Research Summary. After extensive research by the Zippia data science team, we identified these details of inspector salary by state for the United States:
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Louisiana has the highest inspector salary of $54,663
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Alabama has the lowest inspector salary of $32,566
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The national average salary for inspectors is $38,757
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The national hourly pay for inspectors is $18.63
You can read more on the specific methodology.
Background
Without fail, in surveys across basically every demographic, the number one most important aspect of a job for most people is the salary — how much do inspectors get paid where I live?
And while there are many things to go into how much you, specifically, can expect to make, there’s really good data for average salaries for inspector by state across America broken down by seniority level. So while your city may be slightly different than the state average, these averages give you a rough sense of what to expect for your salary.
The state with the best salary for inspectors after this adjustment? That would be Louisiana.
Here’s a quick snapshot of the top ten states for inspector salaries:
Let’s take a look at how we got here and a full ranking of all the states.
Highest-Paid Inspectors By State
| Rank | State | Average Inspector Salary | 10th Percentile | 90th Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Louisiana | $54,663 | $39,000 | $75,000 |
| 2 | Maryland | $47,265 | $31,000 | $70,000 |
| 3 | Alaska | $47,022 | $40,000 | $54,000 |
| 4 | Oregon | $46,623 | $34,000 | $63,000 |
| 5 | New York | $46,224 | $28,000 | $74,000 |
| 6 | Washington | $46,187 | $34,000 | $61,000 |
| 7 | California | $45,492 | $32,000 | $64,000 |
| 8 | Arizona | $44,272 | $31,000 | $61,000 |
| 9 | Massachusetts | $43,881 | $26,000 | $73,000 |
| 10 | New Jersey | $43,266 | $26,000 | $69,000 |
| 11 | Connecticut | $43,252 | $26,000 | $71,000 |
| 12 | Hawaii | $43,058 | $36,000 | $50,000 |
| 13 | Virginia | $42,654 | $29,000 | $62,000 |
| 14 | Nevada | $42,528 | $30,000 | $59,000 |
| 15 | Rhode Island | $42,449 | $25,000 | $70,000 |
| 16 | Montana | $42,001 | $32,000 | $55,000 |
| 17 | New Mexico | $41,862 | $30,000 | $57,000 |
| 18 | Colorado | $41,337 | $31,000 | $54,000 |
| 19 | Texas | $40,823 | $29,000 | $56,000 |
| 20 | South Dakota | $40,280 | $30,000 | $53,000 |
| 21 | North Dakota | $40,248 | $30,000 | $52,000 |
| 22 | New Hampshire | $40,158 | $23,000 | $67,000 |
| 23 | Vermont | $38,974 | $23,000 | $64,000 |
| 24 | Maine | $38,950 | $22,000 | $66,000 |
| 25 | Delaware | $38,886 | $25,000 | $59,000 |
| 26 | Pennsylvania | $38,643 | $24,000 | $59,000 |
| 27 | Florida | $38,631 | $27,000 | $54,000 |
| 28 | Minnesota | $38,568 | $28,000 | $51,000 |
| 29 | Missouri | $38,266 | $28,000 | $50,000 |
| 30 | Utah | $38,163 | $28,000 | $51,000 |
| 31 | Kansas | $38,160 | $28,000 | $50,000 |
| 32 | Iowa | $37,876 | $28,000 | $50,000 |
| 33 | Ohio | $37,649 | $26,000 | $52,000 |
| 34 | Oklahoma | $37,463 | $28,000 | $50,000 |
| 35 | Wyoming | $37,289 | $28,000 | $49,000 |
| 36 | Nebraska | $36,862 | $27,000 | $48,000 |
| 37 | Mississippi | $36,569 | $26,000 | $49,000 |
| 38 | West Virginia | $35,985 | $25,000 | $50,000 |
| 39 | South Carolina | $35,453 | $25,000 | $49,000 |
| 40 | Georgia | $35,430 | $25,000 | $48,000 |
| 41 | Wisconsin | $35,299 | $26,000 | $47,000 |
| 42 | Kentucky | $35,197 | $25,000 | $47,000 |
| 43 | Arkansas | $35,159 | $26,000 | $47,000 |
| 44 | Indiana | $34,595 | $25,000 | $46,000 |
| 45 | Idaho | $34,366 | $25,000 | $45,000 |
| 46 | Illinois | $33,656 | $24,000 | $45,000 |
| 47 | Tennessee | $33,628 | $24,000 | $45,000 |
| 48 | North Carolina | $33,529 | $23,000 | $47,000 |
| 49 | Michigan | $33,121 | $23,000 | $46,000 |
| 50 | Alabama | $32,566 | $23,000 | $44,000 |
Methodology: Inspector Salary By State
To better understand inspector pay by state, Zippia has aggregated data across a multitude of channels including the BLS, FLC, and OPM. We then supplement that data with actual listed salaries from job posts. Finally, the data science team calculates a weighted average of these inputs to create an average pay for inspectors by state.
We took the average annual salary data for inspectors from these estimates and ranked every state on this criteria with the state with the highest salary ranking as highest average salary for inspectors.
Inspector Salary By State FAQs
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What is the highest-paid state for inspectors?
The highest-paid state for inspectors is Louisiana with an average salary of $54,663 per year.
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What city pays inspectors the most?
Vancouver, WA pays inspectors the most with an average salary of $46,655 per year.
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What is the worst state for inspectors?
The worst state for inspectors is Alabama with an average salary of $32,566 per year.
Author
Chris Kolmar is a co-founder of Zippia and the editor-in-chief of the Zippia career advice blog. He has hired over 50 people in his career, been hired five times, and wants to help you land your next job. His research has been featured on the New York Times, Thrillist, VOX, The Atlantic, and a host of local news. More recently, he's been quoted on USA Today, BusinessInsider, and CNBC.
