Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2016

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)
518,950 0.7 % $19.40 $40,340 0.4 %

Percentile wage estimates for this occupation:

Percentile 10% 25% 50%
(Median)
75% 90%
Hourly Wage $10.52 $13.35 $17.68 $23.68 $30.57
Annual Wage (2) $21,880 $27,760 $36,780 $49,250 $63,590


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 39,580 1.09 $15.65 $32,550
Architectural, Engineering, and Related Services 27,340 1.95 $22.68 $47,170
Aerospace Product and Parts Manufacturing 22,250 4.53 $27.22 $56,610
Plastics Product Manufacturing 20,950 3.71 $16.93 $35,220
Motor Vehicle Parts Manufacturing 20,460 3.53 $17.97 $37,370

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 840 6.74 $11.50 $23,920
Glass and Glass Product Manufacturing 4,810 5.64 $18.85 $39,210
Foundries 6,680 5.52 $18.64 $38,780
Fabric Mills 2,710 4.94 $14.88 $30,950
Pharmaceutical and Medicine Manufacturing 13,040 4.59 $22.15 $46,060

Top paying industries for this occupation:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Electric Power Generation, Transmission and Distribution 970 0.25 $33.65 $69,980
Pipeline Transportation of Crude Oil (8) (8) $31.07 $64,620
Other Pipeline Transportation (8) (8) $29.89 $62,170
Pipeline Transportation of Natural Gas 670 2.28 $29.86 $62,110
Natural Gas Distribution 910 0.80 $28.24 $58,730


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 54,840 3.43 0.93 $20.55 $42,740
Texas 51,360 4.37 1.18 $20.42 $42,480
Ohio 31,040 5.82 1.57 $18.92 $39,350
Michigan 26,900 6.39 1.73 $17.04 $35,450
Illinois 23,710 4.02 1.09 $18.84 $39,200




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)
Indiana 19,220 6.42 1.74 $18.09 $37,620
Michigan 26,900 6.39 1.73 $17.04 $35,450
Kentucky 11,700 6.26 1.69 $18.49 $38,450
South Carolina 11,850 5.98 1.62 $18.00 $37,440
Ohio 31,040 5.82 1.57 $18.92 $39,350




Top paying States for this occupation:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Alaska 610 1.89 0.51 $30.17 $62,760
Washington 11,860 3.87 1.05 $26.80 $55,730
North Dakota 1,280 3.00 0.81 $26.37 $54,860
District of Columbia 70 0.10 0.03 $25.38 $52,790
Wyoming 810 2.93 0.79 $25.06 $52,120





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-Glendale, CA Metropolitan Division 16,570 3.92 1.06 $20.27 $42,170
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX 16,540 5.63 1.52 $22.82 $47,460
Chicago-Naperville-Arlington Heights, IL Metropolitan Division 13,430 3.69 1.00 $18.39 $38,260
New York-Jersey City-White Plains, NY-NJ Metropolitan Division 9,970 1.51 0.41 $19.58 $40,720
Dallas-Plano-Irving, TX Metropolitan Division 9,900 4.07 1.10 $19.17 $39,880
Warren-Troy-Farmington Hills, MI Metropolitan Division 8,990 7.45 2.02 $18.45 $38,380
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA 7,800 3.06 0.83 $17.87 $37,180
Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, WA Metropolitan Division 7,570 4.76 1.29 $28.80 $59,910
Anaheim-Santa Ana-Irvine, CA Metropolitan Division 7,400 4.74 1.28 $19.92 $41,440
Cleveland-Elyria, OH 6,580 6.40 1.73 $19.98 $41,550




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

Metropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Columbus, IN 1,070 21.83 5.90 $17.71 $36,830
Dalton, GA 920 13.52 3.66 $15.68 $32,620
Morristown, TN 530 12.41 3.36 $15.25 $31,720
Elkhart-Goshen, IN 1,470 11.64 3.15 $17.34 $36,070
Logan, UT-ID 620 11.50 3.11 $15.72 $32,700
Houma-Thibodaux, LA 970 10.83 2.93 $22.81 $47,440
Burlington, NC 630 10.61 2.87 $13.77 $28,640
Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC 1,560 10.51 2.84 $15.12 $31,460
Spartanburg, SC 1,430 10.05 2.72 $16.22 $33,740
Anniston-Oxford-Jacksonville, AL 390 9.41 2.55 $16.86 $35,070




Top paying metropolitan areas for this occupation:

Metropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
California-Lexington Park, MD 150 3.44 0.93 $33.41 $69,490
Amarillo, TX 370 3.25 0.88 $30.36 $63,140
Anchorage, AK 170 0.98 0.26 $30.35 $63,120
Olympia-Tumwater, WA 50 0.44 0.12 $29.89 $62,180
Tacoma-Lakewood, WA Metropolitan Division 930 3.25 0.88 $29.81 $62,000
Savannah, GA 670 4.07 1.10 $29.34 $61,030
Bismarck, ND 50 0.62 0.17 $29.14 $60,620
Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, WA Metropolitan Division 7,570 4.76 1.29 $28.80 $59,910
Silver Spring-Frederick-Rockville, MD Metropolitan Division 1,020 1.75 0.47 $28.12 $58,480
Cheyenne, WY 50 1.14 0.31 $27.32 $56,830

Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest employment in this occupation:

Nonmetropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
West Northwestern Ohio nonmetropolitan area 3,790 15.00 4.06 $17.97 $37,390
Northern Indiana nonmetropolitan area 3,100 14.39 3.89 $18.07 $37,580
North Northeastern Ohio non-metropolitan area (non-contiguous) 2,520 7.63 2.07 $16.91 $35,160
Southern Indiana nonmetropolitan area 2,270 12.13 3.28 $15.63 $32,500
Balance of Lower Peninsula of Michigan nonmetropolitan area 1,940 6.98 1.89 $16.76 $34,850

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

Nonmetropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
West Northwestern Ohio nonmetropolitan area 3,790 15.00 4.06 $17.97 $37,390
Northern Indiana nonmetropolitan area 3,100 14.39 3.89 $18.07 $37,580
Northeast Nebraska nonmetropolitan area 1,190 12.88 3.48 $18.14 $37,740
Northeast Alabama nonmetropolitan area 1,800 12.37 3.35 $13.95 $29,020
Southern Indiana nonmetropolitan area 2,270 12.13 3.28 $15.63 $32,500

Top paying nonmetropolitan areas for this occupation:

Nonmetropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Los Alamos County, New Mexico nonmetropolitan area 80 5.21 1.41 $37.90 $78,830
West Central North Dakota nonmetropolitan area 160 2.67 0.72 $36.17 $75,240
Balance of Alaska nonmetropolitan area 390 5.22 1.41 $30.56 $63,570
Far West North Dakota nonmetropolitan area 560 8.54 2.31 $28.41 $59,100
Southwest Wyoming nonmetropolitan area 100 1.60 0.43 $27.08 $56,320


About May 2016 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.

(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 OES estimates and related information:

May 2016 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2016 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2016 Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2016 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2016 Occupation Profiles

Technical Notes

 

Last Modified Date: March 31, 2017