Job Title · City Detail
Investigator V Salary in Austin, Texas
In Austin, the State of Texas reports 11 public employees holding the INVESTIGATOR V classification. Average annual base pay is $70,254, with a median of $75,827 and a range from $57,614 to $75,827. The largest employer of this title in Austin is HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES COMMISSION.
How Austin compares for the INVESTIGATOR V role
Across all of Texas state government, the average base pay for the INVESTIGATOR V classification is $70,254, calculated from 11 employees in 4+ agencies statewide. In Austin specifically the average sits at $70,254, which runs about 0% above the statewide figure for this role — a difference of $0.00 per year between an average Austin incumbent and an average Texas incumbent in the same classification. That gap is consistent with what you would expect given the mix of employers active in Austin and the cost-of-living posture of the metro relative to other Texas cities.
Compared to all public-sector employees in Austin (regardless of title), the INVESTIGATOR V role pays about 43% less than the citywide average of $122,907. That places this title below the citywide average, which is common for support, technical, and entry-level state classifications — the citywide figure is pulled upward by the state's senior medical, judicial, executive, and academic-leadership salaries. For an apples-to-apples comparison against other roles in Austin, see our city profile for Austin or compare against the same title in other Texas cities via the INVESTIGATOR V hub.
Within Austin, the INVESTIGATOR V classification appears at 4 different state employers: HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES COMMISSION, TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF MOTOR VEHICLES, TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY, TEXAS COMMISSION ON FIRE PROTECTION. The single largest employer is HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES COMMISSION, which accounts for 7 of the 11 reported records in this combination. Where multiple agencies employ the same classification, pay variation is normal — agencies set individual pay within the state classification plan's salary band based on tenure, market conditions, and any agency-specific salary supplements that have been authorized by the Legislature or by the agency's governing board.
Top Investigator Vs in Austin by pay
| Name | Agency | Annual pay | Hire date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Erica Sparks | HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES COMMISSION | $75,827 | February 27, 2023 |
| Steven Ruiz-stout | HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES COMMISSION | $75,827 | June 1, 2024 |
| Candace Heisserman | HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES COMMISSION | $75,827 | November 27, 2023 |
| Linda Larson | HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES COMMISSION | $75,827 | February 22, 2024 |
| Kim Elliott | HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES COMMISSION | $75,827 | November 28, 2022 |
| Deniecsa Robinson | HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES COMMISSION | $75,827 | December 7, 2023 |
| Christopher Thornton | TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY | $73,956 | March 1, 2026 |
| Mario Ceniceros | TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF MOTOR VEHICLES | $65,407 | September 15, 2014 |
| Katelynn Mayorga | TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF MOTOR VEHICLES | $63,240 | November 1, 2022 |
| Kenneth Parker | TEXAS COMMISSION ON FIRE PROTECTION | $57,614 | February 3, 2026 |
| Nela De La Garza | HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES COMMISSION | $57,614 | August 15, 2016 |
Reading this number in context
The annual pay column on this page reflects what the State of Texas reports as the employee’s annualized base salary at the time of the most recent payroll snapshot. It does not include benefits, retirement contributions (such as TRS or ERS employer contributions), longevity pay, hazardous-duty pay, paid leave cash-outs, contract buyouts, or any supplements paid out of foundation, athletic, or grant funds — categories that can add materially to total compensation, especially in academic medical centers and senior university roles. Use the figures here as an apples-to-apples baseline for comparison; treat them as the starting point of a conversation, not the final word.
Two employees in Austin with the same INVESTIGATOR V title can earn very different amounts for legitimate reasons. The State of Texas operates a position classification plan in which most titles map to a salary group with a defined minimum, midpoint, and maximum, and agencies are free to set individual pay anywhere within that band. Universities and elected-officials’ offices are exempt from the standard plan altogether and set pay independently. Tenure, prior agency service, market-pay adjustments approved under Texas Government Code Chapter 659, and acting-leadership stipends all contribute to within-title variation. For the full set of caveats, see our methodology.
If you want to compare what the INVESTIGATOR V role pays in other Texas cities, the INVESTIGATOR V hub aggregates every reported incumbent statewide. To see what other classifications pay in Austin, the Austin city profile breaks down the local mix of employers and titles. For peer roles, the job-titles index is the master list.