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Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
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Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2020

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 Inspectors, Testers, Sorters, Samplers, and Weighers
Industry profile for Inspectors, Testers, Sorters, Samplers, and Weighers
Geographic profile for Inspectors, Testers, Sorters, Samplers, and Weighers

National estimates for Inspectors, Testers, Sorters, Samplers, and Weighers:

Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for Inspectors, Testers, Sorters, Samplers, and Weighers:

Employment (1) Employment
RSE (3) 		Mean hourly
wage		 Mean annual
wage (2) 		Wage RSE (3)
549,200 0.7 % $ 21.43 $ 44,580 0.4 %

Percentile wage estimates for Inspectors, Testers, Sorters, Samplers, and Weighers:

Percentile 10% 25% 50%
(Median) 		75% 90%
Hourly Wage $ 12.62 $ 15.31 $ 19.45 $ 25.72 $ 32.80
Annual Wage (2) $ 26,240 $ 31,840 $ 40,460 $ 53,500 $ 68,220

Industry profile for Inspectors, Testers, Sorters, Samplers, and Weighers:

Industries with the highest published employment and wages for Inspectors, Testers, Sorters, Samplers, and Weighers are provided. For a list of all industries with employment in Inspectors, Testers, Sorters, Samplers, and Weighers, see the Create Customized Tables function.

Industries with the highest levels of employment in Inspectors, Testers, Sorters, Samplers, and Weighers:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Employment Services 37,760 1.18 $ 17.51 $ 36,430
Architectural, Engineering, and Related Services 28,500 1.90 $ 23.50 $ 48,880
Plastics Product Manufacturing 24,250 4.32 $ 18.69 $ 38,880
Aerospace Product and Parts Manufacturing 23,290 4.44 $ 29.45 $ 61,250
Motor Vehicle Parts Manufacturing 20,680 4.34 $ 20.77 $ 43,200

Industries with the highest concentration of employment in Inspectors, Testers, Sorters, Samplers, and Weighers:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Apparel Knitting Mills 650 7.71 $ 15.03 $ 31,260
Foundries 5,740 5.41 $ 20.98 $ 43,650
Fabric Mills 2,430 5.27 $ 16.16 $ 33,610
Pharmaceutical and Medicine Manufacturing 15,530 5.21 $ 23.65 $ 49,190
Coating, Engraving, Heat Treating, and Allied Activities 6,480 4.93 $ 19.83 $ 41,250

Top paying industries for Inspectors, Testers, Sorters, Samplers, and Weighers:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Scheduled Air Transportation 450 0.10 $ 41.59 $ 86,510
Electric Power Generation, Transmission and Distribution 1,030 0.27 $ 34.73 $ 72,230
Natural Gas Distribution 750 0.70 $ 33.44 $ 69,550
Other Pipeline Transportation 130 1.61 $ 32.80 $ 68,230
Oil and Gas Extraction 240 0.19 $ 32.61 $ 67,820

Geographic profile for Inspectors, Testers, Sorters, Samplers, and Weighers:

States and areas with the highest published employment, location quotients, and wages for Inspectors, Testers, Sorters, Samplers, and Weighers are provided. For a list of all areas with employment in Inspectors, Testers, Sorters, Samplers, and Weighers, see the Create Customized Tables function.





States with the highest employment level in Inspectors, Testers, Sorters, Samplers, and Weighers:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
California 56,130 3.42 0.87 $ 22.48 $ 46,750
Texas 49,540 4.09 1.04 $ 21.15 $ 44,000
Ohio 29,120 5.67 1.44 $ 21.43 $ 44,570
Michigan 29,110 7.42 1.88 $ 19.04 $ 39,590
Illinois 28,240 5.02 1.27 $ 20.41 $ 42,460




States with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Inspectors, Testers, Sorters, Samplers, and Weighers:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Michigan 29,110 7.42 1.88 $ 19.04 $ 39,590
Indiana 19,930 6.83 1.73 $ 20.00 $ 41,600
Wisconsin 17,630 6.51 1.65 $ 20.32 $ 42,260
South Carolina 12,790 6.35 1.61 $ 18.98 $ 39,480
Kentucky 10,690 6.00 1.52 $ 20.88 $ 43,430




Top paying states for Inspectors, Testers, Sorters, Samplers, and Weighers:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Alaska 220 0.75 0.19 $ 34.43 $ 71,620
District of Columbia 70 0.11 0.03 $ 31.12 $ 64,740
North Dakota 1,560 3.89 0.99 $ 30.63 $ 63,700
Washington 12,000 3.75 0.95 $ 29.85 $ 62,080
Wyoming 1,010 3.84 0.97 $ 27.47 $ 57,140





Metropolitan areas with the highest employment level in Inspectors, Testers, Sorters, Samplers, and Weighers:

Metropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA 22,970 3.94 1.00 $ 22.09 $ 45,950
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI 20,940 4.80 1.22 $ 21.00 $ 43,690
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA 18,080 2.05 0.52 $ 22.44 $ 46,670
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX 15,640 5.27 1.33 $ 21.89 $ 45,530
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX 15,030 4.19 1.06 $ 20.34 $ 42,300
Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI 14,100 7.92 2.01 $ 19.98 $ 41,560
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA 10,260 3.90 0.99 $ 18.91 $ 39,340
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA 8,220 4.20 1.06 $ 32.69 $ 67,990
Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH 7,460 2.87 0.73 $ 25.42 $ 52,880
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI 6,930 3.75 0.95 $ 22.94 $ 47,720




Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Inspectors, Testers, Sorters, Samplers, and Weighers:

Metropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Carbondale-Marion, IL 950 18.78 4.76 $ 12.04 $ 25,050
Morristown, TN 660 15.11 3.83 $ 16.81 $ 34,970
Dalton, GA 840 14.00 3.55 $ 16.61 $ 34,550
Elkhart-Goshen, IN 1,650 13.10 3.32 $ 19.38 $ 40,310
Columbus, IN 570 12.17 3.08 $ 20.03 $ 41,670
Albany, GA 650 11.12 2.82 $ 28.31 $ 58,890
Vineland-Bridgeton, NJ 630 11.01 2.79 $ 16.83 $ 35,010
Jackson, MI 510 11.00 2.79 $ 18.91 $ 39,320
Waco, TX 1,230 10.66 2.70 $ 18.81 $ 39,120
Spartanburg, SC 1,600 10.32 2.61 $ 18.56 $ 38,600