US Trends

how much does ice get paid

“ICE” can mean a few different things, and pay looks very different depending on which one you’re asking about. I’ll walk through the main possibilities people usually mean when they search “how much does ICE get paid.”

How much does ICE get paid?

1. U.S. ICE agents (immigration)

When people say “ICE” in U.S. news, they usually mean Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.

  • Entry‑level agents often start in the lower federal General Schedule grades (around GS‑5 to GS‑7), which can mean salaries in roughly the low‑to‑mid $30,000s to $40,000s per year before overtime and locality pay.
  • As they gain experience and move up grades (GS‑9 through GS‑13 and above), base pay can rise into the $60,000–$90,000+ range, sometimes higher with senior or supervisory roles.
  • Locality pay (extra salary in high‑cost areas) and overtime can push total compensation into the $100,000+ range for some posts in expensive cities like New York or Washington, D.C.

Forum and news discussions often focus on whether this level of pay is “too high” given the danger and controversy of the job, or not high enough given the risks and political heat agents face.

Key factors that change ICE agent pay

  1. Grade level (GS scale) – higher grades = higher base salary.
  1. Location – high‑cost cities get higher locality pay.
  1. Experience and role – special agents and supervisors can earn significantly more than entry‑level officers.
  1. Overtime and availability pay – field agents who work long or irregular hours may see large boosts in total annual income.

2. “ICE” as a generic job label

Some job sites list “Ice” as a generic job keyword (for example, ice plant, ice delivery, or ice‑related retail roles).

  • On one large job board in the U.S., jobs tagged as “Ice” show an average pay of around $30–$31 per hour, which works out to roughly $64,000 per year, with most roles falling between about $24 and $35 per hour.
  • Top earners in those listings can reach close to $88,000 per year, depending on city and specific responsibilities.

Because “Ice” here is just a keyword, this covers many unrelated jobs rather than a single profession.

3. ICE the company (Intercontinental Exchange)

There is also a finance/technology company called Intercontinental Exchange (often abbreviated ICE), which owns the New York Stock Exchange.

  • One compensation dataset aggregating employee profiles reports an average total compensation around $175,000 per year, with a typical range from about $146,000 up to over $350,000 for certain roles.
  • The top 10% of employees in that dataset earn above roughly $249,000 per year, reflecting well‑paid senior technical and leadership positions.

These are private‑sector corporate salaries, not government law‑enforcement pay.

4. Why your search feels confusing (and what people discuss on forums)

On forums and social sites, people mix all of these meanings:

  • Some threads complain or joke that ICE agents are paid “too well” compared to local police, pointing to six‑figure totals once overtime and locality pay are included.
  • Other posts compare corporate ICE (Intercontinental Exchange) tech salaries to normal office jobs, where mid‑ to high‑six‑figure total compensation can feel “unrealistic” to outsiders.
  • Meme subreddits and casual discussions sometimes just say “ICE pay” without context, which is why search results show everything from law‑enforcement salaries to meme posts to finance‑company compensation all at once.

Quick recap

  • If you mean U.S. ICE agents (immigration) : rough path from around $30,000–$40,000+ at entry level up to $60,000–$90,000+ and higher with seniority, overtime, and expensive locations; some agents can exceed $100,000 total.
  • If you mean generic “Ice” jobs on listings : about $30 per hour on average, around $64,000 per year, with a wide range by role and city.
  • If you mean Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) the company : average total compensation around $175,000 per employee in one dataset, with high earners making significantly more.

If you tell me which “ICE” you had in mind (agents, the company, or something else like a specific celebrity), I can narrow this down further and give a more tailored number.