How to hire a plumbing inspector

Plumbing inspector hiring summary. Here are some key points about hiring plumbing inspectors in the United States:

In the United States, the median cost per hire a plumbing inspector is $1,633.
It takes between 36 and 42 days to fill the average role in the US.
Human Resources use 15% of their expenses on recruitment on average.
On average, it takes around 12 weeks for a new plumbing inspector to become settled and show total productivity levels at work.

How to hire a plumbing inspector, step by step

To hire a plumbing inspector, you need to identify the specific skills and experience you want in a candidate, allocate a budget for the position, and advertise the job opening to attract potential candidates. To hire a plumbing inspector, you should follow these steps:

Here's a step-by-step plumbing inspector hiring guide:

Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
Step 3: Make a budget
Step 4: Write a plumbing inspector job description
Step 5: Post your job
Step 6: Interview candidates
Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new plumbing inspector
Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

Post a plumbing inspector job for free, promote it for a fee

Identify your hiring needs

The plumbing inspector hiring process starts by determining what type of worker you actually need. Certain roles might require a full-time employee, whereas part-time workers or contractors can do others.

Determine employee vs contractor status

Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

A plumbing inspector's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, plumbing inspectors from different industries or fields will have radically different experiences and will bring different viewpoints to the role. You also need to consider the candidate's previous level of experience to make sure they'll be comfortable with the job's level of seniority.

This list presents plumbing inspector salaries for various positions.

Type of Plumbing Inspector	Description	Hourly rate
Plumbing Inspector	Construction and building inspectors ensure that construction meets local and national building codes and ordinances, zoning regulations, and contract specifications.	$14-37
Construction Analyst	A Construction Analyst prepares statements, annual financial reports, exhibits, transmittal letters, schedules, statistical tables, management analysis, and management discussion. They handle business forecast analysis, cash flow projection analysis, statistical report analysis, government requirement analysis, financial plan analysis, budget analysis, and forecast analysis... Show more	$25-56
Plans Examiner	A plans examiner is typically in charge of evaluating construction or work plans, ensuring compliance with regulations and zoning ordinances. Their responsibilities revolve around gathering and reviewing applications and documentation, verifying the accuracy and authenticity of requirements, and assuring that they adhere to the safety policies and standards... Show more	$19-40

Create an ideal candidate profile
Common skills:
- Plumbing
- Building Codes
- Code Violations
- Code Compliance
- Public Health
- Code Enforcement
- Commercial Buildings
- Plan Review
- Appeals
- Code Changes
- Site Inspections
- Safety Standards
- Backflow Devices
- HVAC
Check all skills
Responsibilities:
- Manage and inspect fiber optic cable placement, fiber drop installations and associate construction activities for an assign OSP project.
- Inspect plumbing installations for conformance to the provisions of pertinent codes/or construction specifications.
- Perform on-site inspections of FEMA temporary housing units for placement and occupation of residents displace by hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
- Conduct dimensional and visual inspections procedures on CMM machines to ensure geometrical characteristics of the product are in specification.
More plumbing inspector duties

Make a budget

Including a salary range in the plumbing inspector job description is a good way to get more applicants. A plumbing inspector salary can be affected by several factors, such as the location of the job, the level of experience, education, certifications, and the employer's prestige.

For example, the average salary for a plumbing inspector in Indiana may be lower than in California, and an entry-level engineer typically earns less than a senior-level plumbing inspector. Additionally, a plumbing inspector with lots of experience in the field may command a higher salary as a result.

Average plumbing inspector salary

$49,162yearly

$23.64 hourly rate

Entry-level plumbing inspector salary

$30,000 yearly salary

Updated December 15, 2025

Average plumbing inspector salary by state

Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
1	California	$79,516	$38
2	Delaware	$61,266	$29
3	Maryland	$55,952	$27
4	Washington	$54,117	$26
5	New Mexico	$53,397	$26
6	Virginia	$51,807	$25
7	Illinois	$51,770	$25
8	Michigan	$51,448	$25
9	Wisconsin	$48,390	$23
10	Florida	$48,010	$23
11	Hawaii	$46,522	$22
12	North Carolina	$45,995	$22
13	Colorado	$45,249	$22
14	Wyoming	$44,589	$21
15	Texas	$43,841	$21
16	Ohio	$43,807	$21
17	Indiana	$38,848	$19
18	Idaho	$35,821	$17
19	Kentucky	$33,585	$16

