Inspectors, Testers, Sorters, Samplers, and Weighers Salaries by State

Q: How much do inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers make in the U.S.?

The median inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers salary in the United States is $48,570 per year (mean $53,450), and about 80% earn between $35,510 and $77,860.

Q: How much do inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers make per hour?

Roughly $26 per hour, based on a mean annual wage of $53,450 and 2,080 work hours per year.

Q: Which state pays inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers the most?

Alaska has the highest average pay for inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers at $90,540 per year (median $78,150).

Q: What is the job outlook for inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers?

Employment is projected to change 0% from 2024 to 2034 (Slower than average), with about 69,900 openings per year.

Mean and median pay, wage percentiles, employment, and top-paying metro areas for inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weigherss 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 $53,450 ≈ $26/hr

National median salary $48,570

Total employment 597,370 nationwide

Job Outlook, 2024–2034

Source: BLS Employment Projections 2024-2034.

Projected growth 0% Slower than average

Annual openings 69,900 per year (avg)

Employment 2024→2034 598,000 → 598,100 (+100)

Typical entry education High school diploma or equivalent

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 CT RI 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 $44,000–$51,000 $51,000–$53,000 $53,000–$57,000 $57,000–$60,000 $60,000–$91,000 U.S. mean $53,450

💰 Top 5 Highest-Paying States

Alaska$90,540
Washington$74,600
Maryland$65,920
District of Columbia$63,660
Montana$63,230

📉 5 Lowest-Paying States

Alabama$44,280
Mississippi$45,540
Arkansas$46,380
Michigan$47,070
Tennessee$48,390

State Rankings

⇄ Compare specific states

#	State	Mean	Median	Hourly	vs. U.S.	Employment
1	Alaska	$90,540	$78,150	$44	+69.4%	300
2	Washington	$74,600	$64,420	$36	+39.6%	12,010
3	Maryland	$65,920	$61,790	$32	+23.3%	4,600
4	District of Columbia	$63,660	$59,730	$31	+19.1%	70
5	Montana	$63,230	$58,070	$30	+18.3%	580
6	Wyoming	$61,910	$57,900	$30	+15.8%	990
7	Connecticut	$61,380	$57,090	$30	+14.8%	7,460
8	Hawaii	$61,150	$59,740	$29	+14.4%	650
9	Colorado	$60,840	$58,350	$29	+13.8%	5,220
10	Rhode Island	$60,120	$54,940	$29	+12.5%	1,790
11	Nevada	$59,840	$49,280	$29	+12%	4,040
12	California	$59,540	$54,300	$29	+11.4%	61,130
13	North Dakota	$58,190	$50,820	$28	+8.9%	1,800
14	Oregon	$58,070	$54,120	$28	+8.6%	5,690
15	Arizona	$57,660	$52,100	$28	+7.9%	11,120
16	New Hampshire	$57,570	$54,800	$28	+7.7%	3,050
17	Kansas	$57,550	$53,680	$28	+7.7%	9,300
18	Missouri	$57,510	$54,420	$28	+7.6%	12,480
19	Minnesota	$57,480	$57,170	$28	+7.5%	9,710
20	Louisiana	$57,380	$49,490	$28	+7.4%	8,110
21	Delaware	$56,840	$57,190	$27	+6.3%	1,020
22	Massachusetts	$56,530	$52,270	$27	+5.8%	10,650
23	Maine	$56,060	$53,570	$27	+4.9%	1,800
24	New Mexico	$56,000	$49,500	$27	+4.8%	1,550
25	New York	$54,660	$49,990	$26	+2.3%	19,790
26	Utah	$54,210	$48,910	$26	+1.4%	6,630
27	Iowa	$53,950	$50,740	$26	+0.9%	7,230
28	Oklahoma	$53,950	$49,630	$26	+0.9%	7,430
29	New Jersey	$53,490	$49,140	$26	+0.1%	12,280
30	Virginia	$53,310	$49,590	$26	-0.3%	9,830
31	Nebraska	$53,230	$51,270	$26	-0.4%	3,350
32	Wisconsin	$52,580	$49,610	$25	-1.6%	17,670
33	West Virginia	$52,240	$47,010	$25	-2.3%	2,720
34	Idaho	$52,120	$45,130	$25	-2.5%	2,900
35	Illinois	$52,070	$47,920	$25	-2.6%	31,700
36	Pennsylvania	$52,040	$48,320	$25	-2.6%	25,870
37	Texas	$51,370	$46,210	$25	-3.9%	56,390
38	Ohio	$51,150	$47,360	$25	-4.3%	32,060
39	Vermont	$51,090	$46,210	$25	-4.4%	900
40	Florida	$50,980	$47,540	$25	-4.6%	22,630
41	Indiana	$50,850	$47,900	$24	-4.9%	24,790
42	South Dakota	$49,990	$47,240	$24	-6.5%	1,090
43	Georgia	$49,790	$46,130	$24	-6.8%	19,980
44	South Carolina	$49,760	$46,890	$24	-6.9%	13,360
45	Kentucky	$48,720	$46,280	$23	-8.8%	12,880
46	North Carolina	$48,600	$46,430	$23	-9.1%	19,700
47	Tennessee	$48,390	$45,760	$23	-9.5%	17,140
48	Michigan	$47,070	$44,490	$23	-11.9%	27,980
49	Arkansas	$46,380	$44,570	$22	-13.2%	5,880
50	Mississippi	$45,540	$40,670	$22	-14.8%	6,970
51	Alabama	$44,280	$40,010	$21	-17.2%	13,120

Top-Paying Metro Areas

Highest median pay among 515 metro areas.

