Photo by Nuclear Regulatory Commission, CC BY 2.0
This is the 13th installment of Construction Junkie's weekly analysis of the hourly wages of each individual construction profession by state. The three previous professions we examined were construction managers, construction superintendents, and iron & steel workers. You can also see the full list of all past and future professions by clicking here.
Construction superintendents may not like it when the building inspector comes on site and hands out red cards, but inspectors perform important tasks that make sure our buildings were constructed to code and are safe for the public.
At minimum, building inspectors typically require a high school diploma, but many states also require them to have additional certifications or licenses.
Below you'll find a breakout of how each state compensates their building inspectors. All data below comes from the Bureau of Labor Statistic’s most recent reports from May 2016.
Graph of Average Hourly Wage of a Building Inspector by State
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Rankings of Average Hourly Wage of a Building Inspector, by State
51. North Dakota -- Data Unavailable
50. Montana -- $21.25/hour
49. Arkansas -- $22.16/hour
48. Indiana -- $22.49/hour
47. Tennessee -- $22.56/hour
46. South Dakota -- $22.94/hour
45. West Virginia -- $22.97/hour
44. Mississippi -- $23.28/hour
43. Maine -- $23.34/hour
42. Oklahoma--$23.79/hour
41. New Mexico -- $24.13/hour
40. Kentucky -- $24.20/hour
39. South Carolina -- $24.32/hour
38. Wyoming -- $24.48/hour
37. Georgia -- $24.53/hour
36. Missouri -- $24.76/hour
35. Pennsylvania -- $25.07/hour
34. North Carolina -- $25.24/hour
33. Vermont -- $25.25/hour
32. Nebraska -- $25.59/hour
31. Alabama -- $25.59/hour
30. New Hampshire -- $25.69/hour
29. Idaho -- $26.17/hour
28. Ohio -- $26.28/hour
27. Kansas -- $26.38/hour
26. Wisconsin -- $26.54/hour
25. Michigan -- $26.65/hour
24. Texas -- $26.71/hour
23. Delaware -- $26.72/hour
22. Arizona -- $26.89/hour
21. Maryland -- $27.25/hour
20. Rhode Island -- $27.53/hour
19. Iowa -- $27.64/hour
18. Florida -- $27.83/hour
17. Louisiana -- $28.47/hour
16. Utah -- $28.72/hour
15. Virginia -- $28.79/hour
14. Hawaii -- $30.08/hour
13. Massachusetts -- $30.24/hour
12. Illinois -- $30.60/hour
11. Minnesota -- $31.52/hour
10. Colorado -- $31.54/hour
9. New York -- $31.64/hour
8. Oregon -- $31.66/hour
7. Connecticut -- $32.22/hour
6. New Jersey -- $32.44/hour
5. Washington -- $35.26/hour
4. Nevada -- $35.89/hour
3. California -- $40.24/hour
2. Alaska -- $41.57/hour
1. District of Columbia -- $42.15/hour
Graph of Average Hourly Wage of a Building Inspector - Adjusted for Cost of Living, by State
Cost of living in each state also has a large impact on the amount of money construction trades actually bring home, so the graph below shows each state's adjusted hourly wage based upon the cost of living index for that state. All cost of living index data comes from the Missouri Economic Research and Information Center and was last updated for the second quarter of 2017. The cost of living index was based upon grocery, housing, utilities, transportation, health, and miscellaneous costs for each state.
click for larger image
Rankings of Average Hourly Wage of a Building Inspector- Adjusted for Cost of Living, by State
51. North Dakota -- Data Unavailable
50. Hawaii -- $10.11/hour
49. District of Columbia -- $19.64/hour
48. Maryland -- $19.89/hour
47. Maine -- $20.61/hour
46. Massachusetts -- $21.02/hour
45. Montana -- $21.10/hour
44. Rhode Island -- $21.39/hour
43. Oregon -- $21.62/hour
42. New York--$21.64/hour
41. California -- $21.89/hour
40. New Hampshire -- $22.61/hour
39. South Dakota -- $23.03/hour
38. West Virginia -- $23.91/hour
37. Vermont -- $24.52/hour
36. Indiana -- $24.56/hour
35. South Carolina -- $24.66/hour
34. Pennsylvania -- $24.67/hour
33. Tennessee -- $24.95/hour
32. Arkansas -- $24.95/hour
31. New Jersey -- $25.14/hour
30. Wyoming -- $25.34/hour
29. New Mexico -- $25.55/hour
28. Kentucky -- $25.82/hour
27. Delaware -- $26.13/hour
26. Oklahoma -- $26.22/hour
25. North Carolina -- $26.60/hour
24. Mississippi -- $26.66/hour
23. Georgia -- $26.84/hour
22. Connecticut -- $26.90/hour
21. Wisconsin -- $27.23/hour
20. Missouri -- $27.26/hour
19. Nebraska -- $27.69/hour
18. Arizona -- $27.83/hour
17. Alabama -- $27.97/hour
16. Virginia -- $28.16/hour
15. Florida -- $28.25/hour
14. Ohio -- $28.30/hour
13. Idaho -- $28.45/hour
12. Alaska -- $28.93/hour
11. Kansas -- $29.10/hour
10. Texas -- $29.22/hour
9. Michigan -- $29.24/hour
8. Iowa -- $29.88/hour
7. Louisiana -- $30.01/hour
6. Utah -- $30.07/hour
5. Colorado -- $30.63/hour
4. Illinois -- $31.46/hour
3. Minnesota -- $31.58/hour
2. Washington -- $32.44/hour
1. Nevada -- $33.95/hour
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