Average plumbing inspector salary by company

Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
1	City of Detroit	$66,153	$31.80	3
2	City of San Antonio	$60,976	$29.32	1
3	Delaware State Government	$60,962	$29.31	1
4	City and County of Denver Government	$59,652	$28.68
5	King County	$58,710	$28.23
6	Franklin County Home Health Agency	$54,960	$26.42	2
7	Frederick County	$54,378	$26.14	4
8	City of Sunny Isles Beach	$54,112	$26.02	2
9	City of Houston	$53,555	$25.75	5
10	Arlington County, VA	$53,526	$25.73	1
11	City Of Toledo	$53,050	$25.50
12	Lake County	$52,562	$25.27	1
13	Minnesota State Fair	$51,733	$24.87	1
14	Clover Leaf Solutions	$51,164	$24.60
15	City Of Doral	$46,782	$22.49	1
16	City of El Paso, Texas - Municipal Government	$46,235	$22.23
17	The City of Frederick	$46,128	$22.18	1
18	Public Health - Dayton & Montgomery County	$45,931	$22.08
19	City of Ann Arbor	$45,689	$21.97	8
20	SAFEbuilt	$45,675	$21.96	122

Writing a plumbing inspector job description
A plumbing inspector job description should include a summary of the role, required skills, and a list of responsibilities. It's also good to include a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager. Below, you can find an example of a plumbing inspector job description:
Plumbing inspector job description example
Must be able to lift up to 20 lbs at times.

Position Type and Expected Hours of Work:
This is a full-time position. Days and hours of work vary. Must be available to work days, evenings and weekends.

Required Education and Experience:

High School Diploma or GED
2+ years of customer service experience
1+ years of retail job experience
2+ years of product knowledge of items in assigned department

Benefits Provided:

Medical Insurance
Dental, Vision, Short Term Disability, Long Term Disability, Cancer coverage, Accident Coverage, Life Insurance
401k plan with employer contribution
Free $15k Life Insurance Plan
Employee discount

Gillman Home Center provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, gender identity, and sexual orientation), parental status, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, political affiliation, military service, or other non-merit based factors in accordance with applicable federal, state and local laws.

Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities and activities may change at any time with or without notice.

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Post your job

There are various strategies that you can use to find the right plumbing inspector for your business:

Consider promoting from within or recruiting from your existing workforce.
Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
Attend job fairs at local colleges to find candidates who meet your education requirements.
Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to reach potential job candidates.

Post your job online:

Post your plumbing inspector job on Zippia to find and attract quality plumbing inspector candidates.
Use niche websites such as constructionjobs.
Post a job on free websites.

Interview candidates

To successfully recruit plumbing inspectors, your first interview needs to engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. You can go into more detail about the company, the role, and the responsibilities during follow-up interviews.

It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents. You can move on to the technical interview if a candidate is good enough for the next step.

The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

Send a job offer and onboard your new plumbing inspector

Once you have selected a candidate for the plumbing inspector position, it is time to create an offer letter. In addition to salary, the offer letter should include details about benefits and perks that are available to the employee. Ensuring your offer is competitive is vital, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and it is important to be open to discussion and reach a mutually beneficial agreement. After the offer has been accepted, it is a good idea to formalize the agreement with a contract.

It's equally important to follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

After that, you can create an onboarding schedule for a new plumbing inspector. Human Resources and the hiring manager should complete Employee Action Forms. Human Resources should also ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc., and that new employee files are created.

Go through the hiring process checklist

Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
Define job responsibilities and requirements
Establish budget and timeline
Determine hiring decision makers for the role
Write job description
Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
Promote the job internally
Process applications through applicant tracking system
Review resumes and cover letters
Shortlist candidates for screening
Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
Conduct background checks on top candidates
Check references of top candidates
Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
Extend offer to top candidate(s)
Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

How much does it cost to hire a plumbing inspector?

Recruiting plumbing inspectors involves both the one-time costs of hiring and the ongoing costs of adding a new employee to your team. Your spending during the hiring process will mostly be on things like promoting the job on job boards, reviewing and interviewing candidates, and onboarding the new hire. Ongoing costs will obviously involve the employee's salary, but also may include things like benefits.

You can expect to pay around $49,162 per year for a plumbing inspector, as this is the median yearly salary nationally. This can vary depending on what state or city you're hiring in. If you're hiring for contract work or on a per-project basis, hourly rates for plumbing inspectors in the US typically range between $14 and $37 an hour.

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Updated December 15, 2025

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How to hire a plumbing inspector