhD in forensic psychology, you should expect a salary well above the median.
The BLS also reports salary data for several specific categories of psychologists, and the one that includes forensic psychologists is all other psychologists. The BLS keeps detailed salary information about this category:
- Bottom 25% salary – $76,550 and lower
- Median salary – $117,750
- Average salary – $110,300
- Top 25% salary – $138,280 and higher
- Top 10% salary – $157,420 and higher
Within the all other psychologists category, the BLS also tracks data by type of workplace. We can discern several sectors that are particularly relevant for forensic psychologists, listed here with their average salaries for this career category:
- Scientific research and development services – $131,220
- Local government, excluding schools and hospitals – $118,690
- Specialty hospitals – $118,280
- Federal, state, and local government, excluding schools and hospitals – $117,690
- Federal government – $117,690
- General hospitals – $96,800
- State government, excluding schools and hospitals – $92,460
- Colleges, universities, and professional schools – $75,320
- Psychiatric and substance abuse hospitals – $73,090
State level data is also available for the all other psychologists category, the classification that includes forensic psychologists, listed here by average salary:
| Hourly Salary | Annual Salary | |
| California | $64.60 | $134,360 |
| Hawaii | $60.48 | $125,790 |
| Oregon | $60.16 | $125,130 |
| Nevada | $59.93 | $124,650 |
| Massachusetts | $58.99 | $122,690 |
| Texas | $57.71 | $120,040 |
| Wisconsin | $56.08 | $116,640 |
| South Carolina | $55.86 | $116,200 |
| Virginia | $55.55 | $115,540 |
| New Jersey | $55.21 | $114,830 |
| Alabama | $55.10 | $114,600 |
| Ohio | $55.08 | $114,570 |
| Connecticut | $54.19 | $112,720 |
| Kansas | $54.01 | $112,340 |
| District of Columbia | $53.84 | $111,990 |
| Georgia | $53.84 | $111,980 |
| Maryland | $53.70 | $111,700 |
| North Carolina | $53.46 | $111,190 |
| Kentucky | $53.15 | $110,560 |
| Florida | $53.12 | $110,490 |
| South Dakota | $53.12 | $110,490 |
| Washington | $53.04 | $110,330 |
| North Dakota | $52.61 | $109,430 |
| Colorado | $51.94 | $108,040 |
| New York | $51.03 | $106,150 |
| Missouri | $50.74 | $105,540 |
| Arizona | $50.47 | $104,980 |
| Tennessee | $50.31 | $104,650 |
| New Hampshire | $50.25 | $104,510 |
| New Mexico | $49.49 | $102,950 |
| Pennsylvania | $49.36 | $102,670 |
| Rhode Island | $48.70 | $101,290 |
| Montana | $48.45 | $100,780 |
| Utah | $48.37 | $100,610 |
| Iowa | $47.86 | $99,550 |
| Illinois | $46.69 | $97,100 |
| Oklahoma | $46.39 | $96,480 |
| Maine | $46.19 | $96,080 |
| Idaho | $45.14 | $93,890 |
| Arkansas | $44.71 | $92,990 |
| Louisiana | $44.56 | $92,690 |
| Mississippi | $41.31 | $85,930 |
| Minnesota | $40.71 | $84,670 |
| Michigan | $38.83 | $80,760 |
| West Virginia | $28.15 | $58,550 |
Job Outlook for Forensic Psychologists
The BLS details that the job outlook for psychologists overall is strong. It reports a 7% increase in these jobs generally between 2023 and 2033, which is nearly double the average rate for all jobs of 4%.
For the all other psychologists category that includes forensic psychologists, the projected job growth rate is 5%.
A state-by-state analysis of projected job increase rates for all other psychologists is as follows for the period between 2022 and 2032:
| Alaska | 25% |
| Utah | 22.2% |
| Nevada | 19.2% |
| Texas | 15.9% |
| Wisconsin | 15.9% |
| Tennessee | 15.8% |
| Florida | 15.7% |
| Connecticut | 14.8% |
| Washington | 14.2% |
| New York | 13.7% |
| North Carolina | 13.5% |
| New Jersey | 12.1% |
| New Mexico | 12.1% |
| Arizona | 11.9% |
| Colorado | 11.8% |
| Iowa | 11.1% |
| Virginia | 10.8% |
| Vermont | 10.7% |
| Louisiana | 10.1% |
| Arkansas | 9.7% |
| Idaho | 9.5% |
| Massachusetts | 9.1% |
| South Carolina | 9.1% |
| Rhode Island | 8.8% |
| Oregon | 8.6% |
| Maryland | 8.5% |
| Georgia | 8.2% |
| Missouri | 7.4% |
| California | 7.3% |
| Mississippi | 6.7% |
| New Hampshire | 6.7% |
| Wyoming | 6.3% |
| Ohio | 5.6% |
| Pennsylvania | 5.5% |
| Oklahoma | 5.1% |
| Indiana | 4.8% |
| Alabama | 4.6% |
| District of Columbia | 4.4% |
| Minnesota | 4.4% |
| Kentucky | 4% |
| Michigan | 3.8% |
| Maine | 3.4% |
| Kansas | 2.7% |
| West Virginia | 2.4% |
| Illinois | 0% |
| Montana | 0% |
| Nebraska | 0% |
| North Dakota | 0% |
| South Dakota | 0% |
SEE ALSO: Salary Outlook with a PhD in Forensic Psychology Degree
Forensic psychology has grown in prominence and popularity in part because of sensationalist portrayals of the field in movies and TV programs. These characterizations of the career are sometimes inaccurate.
These psychologists may be portrayed as expert criminal profilers who can detect what a criminal could do next. However, forensic psychologists usually practice psychology as a science in the civil courts and criminal justice system.
Summary
Given the strong job growth for psychologists generally, there is good job potential for forensic psychologists with a doctoral degree in the future. Salaries for this field are quite competitive once you have earned your PhD or Psy.D. Law enforcement agencies and the legal system have learned that hiring forensic psychologists or using them as experts in trials can increase the odds of prevailing before a judge.
SEE ALSO: How to Become a Forensic Psychologist
With enough years of experience, it is possible to earn within the top 10% salary range. This type of high salary potential could make it worth spending four to seven years more in college to earn that coveted PhD in forensic psychology.
May 2023 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics salary for Psychologists and Psychologists, all other. National labor market information and state labor market information also sourced from the U.S. Department of Labor. Information based on national data, not school-specific information. Conditions in your area may vary. Data accessed February 2025.
