How Much Do Customs and Border Patrol Agents Make?

Having a clear understanding of earnings potential is important, especially if you are researching career paths or considering changing jobs. If you're one of those people, and you're curious what kind of salary customs and border patrol agents make, you've come to the right place.

Using data from Lightcast,™ the Best Adult Colleges and Careers Guide has compiled rich information about salary for customs and border patrol agents and related jobs, including details about average compensation, salary trends and job growth. We've also gathered advertised salaries from actual job postings to provide insight into what employers of customs and border patrol agents are offering as compensation.

Keep reading to learn more about how much customs and border patrol agents can expect to make in the United States.

At a Glance: Salary & Jobs for Customs and Border Patrol Agents

According to data from 2023, there were about 397,049 positions for customs and border patrol agents in the United States. In terms of salary, the national median salary for customs and border patrol agents was reported to be $75,670. Additionally, when examining job demand, employers across the country posted 87,263 job postings related to positions for customs and border patrol agents.

How Much Money Do Customs and Border Patrol Agents Make?

Median salary is just one data point. To build a better understanding of how much money customs and border patrol agents and related positions can expect to make in the United States, it can be helpful to look at the full range of compensation for those jobs.

Let's look more deeply at data that was reported to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) for detail into the lowest and highest salary earnings for customs and border patrol agents.

Annual Salary for Customs and Border Patrol Agents

According to the BLS, the lowest earners for customs and border patrol agents and related professions earned about $43,784 per year in 2023. Meanwhile, at the other end of the spectrum, the highest earners made about $123,718 annually.

As mentioned previously, the median salary for customs and border patrol agents in the United States in 2023 was $75,670.

Hourly Salary for Customs and Border Patrol Agents

The BLS also breaks down compensation for customs and border patrol agents by hourly salary, and the median average hourly pay for customs and border patrol agents in 2023 was $36. Lowest hourly earners took home $21 while the highest reported hourly salaries for customs and border patrol agents was $59.

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Advertised Compensation for Customs and Border Patrol Agents

Data from the BLS is one way to dig into compensation for customs and border patrol agents, but another way to build a more real-time understanding of salary is to look at actual job postings and see what compensation organizations are currently providing to fill open positions for customs and border patrol agents.

Keep in mind that salary data is not included in every job posting, so the information compiled here is reflective of the data available through Lightcast.™

Annual Salary from Job Postings for Customs and Border Patrol Agents

During a review of 78,271 job postings related to customs and border patrol agents, advertised salary was included in 31,347 of them, which was 40%. Based on those postings, the median advertised salary for customs and border patrol agents was $76,672 per year.

Hourly Salary from Job Postings for Customs and Border Patrol Agents

A similar analysis of job postings provides insight into advertised hourly salary for customs and border patrol agents. Based on 36% of postings with advertised compensation, the median hourly salary for open positions for customs and border patrol agents in the United States is about $37.

Salary Trend for Customs and Border Patrol Agents

If you're thinking about pursuing a career in the field, you may want to understand how compensation has changed over time for customs and border patrol agents. The chart below provides a snapshot of advertised salaries over the past three years.

Based on compensation data that was included in job postings for customs and border patrol agents dating back to September 2020, advertised salaries for customs and border patrol agents have increased 40%.

What's the Job Growth for Customs and Border Patrol Agents?

Another data point that someone thinking about a career path should consider is whether or not jobs are expected to see growth in the future. The chart below looks at projected employment for customs and border patrol agents over the next 10 years.

According to the data obtained through Lightcast,™ there were 396,250 jobs for customs and border patrol agents in the United States in 2023. By 2033, it is expected that about 37,329 jobs will be added. That's a 9.4% increase over the next 10-year period.

Additional Links

Ready to dig deeper into career information about customs and border patrol agents? Visit our other pages focused on salary and education for customs and border patrol agents.

What do customs and border patrol agents do?
Customs and Border Patrol Agents: How do you become one?

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