Agricultural Inspectors Salaries by State

Q: How much do agricultural inspectors make in the U.S.?

The median agricultural inspectors salary in the United States is $49,940 per year (mean $54,910), and about 80% earn between $37,020 and $79,580.

Q: How much do agricultural inspectors make per hour?

Roughly $26 per hour, based on a mean annual wage of $54,910 and 2,080 work hours per year.

Q: Which state pays agricultural inspectors the most?

Minnesota has the highest average pay for agricultural inspectors at $75,380 per year (median $77,150).

Q: What is the job outlook for agricultural inspectors?

Employment is projected to change +1.5% from 2024 to 2034 (Slower than average), with about 2,200 openings per year.

Mean and median pay, wage percentiles, employment, and top-paying metro areas for agricultural inspectorss across the U.S. Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 (data.bls.gov OEWS tool /OESServices/combo/table, all-occupation crawl by area).

National mean salary $54,910 ≈ $26/hr

National median salary $49,940

Total employment 14,410 nationwide

Job Outlook, 2024–2034

Source: BLS Employment Projections 2024-2034.

Projected growth +1.5% Slower than average

Annual openings 2,200 per year (avg)

Employment 2024→2034 14,700 → 14,900 (+200)

Typical entry education Bachelor's degree

Salary Map

Brighter tiles = higher average pay; dashed tiles have no data. Click a state for details.

AK ME WI VT NH WA ID MT ND MN IL MI NY MA OR NV WY SD IA IN OH PA NJ CTRI CA UT CO NE MO KY WV VA MD DE AZ NM KS AR TN NC SC DC OK LA MS AL GA HI TX FL

Mean annual wage $40,000–$49,000 $49,000–$52,000 $52,000–$56,000 $56,000–$62,000 $62,000–$75,000 U.S. mean $54,910

💰 Top 5 Highest-Paying States

Minnesota$75,380
New York$72,980
Michigan$70,600
Vermont$67,050
Ohio$66,520

📉 5 Lowest-Paying States

Wyoming$40,000
Mississippi$40,740
Georgia$43,310
Arkansas$43,440
Alabama$44,960

State Rankings

⇄ Compare specific states

#	State	Mean	Median	Hourly	vs. U.S.	Employment
1	Minnesota	$75,380	$77,150	$36	+37.3%	180
2	New York	$72,980	$73,920	$35	+32.9%	340
3	Michigan	$70,600	$65,730	$34	+28.6%	320
4	Vermont	$67,050	$63,630	$32	+22.1%	60
5	Ohio	$66,520	$69,280	$32	+21.1%	210
6	Louisiana	$64,510	$63,130	$31	+17.5%	150
7	Illinois	$64,360	$62,000	$31	+17.2%	470
8	Washington	$62,740	$62,880	$30	+14.3%	450
9	Hawaii	$62,110	$60,650	$30	+13.1%	90
10	North Dakota	$61,780	$57,590	$30	+12.5%	80
11	California	$60,610	$53,620	$29	+10.4%	2,340
12	Maryland	$59,960	$58,160	$29	+9.2%	150
13	Delaware	$59,570	$51,590	$29	+8.5%	90
14	Pennsylvania	$59,560	$55,650	$29	+8.5%	520
15	Massachusetts	$58,920	$46,510	$28	+7.3%	70
16	Texas	$57,610	$49,940	$28	+4.9%	590
17	Iowa	$56,410	$49,600	$27	+2.7%	560
18	Colorado	$56,080	$50,430	$27	+2.1%	280
19	Wisconsin	$55,380	$53,640	$27	+0.9%	220
20	Kansas	$54,570	$51,630	$26	-0.6%	190
21	Oregon	$54,350	$53,060	$26	-1%	110
22	New Mexico	$53,930	$52,450	$26	-1.8%	170
23	Utah	$53,690	$53,930	$26	-2.2%	120
24	Nebraska	$53,490	$55,090	$26	-2.6%	370
25	New Jersey	$53,160	$41,520	$26	-3.2%	60
26	South Carolina	$52,630	$49,940	$25	-4.2%	90
27	Indiana	$52,150	$48,560	$25	-5%	480
28	Oklahoma	$52,000	$53,060	$25	-5.3%	170
29	Kentucky	$51,190	$46,640	$25	-6.8%	270
30	Virginia	$51,130	$47,380	$25	-6.9%	380
31	North Carolina	$49,920	$47,760	$24	-9.1%	290
32	Nevada	$49,880	$39,270	$24	-9.2%	50
33	Tennessee	$49,440	$47,840	$24	-10%	410
34	Idaho	$49,120	$48,650	$24	-10.5%	280
35	Missouri	$48,540	$46,220	$23	-11.6%	450
36	Maine	$47,320	$41,760	$23	-13.8%	110
37	Arizona	$46,710	$45,700	$22	-14.9%	160
38	Florida	$46,110	$43,990	$22	-16%	520
39	Alabama	$44,960	$39,300	$22	-18.1%	290
40	Arkansas	$43,440	$42,060	$21	-20.9%	410
41	Georgia	$43,310	$41,460	$21	-21.1%	1,390
42	Mississippi	$40,740	$39,960	$20	-25.8%	190
43	Wyoming	$40,000	$36,670	$19	-27.2%	150

Top-Paying Metro Areas

Highest median pay among 109 metro areas.

