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If you've ever tried to build a house or renovate a building, you're probably familiar with the complicated zoning laws and other ordinances that many cities and counties have. But who makes sure that people follow those laws? That's the job of the code enforcement officer.

The code enforcement officer investigates citizen complaints about violations of code, such as a neighbor's new shed hanging over the property line. They also enforce codes by issuing fines and sometimes leave the office to conduct property inspections.

The code enforcement officer needs to be very familiar with local building codes and organized in order to handle the paperwork that piles up. The code enforcement officer also needs to be good at communication so that they can explain confusing local ordinances and be patient when it comes to dealing with people angry at receiving fines.

What Does a Code Enforcement Officer Do

There are certain skills that many code enforcement officers have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed empathy, good judgment and leadership skills.

Learn more about what a Code Enforcement Officer does

How To Become a Code Enforcement Officer

If you're interested in becoming a code enforcement officer, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 44.6% of code enforcement officers have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 6.9% of code enforcement officers have master's degrees. Even though most code enforcement officers have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.

Career Path For a Code Enforcement Officer

In addition to switching up your job search, it might prove helpful to look at a career path for your specific job. Now, what's a career path you ask? Well, it's practically a map that shows how you might advance from one job title to another. Our career paths are especially detailed with salary changes. So, for example, if you started out with the role of building inspector you might progress to a role such as project manager eventually. Later on in your career, you could end up with the title property manager.

Code Enforcement Officer

Average Salary for a Code Enforcement Officer

Code Enforcement Officers in America make an average salary of $40,706 per year or $20 per hour. The top 10 percent makes over $56,000 per year, while the bottom 10 percent under $29,000 per year.
Average Code Enforcement Officer Salary
$40,706 Yearly
$19.57 hourly

What Am I Worth?

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Roles and Types of Code Enforcement Officer

There are several types of code enforcement officer, including:

Correction Officer

Role:

While you might think that as a correction officer, a main part of your job is to correct people, it's not necessarily true. I mean you don't want the grammar police guarding the jails, do you? Instead, correction officers are there to keep an eye over those who have either been arrested and are waiting for their trial, or have already been sentenced a time to serve in jail or prison.

I'm going to give it to you straight. This position is one of the most dangerous jobs, as it has one of the highest rates of injuries and illnesses out of all occupations. Sometimes you may have to deal with a confrontational inmate. Or two. On top of that, you'll probably have to work crazy hours because there "ain't no rest for the wicked."
  • Average Salary: $39,369
  • Degree: High School Diploma

Police Officer

Role:

Whoop, whoop. That's the sound of the police. Oh, wait. It's just you. Being a police officer isn't easy. You'll go through so many emotions, all in one shift. From feeling fulfilled to depressed and even satisfied, there's no telling what your day will bring you. But, there's one thing that will never change. Doughnuts will always be there for you.

That's another thing. You'll probably get sick of the doughnut jokes. But that's part of the job, so you'll have to learn to cope with it. Maybe lean into the skid. Even though sometimes you'll want to yell at the person for making such a joke because you're super tired.

Why are you super tired? Oh, that's because you'll be working some pretty crazy hours. Maybe you'll take a couple overnight shifts. Or maybe you'll have a weekend shift. Either way, criminals don't just stop because the moon comes out. So that means you don't either.
  • Average Salary: $52,638
  • Degree: Bachelor's Degree

Patrol Officer

Role:

Patrol officers maintain order and protect the community by enforcing laws. They have numerous responsibilities including protecting life and property through the enforcement of laws and regulations, proactively patrolling assigned areas, responding to calls for police service, and conducting preliminary and follow-up criminal and traffic investigations.

They conduct reviews, prepare written reports and field notes of investigations and patrol activities, arrest and process crimininals, and testify in court. They perform emergency duties during adverse weather conditions, exercise judgement in determining when to use force and to what degree, and operate a law enforcement vehicle day and night.

A patrol officer has humanity, respect for human life and displays dignity and compassion to everyone, professionalism, integrity, courage, training and certification in firearms, and knowledge of first aid and CPR. They have knowledge of defensive and arrest tactics, federal, state and city laws and ordinances, as well as modern policing principles.

A high school diploma is the basic requirement in terms of education. They earn a salary of $25,735 a year or $12.37 an hour. This career's growth is at 5% and will produce 37,500 new job opportunities by 2028.

  • Average Salary: $35,621
  • Degree: Bachelor's Degree

States With The Most Code Enforcement Officer Jobs

Mouse over a state to see the number of active code enforcement officer jobs in each state. The darker areas on the map show where code enforcement officers earn the highest salaries across all 50 states.

