The salary for forensic investigators is $24.75 per hour or $51,480 per year, with the bottom 10 percent making $15.59 or $32,420 and the top 10 percent earning $40.51 or $84,260.This is according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics as of May 2009.f they work for large crime labs, they may specialize in areas such as toxicology, biology, firearms, documents or chemistry. A bachelor's degree in a forensic science is the minimum requirement.