#	Metro area	Median	Mean	Employment
1	Alaska nonmetropolitan area	$102,970	$98,760	190
2	Lexington Park, MD	$92,000	$81,720	100
3	Balance of Nevada nonmetropolitan area	$79,080	$73,220	370
4	Northern New Mexico nonmetropolitan area	$78,050	$76,670	90
5	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA	$76,800	$82,070	8,190
6	Savannah, GA	$72,800	$69,340	1,110
7	Bremerton-Silverdale-Port Orchard, WA	$71,950	$71,490	200
8	Anchorage, AK	$71,470	$73,850	80
9	Mount Vernon-Anacortes, WA	$68,060	$72,490	180
10	Flagstaff, AZ	$65,840	$61,510	270

Pay by Industry

Highest-paying industries employing inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weigherss (BLS OEWS, by median).

#	Industry	Median	Mean	Employment
1	Oil and Gas Extraction	$103,630	$107,280	120
2	Oil and Gas Extraction	$103,630	$107,280	120
3	Nuclear Electric Power Generation	$103,490	$97,900	50
4	Fossil Fuel Electric Power Generation	$99,860	$100,900	50
5	Scheduled Air Transportation	$99,500	$93,430	60
6	Electric Power Generation, Transmission and Distribution	$95,900	$89,700	820
7	Other Pipeline Transportation	$94,100	$89,310	210
8	Air Transportation	$92,990	$81,870	210
9	Pipeline Transportation	$85,470	$86,400	640
10	Utilities	$83,630	$82,100	1,720
11	Sector 22 - Utilities	$83,630	$82,100	1,720
12	Coal Mining	$83,420	$77,880	320

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

220,165

$10-20k

63,731

$20-30k

101,565

$30-40k

138,805

$40-50k

142,382

$50-60k

98,786

$60-70k

78,693

$70-80k

58,345

$80-90k

36,690

$90-100k

24,063

$100-110k

27,490

$110-120k

12,055

$120-130k

10,331

$130-140k

5,982

$140-150k

4,857

$150-160k

4,901

$160-170k

1,928

$170-180k

1,986

$180-190k

1,646

$190-200k

197

$200k+

5,302

Pay by age band

16-24

$22,661

25-34

$43,107

35-44

$52,001

45-54

$52,334

55-64

$47,781

65+

$25,918

Education level

Regular high school diploma

$39,603

1 or more years of college credit, no degree

$44,589

Bachelors Degree

$54,047

Associates Degree

$47,773

Some college, but less than 1 year

$44,581

GED or alternative credential

$37,621

12th grade - no diploma

$28,415

Masters Degree

$73,657

Grade 11

$22,177

No schooling completed

$31,233

Grade 10

$22,714

Grade 9

$21,927

Grade 6

$25,481

Grade 8

$32,955

Professional degree

$67,165

Grade 5

$27,287

Doctorate degree

$58,815

Grade 7

$34,265

Grade 3

$25,513

Grade 4

$29,615

Grade 2

$40,438

Grade 1

—

Kindergarten

—

Full-time vs part-time

Full-time

752,073 · $56,072

Part-time

86,941 · $19,066

Race / ethnicity

White

$45,477

Black

$37,178

Two or More Races

$40,760

Other

$37,035

Asian

$47,894

American Indian

$44,236

Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander

$42,779

American Indian and Alaska Native tribes specified; or American Indian or Alaska Native, not specified and no other races

$48,024

Alaska Native

—

Top fields of study

Business Management And Administration

$60,911

Biology

$63,244

General Business

$64,181

Criminal Justice And Fire Protection

$48,033

Psychology

$38,726

Chemistry

$66,441

Mechanical Engineering

$64,932

Electrical Engineering

$73,054

Top Skills

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

Quality Control Analysis

3.8

Critical Thinking

3.3

Writing

3.3

Active Listening

3.1

Reading Comprehension

3.1

Speaking

3.1

Judgment and Decision Making

3.1

Monitoring

3.0

Operations Monitoring

3.0

Time Management

3.0

Coordination

2.9

Operation and Control

2.9

Frequently Asked Questions

How much do inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers make in the U.S.?

The median inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers salary in the United States is $48,570 per year (mean $53,450), and about 80% earn between $35,510 and $77,860.

How much do inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers make per hour?

Roughly $26 per hour, based on a mean annual wage of $53,450 and 2,080 work hours per year.

Which state pays inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers the most?

Alaska has the highest average pay for inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers at $90,540 per year (median $78,150).

What is the job outlook for inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers?

Employment is projected to change 0% from 2024 to 2034 (Slower than average), with about 69,900 openings per year.