#	Metro area	Median	Mean	Employment
1	San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, CA	$93,840	$89,430	30
2	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI	$84,910	$81,030	130
3	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI	$83,120	$75,870	50
4	Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY	$82,640	$80,640	40
5	Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX	$82,200	$76,710	60
6	New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ	$79,210	$72,100	170
7	Modesto, CA	$78,310	$69,360	30
8	San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA	$77,550	$72,110	110
9	Mid Michigan nonmetropolitan area	$73,650	$74,690	40
10	San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA	$70,860	$73,020	40

Pay by Industry

Highest-paying industries employing agricultural inspectorss (BLS OEWS, by median).

#	Industry	Median	Mean	Employment
1	Local Government, excluding Schools and Hospitals (OEWS Designation)	$69,820	$69,320	1,040
2	Local Government, including Schools and Hospitals (OEWS Designation)	$69,820	$69,320	1,040
3	Federal Executive Branch (OEWS Designation)	$63,270	$63,940	2,240
4	Federal Government, including the U.S. Postal Service (OEWS Designation)	$63,270	$63,940	2,240
5	Grain and Oilseed Milling	$58,160	$63,440	90
6	Federal, State, and Local Government, excluding State and Local Schools and Hospitals and USPS	$55,600	$58,590	8,650
7	Sector 99 - Federal, State, and Local Government, excl. State & Local Schools & Hospitals & USPS	$55,600	$58,590	8,650
8	Federal, State, and Local Government, including State and Local Schools and Hospitals and USPS	$55,490	$58,550	8,730
9	Merchant Wholesalers, Nondurable Goods (4244 and 4248 only)	$54,230	$57,920	500
10	Merchant Wholesalers, Nondurable Goods	$53,380	$57,230	550
11	Sector 42 - Wholesale Trade	$52,760	$56,590	630
12	Educational Services	$52,450	$55,380	80

Workforce Deep-Dive

Distribution and demographics from Census ACS (2023, self-reported). Wage figures here are ACS averages and run lower than the authoritative BLS wages above; use them for shape, not exact pay.

Annual wage distribution

< $10K

2,713

$10-20k

927

$20-30k

1,395

$30-40k

955

$40-50k

1,329

$50-60k

1,173

$60-70k

1,705

$70-80k

1,145

$80-90k

897

$90-100k

394

$100-110k

405

$110-120k

$120-130k

248

$130-140k

Pay by age band

16-24

$30,200

25-34

$41,247

35-44

$49,263

45-54

$53,116

55-64

$46,498

65+

$30,981

Education level

Bachelors Degree

$52,522

Regular high school diploma

$47,555

Associates Degree

$44,864

1 or more years of college credit, no degree

$23,997

Some college, but less than 1 year

$19,387

Masters Degree

$58,701

Doctorate degree

$73,365

Grade 6

$29,566

No schooling completed

$66,269

GED or alternative credential

$26,308

Grade 8

$21,410

Professional degree

$16,053

Grade 4

$10,195

Grade 10

$61,171

Full-time vs part-time

Full-time

9,859 · $57,375

Part-time

685 · $18,611

Race / ethnicity

White

$43,327

Two or More Races

$33,288

Black

$55,832

Other

$61,424

Asian

$77,302

American Indian

$58,120

Top fields of study

Biology

$51,286

Animal Sciences

$60,764

General Agriculture

$61,044

General Education

$52,823

Plant Science And Agronomy

$48,276

Construction Services

$61,171

Health And Medical Administrative Services

$45,878

Ecology

$62,930

Top Skills

Most important skills for this role (O*NET importance, 1–5 scale).

Quality Control Analysis

4.1

Monitoring

3.8

Reading Comprehension

3.8

Active Listening

3.8

Critical Thinking

3.6

Speaking

3.5

Active Learning

3.3

Operations Monitoring

3.3

Judgment and Decision Making

3.3

Writing

3.1

Complex Problem Solving

3.1

Systems Analysis

3.1

Frequently Asked Questions

How much do agricultural inspectors make in the U.S.?

The median agricultural inspectors salary in the United States is $49,940 per year (mean $54,910), and about 80% earn between $37,020 and $79,580.

How much do agricultural inspectors make per hour?

Roughly $26 per hour, based on a mean annual wage of $54,910 and 2,080 work hours per year.

Which state pays agricultural inspectors the most?

Minnesota has the highest average pay for agricultural inspectors at $75,380 per year (median $77,150).

What is the job outlook for agricultural inspectors?

Employment is projected to change +1.5% from 2024 to 2034 (Slower than average), with about 2,200 openings per year.