Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2011

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)
434,170 0.7 % $17.64 $36,690 0.4 %

Percentile wage estimates for this occupation:

Percentile 10% 25% 50%
(Median)
75% 90%
Hourly Wage $9.80 $12.44 $16.36 $21.49 $27.82
Annual Wage (2) $20,380 $25,880 $34,040 $44,700 $57,860


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 25,500 0.86 $14.38 $29,900
Architectural, Engineering, and Related Services 20,960 1.62 $19.57 $40,710
Aerospace Product and Parts Manufacturing 19,310 4.08 $23.93 $49,780
Plastics Product Manufacturing 18,000 3.54 $15.31 $31,850
Semiconductor and Other Electronic Component Manufacturing 15,730 4.15 $16.60 $34,520

Industries with the highest concentration of employment in this occupation:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Fabric Mills 3,050 5.53 $14.23 $29,590
Glass and Glass Product Manufacturing 4,190 5.30 $15.98 $33,230
Textile and Fabric Finishing and Fabric Coating Mills 1,730 4.98 $13.15 $27,360
Apparel Knitting Mills 800 4.77 $11.27 $23,450
Rubber Product Manufacturing 5,460 4.38 $17.74 $36,890

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 1,130 0.29 $29.34 $61,030
Other Pipeline Transportation 80 1.21 $27.43 $57,050
Natural Gas Distribution 720 0.66 $25.63 $53,300
Nonscheduled Air Transportation 30 0.08 $25.10 $52,210
Facilities Support Services 410 0.30 $24.75 $51,490


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 47,720 3.40 1.00 $18.58 $38,650
Texas 37,750 3.66 1.08 $17.70 $36,820
Pennsylvania 21,580 3.89 1.15 $18.16 $37,770
Ohio 21,380 4.29 1.27 $17.36 $36,110
New York 20,330 2.41 0.71 $17.97 $37,380




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 18,130 6.57 1.94 $16.56 $34,450
Arkansas 6,210 5.45 1.61 $14.77 $30,720
Michigan 20,160 5.27 1.56 $17.91 $37,250
New Hampshire 3,140 5.18 1.53 $17.81 $37,040
South Carolina 8,750 4.94 1.46 $15.94 $33,150




Top paying States for this occupation:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Alaska 510 1.62 0.48 $29.69 $61,750
New Mexico 1,160 1.50 0.44 $24.70 $51,380
District of Columbia 120 0.19 0.05 $24.30 $50,540
Washington 9,440 3.47 1.03 $22.38 $46,550
Wyoming 640 2.34 0.69 $21.80 $45,340





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 13,610 3.56 1.05 $18.27 $38,000
Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, TX 12,310 4.82 1.43 $19.04 $39,590
Chicago-Joliet-Naperville, IL Metropolitan Division 10,950 3.06 0.90 $17.86 $37,150
New York-White Plains-Wayne, NY-NJ Metropolitan Division 7,630 1.51 0.45 $18.48 $38,440
Santa Ana-Anaheim-Irvine, CA Metropolitan Division 6,910 4.98 1.47 $18.50 $38,480
Dallas-Plano-Irving, TX Metropolitan Division 6,250 3.06 0.90 $17.47 $36,350
Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, WA Metropolitan Division 5,730 4.19 1.24 $25.43 $52,890
Warren-Troy-Farmington Hills, MI Metropolitan Division 5,630 5.43 1.60 $18.76 $39,020
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, GA 5,300 2.38 0.70 $16.45 $34,210
Philadelphia, PA Metropolitan Division 5,090 2.81 0.83 $20.79 $43,240




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 630 15.05 4.45 $15.84 $32,950
Burlington, NC 740 13.27 3.92 $11.03 $22,950
Morristown, TN 550 12.52 3.70 $12.97 $26,980
Dalton, GA 720 11.37 3.36 $13.81 $28,730
Spartanburg, SC 1,210 10.72 3.17 $14.53 $30,230
Logan, UT-ID 460 9.57 2.83 $14.01 $29,150
Evansville, IN-KY 1,610 9.54 2.82 $19.04 $39,590
Danville, IL 260 9.46 2.79 $15.01 $31,220
Elkhart-Goshen, IN 970 9.41 2.78 $15.53 $32,300
Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC 1,300 9.40 2.78 $13.57 $28,220




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)
Anchorage, AK 270 1.59 0.47 $31.60 $65,720
Wilmington, NC 350 2.63 0.78 $26.97 $56,090
Kokomo, IN 150 4.00 1.18 $26.67 $55,480
Albuquerque, NM 640 1.72 0.51 $26.26 $54,630
Farmington, NM 30 0.71 0.21 $26.05 $54,180
Savannah, GA 440 3.03 0.90 $25.76 $53,570
Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, WA Metropolitan Division 5,730 4.19 1.24 $25.43 $52,890
Peabody, MA NECTA Division 430 4.29 1.27 $24.77 $51,530
Portsmouth, NH-ME 200 3.66 1.08 $24.54 $51,040
Bremerton-Silverdale, WA 90 1.11 0.33 $24.41 $50,780

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)
Northern Indiana nonmetropolitan area 2,610 13.17 3.89 $14.80 $30,790
Other North Carolina nonmetropolitan area 2,380 8.13 2.40 $16.90 $35,140
Southeast Iowa nonmetropolitan area 1,870 8.50 2.51 $16.17 $33,630
Kansas nonmetropolitan area 1,830 4.82 1.42 $15.58 $32,410
Balance of Lower Peninsula of Michigan nonmetropolitan area 1,820 6.60 1.95 $14.78 $30,740

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)
Northern Indiana nonmetropolitan area 2,610 13.17 3.89 $14.80 $30,790
South Arkansas nonmetropolitan area 1,550 12.25 3.62 $14.33 $29,810
Central Washington nonmetropolitan area 540 8.75 2.59 $11.73 $24,390
Northeastern Nebraska nonmetropolitan area 780 8.52 2.52 $15.70 $32,650
Southeast Iowa nonmetropolitan area 1,870 8.50 2.51 $16.17 $33,630

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)
Railbelt / Southwest Alaska nonmetropolitan area 190 2.67 0.79 $29.98 $62,370
Natchitoches nonmetropolitan area 170 2.15 0.64 $25.94 $53,960
St. Mary's County, Maryland nonmetropolitan area 40 1.05 0.31 $24.07 $50,070
Southeastern Wyoming nonmetropolitan area 50 1.40 0.41 $24.06 $50,040
East Idaho nonmetropolitan area 140 2.81 0.83 $23.79 $49,490


About May 2011 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 mean 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.

(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 2011 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2011 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2011 Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2011 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

List of Occupations in SOC Code Number Order

List of Occupations in Alphabetical Order

Download May 2011 Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates in Zipped XLS files

Technical Notes

 

Last Modified Date: March 27, 2012