Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
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Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2021
33-2021 Fire Inspectors and Investigators
Inspect buildings to detect fire hazards and enforce local ordinances and state laws, or investigate and gather facts to determine cause of fires and explosions.
National estimates for Fire Inspectors and Investigators
Industry profile for Fire Inspectors and Investigators
Geographic profile for Fire Inspectors and Investigators
National estimates for Fire Inspectors and Investigators:
Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for Fire Inspectors and Investigators:
| Employment (1) |
Employment
RSE (3) |
Mean hourly
wage |
Mean annual
wage (2) |
Wage RSE (3) |
| 14,600 |
4.2 % |
$ 33.50 |
$ 69,680 |
1.6 % |
Percentile wage estimates for Fire Inspectors and Investigators:
| Percentile |
10% |
25% |
50%
(Median) |
75% |
90% |
| Hourly Wage |
$ 19.32 |
$ 24.27 |
$ 31.06 |
$ 39.35 |
$ 48.43 |
| Annual Wage (2) |
$ 40,190 |
$ 50,480 |
$ 64,600 |
$ 81,850 |
$ 100,730 |
Industry profile for Fire Inspectors and Investigators:
Industries with the highest published employment and wages for Fire Inspectors and Investigators are provided.
For a list of all industries with employment in Fire Inspectors and Investigators, see the Create Customized Tables function.
Industries with the highest levels of employment in Fire Inspectors and Investigators:
| Industry |
Employment (1) |
Percent of industry employment |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Local Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OEWS Designation) |
10,180 |
0.19 |
$ 34.03 |
$ 70,780 |
| State Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OEWS Designation) |
1,150 |
0.05 |
$ 31.31 |
$ 65,130 |
| Agencies, Brokerages, and Other Insurance Related Activities |
180 |
0.02 |
(8) |
(8) |
| Other Support Services |
150 |
0.05 |
$ 20.84 |
$ 43,340 |
| Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools |
130 |
0.00 |
$ 27.65 |
$ 57,520 |
Industries with the highest concentration of employment in Fire Inspectors and Investigators:
Top paying industries for Fire Inspectors and Investigators:
Geographic profile for Fire Inspectors and Investigators:
States and areas with the highest published employment, location quotients, and wages for Fire Inspectors and Investigators are provided.
For a list of all areas with employment in Fire Inspectors and Investigators, see the Create Customized Tables function.
States with the highest employment level in Fire Inspectors and Investigators:
| State |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Florida |
2,330 |
0.27 |
2.61 |
$ 31.98 |
$ 66,530 |
| New York |
1,380 |
0.16 |
1.53 |
$ 34.69 |
$ 72,150 |
| California |
1,200 |
0.07 |
0.70 |
$ 37.07 |
$ 77,100 |
| Texas |
900 |
0.07 |
0.71 |
$ 31.79 |
$ 66,110 |
| New Jersey |
850 |
0.22 |
2.14 |
$ 32.04 |
$ 66,630 |
States with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Fire Inspectors and Investigators:
| State |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Delaware |
130 |
0.29 |
2.81 |
$ 26.32 |
$ 54,750 |
| Florida |
2,330 |
0.27 |
2.61 |
$ 31.98 |
$ 66,530 |
| New Jersey |
850 |
0.22 |
2.14 |
$ 32.04 |
$ 66,630 |
| Connecticut |
330 |
0.21 |
2.04 |
$ 40.12 |
$ 83,440 |
| Wyoming |
50 |
0.20 |
1.94 |
$ 23.32 |
$ 48,500 |
Top paying states for Fire Inspectors and Investigators:
| State |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Idaho |
50 |
0.06 |
0.61 |
$ 53.80 |
$ 111,910 |
| Oregon |
120 |
0.07 |
0.65 |
$ 50.12 |
$ 104,240 |
| Washington |
250 |
0.08 |
0.76 |
$ 47.76 |
$ 99,340 |
| Iowa |
100 |
0.07 |
0.68 |
$ 47.48 |
$ 98,750 |
| Illinois |
830 |
0.15 |
1.43 |
$ 42.66 |
$ 88,730 |
Metropolitan areas with the highest employment level in Fire Inspectors and Investigators:
| Metropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL |
1,660 |
0.68 |
6.52 |
$ 32.80 |
$ 68,220 |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA |
1,600 |
0.18 |
1.78 |
$ 34.25 |
$ 71,240 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI |
630 |
0.15 |
1.44 |
$ 42.92 |
$ 89,270 |
| Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX |
340 |
0.12 |
1.15 |
$ 33.04 |
$ 68,720 |
| Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI |
340 |
0.19 |
1.80 |
$ 32.46 |
$ 67,520 |
| Columbus, OH |
310 |
0.30 |
2.90 |
$ 41.66 |
$ 86,660 |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD |
270 |
0.10 |
0.99 |
$ 28.65 |
$ 59,600 |
| Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA |
250 |
0.10 |
0.93 |
$ 29.45 |
$ 61,260 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA |
220 |
0.04 |
0.38 |
$ 34.68 |
$ 72,130 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX |
220 |
0.06 |
0.58 |
$ 32.43 |
$ 67,440 |
Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Fire Inspectors and Investigators:
| Metropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL |
1,660 |
0.68 |
6.52 |
$ 32.80 |
$ 68,220 |
| Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA |
90 |
0.46 |
4.48 |
$ 48.45 |
$ 100,770 |
| Norwich-New London-Westerly, CT-RI |
50 |
0.42 |
4.05 |
$ 35.07 |
$ 72,940 |
| Naples-Immokalee-Marco Island, FL |
50 |
0.34 |
3.24 |
$ 32.78 |
$ 68,180 |
| Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT |
120 |
0.32 |
3.05 |
$ 42.68 |
$ 88,770 |
| Rockford, IL |
40 |
0.31 |
3.04 |
$ 41.34 |
$ 85,980 |
| Utica-Rome, NY |
40 |
0.31 |
3.03 |
$ 31.29 |
$ 65,090 |
| Trenton, NJ |
70 |
0.30 |
2.92 |
$ 31.39 |
$ 65,290 |
| Columbus, OH |
310 |
0.30 |
2.90 |
$ 41.66 |
$ 86,660 |
| Atlantic City-Hammonton, NJ |
30 |
0.27 |
2.60 |
$ 33.02 |
$ 68,690 |
Top paying metropolitan areas for Fire Inspectors and Investigators:
| Metropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Dayton, OH |
40 |
0.13 |
1.21 |
$ 56.13 |
$ 116,740 |
| Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA |
(8) |
(8) |
(8) |
$ 53.86 |
$ 112,040 |
| Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA |
70 |
0.06 |
0.61 |
$ 51.55 |
$ 107,220 |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA |
(8) |
(8) |
(8) |
$ 50.78 |
$ 105,630 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA |
150 |
0.08 |
0.78 |
$ 50.40 |
$ 104,820 |
| Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA |
90 |
0.46 |
4.48 |
$ 48.45 |
$ 100,770 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA |
190 |
0.09 |
0.83 |
$ 44.38 |
$ 92,300 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI |
630 |
0.15 |
1.44 |
$ 42.92 |
$ 89,270 |
| Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT |
120 |
0.32 |
3.05 |
$ 42.68 |
$ 88,770 |
| Santa Rosa, CA |
40 |
0.22 |
2.13 |
$ 42.50 |
$ 88,400 |
Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest employment in Fire Inspectors and Investigators:
Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Fire Inspectors and Investigators:
Top paying nonmetropolitan areas for Fire Inspectors and Investigators:
About May 2021 National, State, Metropolitan, and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
These estimates are calculated with data collected from employers in all industry sectors, all metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas, and all states and the District of Columbia.
The top employment and wage figures are provided above. The complete list is available in the downloadable XLS files.
The percentile wage estimate is the value of a wage below which a certain percent of workers fall.
The median wage is the 50th percentile wage estimate—50 percent of workers earn less than the median and 50 percent of workers earn more than the median.
More about percentile wages.
(1) Estimates for detailed occupations do not sum to the totals because the totals include occupations not shown separately. Estimates do not include self-employed workers.
(2) Annual wages have been calculated by multiplying the hourly mean wage by a "year-round, full-time" hours figure of 2,080 hours;
for those occupations where there is not an hourly wage published, the annual wage has been directly calculated from the reported survey data.
(3) The relative standard error (RSE) is a measure of the reliability of a survey statistic. The smaller the relative standard error, the more precise the estimate.
(7) The value is less than .005 percent of industry employment.
(8) Estimate not released.
(9) The location quotient is the ratio of the area concentration of occupational employment to the national average concentration.
A location quotient greater than one indicates the occupation has a higher share of employment than average, and a location quotient less than one indicates the occupation is less prevalent in the area than average.
Other OEWS estimates and related information:
May 2021 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2021 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2021 Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2021 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2021 Occupation Profiles
Technical Notes
Last Modified Date: March 31, 2022
United States Department of Labor
