Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2018

51-9061 Inspectors, Testers, Sorters, Samplers, and Weighers

Inspect, test, sort, sample, or weigh nonagricultural raw materials or processed, machined, fabricated, or assembled parts or products for defects, wear, and deviations from specifications. May use precision measuring instruments and complex test equipment.

National estimates for this occupation
Industry profile for this occupation
Geographic profile for this occupation

National estimates for this occupation: Top

Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for this occupation:

Employment (1) Employment
RSE (3) 		Mean hourly
wage		 Mean annual
wage (2) 		Wage RSE (3)
557,510 0.7 % $20.20 $42,010 0.4 %

Percentile wage estimates for this occupation:

Percentile 10% 25% 50%
(Median) 		75% 90%
Hourly Wage $11.32 $14.13 $18.39 $24.51 $31.49
Annual Wage (2) $23,550 $29,390 $38,250 $50,980 $65,510

Industry profile for this occupation: Top

Industries with the highest published employment and wages for this occupation are provided. For a list of all industries with employment in this occupation, see the Create Customized Tables function.

Industries with the highest levels of employment in this occupation:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Employment Services 46,230 1.26 $16.85 $35,050
Architectural, Engineering, and Related Services 27,630 1.91 $22.54 $46,880
Plastics Product Manufacturing 24,360 4.15 $17.61 $36,630
Motor Vehicle Parts Manufacturing 24,140 4.02 $19.57 $40,710
Aerospace Product and Parts Manufacturing 21,570 4.44 $28.46 $59,190

Industries with the highest concentration of employment in this occupation:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Apparel Knitting Mills 570 5.81 $12.73 $26,480
Foundries 6,710 5.70 $19.94 $41,480
Textile and Fabric Finishing and Fabric Coating Mills 1,660 5.68 $17.17 $35,720
Fabric Mills 2,630 4.97 $15.56 $32,370
Pharmaceutical and Medicine Manufacturing 14,110 4.79 $23.47 $48,830

Top paying industries for this occupation:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Scheduled Air Transportation 260 0.06 $41.69 $86,710
Electric Power Generation, Transmission and Distribution 1,070 0.27 $33.94 $70,600
Natural Gas Distribution 810 0.74 $31.26 $65,020
Other Pipeline Transportation 170 1.88 $30.72 $63,900
Rail Transportation 310 0.13 $30.12 $62,660

Geographic profile for this occupation: Top

States and areas with the highest published employment, location quotients, and wages for this occupation are provided. For a list of all areas with employment in this occupation, see the Create Customized Tables function.





States with the highest employment level in this occupation:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
California 56,660 3.33 0.86 $21.69 $45,120
Texas 54,090 4.47 1.16 $20.43 $42,500
Ohio 32,240 5.95 1.55 $19.96 $41,510
Michigan 30,600 7.09 1.84 $17.57 $36,550
Illinois 28,600 4.77 1.24 $20.01 $41,610




States with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in this occupation:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Michigan 30,600 7.09 1.84 $17.57 $36,550
Indiana 19,350 6.35 1.65 $19.03 $39,580
South Carolina 12,750 6.18 1.61 $18.80 $39,110
Kentucky 11,680 6.18 1.60 $18.99 $39,510
Wisconsin 17,110 6.01 1.56 $19.59 $40,750




Top paying States for this occupation:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Alaska 370 1.17 0.30 $34.38 $71,510
District of Columbia 70 0.09 0.02 $29.07 $60,460
Washington 11,890 3.65 0.95 $28.51 $59,310
New Mexico 1,760 2.17 0.56 $26.29 $54,690
North Dakota 1,270 3.05 0.79 $25.30 $52,620





Metropolitan areas with the highest employment level in this occupation:

Metropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA 23,890 3.90 1.01 $21.12 $43,930
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA 21,380 2.25 0.58 $21.02 $43,710
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI 20,970 4.52 1.17 $19.95 $41,490
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX 17,630 5.91 1.54 $20.57 $42,780
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX 15,810 4.43 1.15 $20.47 $42,580
Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI 14,810 7.51 1.95 $18.49 $38,460
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA 9,510 3.55 0.92 $18.12 $37,700
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA 8,380 4.22 1.10 $31.06 $64,610
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD 7,320 2.57 0.67 $22.08 $45,940
Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH 7,190 2.61 0.68 $23.54 $48,960