Average Salary: Job Openings:

Number Of Code Enforcement Officer Jobs By State

RankStateNumber of JobsAverage Salary
1California6,293$55,187
2Florida3,076$33,345
3Texas2,730$35,453
4New York2,622$46,317
5Pennsylvania2,278$44,948
6Ohio1,931$45,980
7Illinois1,853$54,595
8Massachusetts1,599$43,666
9Georgia1,530$31,535
10New Jersey1,371$43,994
11North Carolina1,296$30,328
12Michigan1,192$40,242
13Washington1,169$64,591
14Missouri1,139$35,620
15Minnesota1,135$45,260
16Maryland1,109$42,107
17Virginia1,053$33,198
18Arizona1,043$40,113
19Colorado982$44,590
20Indiana931$41,594
21Wisconsin880$34,496
22Tennessee837$28,401
23Kentucky820$31,512
24Oregon646$49,562
25Alabama626$33,280
26South Carolina600$29,995
27Oklahoma523$32,079
28Connecticut491$52,537
29Iowa467$44,732
30Utah458$41,852
31Louisiana445$29,488
32Nebraska417$38,538
33Nevada401$41,504
34Arkansas384$29,930
35Mississippi376$44,720
36Idaho354$37,007
37Kansas330$30,695
38New Mexico320$34,380
39New Hampshire245$45,096
40Rhode Island235$43,778
41Maine195$37,520
42West Virginia186$41,707
43Delaware153$39,079
44Hawaii145$47,881
45North Dakota140$57,217
46Montana129$42,210
47South Dakota128$35,799
48Vermont106$41,872
49Alaska101$65,994
50Wyoming47$37,621

Code Enforcement Officer Education

Code Enforcement Officer Majors

20.2 %

Code Enforcement Officer Degrees

Bachelors

44.6 %

Associate

27.0 %

High School Diploma

12.2 %

Top Colleges for Code Enforcement Officers

1. California State University - Bakersfield

Bakersfield, CA • Private

In-State Tuition

$7,309

Enrollment

9,142

2. SUNY at Binghamton

Vestal, NY • Private

In-State Tuition

$9,808

Enrollment

13,990

3. San Diego State University

San Diego, CA • Private

In-State Tuition

$7,488

Enrollment

30,018

4. SUNY Farmingdale

Farmingdale, NY • Private

In-State Tuition

$8,306

Enrollment

9,394

5. Boston University

Boston, MA • Private

In-State Tuition

$53,948

Enrollment

17,238

6. Howard University

Washington, DC • Private

In-State Tuition

$26,756

Enrollment

6,166

7. SUNY at Albany

Albany, NY • Private

In-State Tuition

$10,011

Enrollment

13,434

8. Western Carolina University

Cullowhee, NC • Private

In-State Tuition

$3,926

Enrollment

9,835

9. SUNY College at Plattsburgh

Plattsburgh, NY • Private

In-State Tuition

$8,369

Enrollment

5,229

10. SUNY College at Oswego

Oswego, NY • Private

In-State Tuition

$8,440

Enrollment

7,039

Top Skills For a Code Enforcement Officer

The skills section on your resume can be almost as important as the experience section, so you want it to be an accurate portrayal of what you can do. Luckily, we've found all of the skills you'll need so even if you don't have these skills yet, you know what you need to work on. Out of all the resumes we looked through, 12.1% of code enforcement officers listed patrol on their resume, but soft skills such as empathy and good judgment are important as well.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Code Enforcement Officer Resume templates

Zippia allows you to choose from different easy-to-use Code Enforcement Officer templates, and provides you with expert advice. Using the templates, you can rest assured that the structure and format of your Code Enforcement Officer resume is top notch. Choose a template with the colors, fonts & text sizes that are appropriate for your industry.

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Code Enforcement Officer diversity

Code Enforcement Officer Gender Distribution

Male
Male
67%
Female
Female
33%

After extensive research and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:

  • Among code enforcement officers, 32.7% of them are women, while 67.3% are men.

  • The most common race/ethnicity among code enforcement officers is White, which makes up 59.2% of all code enforcement officers.

  • The most common foreign language among code enforcement officers is Spanish at 75.0%.

Online Courses For Code Enforcement Officer That You May Like

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Best States For a Code Enforcement Officer

Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as a code enforcement officer. The best states for people in this position are Alaska, Washington, North Dakota, and California. Code enforcement officers make the most in Alaska with an average salary of $65,994. Whereas in Washington and North Dakota, they would average $64,591 and $57,217, respectively. While code enforcement officers would only make an average of $55,187 in California, you would still make more there than in the rest of the country. We determined these as the best states based on job availability and pay. By finding the median salary, cost of living, and using the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Location Quotient, we narrowed down our list of states to these four.

1. California

Total Code Enforcement Officer Jobs: 6,293
Highest 10% Earn:
$77,000
Location Quotient:
1.29

2. Washington

Total Code Enforcement Officer Jobs: 1,169
Highest 10% Earn:
$84,000
Location Quotient:
0.96

3. Ohio

Total Code Enforcement Officer Jobs: 1,931
Highest 10% Earn:
$62,000
Location Quotient:
1.13
Full List Of Best States For Code Enforcement Officers

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Top Code Enforcement Officer Employers

Most Common Employers For Code Enforcement Officer

RankCompanyAverage SalaryHourly RateJob Openings
1City of Jacksonville$52,329$25.168
2City of San Antonio$51,024$24.537
3City of Fort Worth$50,998$24.527
4City$50,911$24.4831
5San Bernardino County$48,950$23.535
6City of Chula Vista Government$48,856$23.494
7City of Houston$47,883$23.025
8City of Pasadena$47,071$22.635
9City of Corpus Christi$45,533$21.895
10Hillsboro County Sheriff$44,831$21.555

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