Food Inspector
Food Inspector Salary
$11K - $15.5K
0% of jobs
$15.5K - $20K
0% of jobs
$20K - $24.5K
0% of jobs
$24.5K - $29K
9% of jobs
$29K - $33.5K
15% of jobs
$33.6K is the 25th percentile. Wages below this are outliers.
$33.5K - $38K
49% of jobs
$39.1K is the 75th percentile. Wages above this are outliers.
$38K - $42.5K
6% of jobs
$42.5K - $47K
4% of jobs
$47K - $51.5K
4% of jobs
$51.5K - $56K
6% of jobs
$56K - $60.5K
5% of jobs
$11K
$37.5K
$62.5K
$40,785
/year
$19.61
/hour
Food Inspector Salary Comparison by Location
Nationwide
United States
$40,785
Columbus
Ohio
$39,394
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How much does a Food Inspector make?
As of Jul 29, 2026, the average annual pay for a Food Inspector in the United States is $40,785 a year.
Just in case you need a simple salary calculator, that works out to be approximately $19.61 an hour. This is the equivalent of $784/week or $3,398/month.
While ZipRecruiter is seeing annual salaries as high as $62,500 and as low as $11,000, the majority of Food Inspector salaries currently range between $37,500 (25th percentile) to $43,500 (75th percentile) with top earners (90th percentile) making $58,500 annually across the United States. The average pay range for a Food Inspector varies greatly (by as much as 6000), which suggests there may be many opportunities for advancement and increased pay based on skill level, location and years of experience.
A Food Inspector in your area makes on average $39,394 per year, or $1,391 (3.411%) less than the national average annual salary of $40,785. Ohio ranks number 31 out of 50 states nationwide for Food Inspector salaries.
To estimate the most accurate annual salary range for Food Inspector jobs, ZipRecruiter continuously scans its database of millions of active jobs published locally throughout America.
Find your next high paying job as a Food Inspector on ZipRecruiter today.
What are Top 10 Highest Paying Cities for Food Inspector Jobs
We've identified 10 cities where the typical salary for a Food Inspector job is above the national average. Topping the list is Pennington County, SD, , with Beverly, MA, and Glenwood Springs, CO, close behind in the second and third positions. Glenwood Springs, CO, beats the national average by $27,773 (68.1%), and Pennington County, SD, furthers that trend with another $30,291 (74.3%) above the $40,785 average.
With these 10 cities having average salaries higher than the national average, the opportunities for economic advancement by changing locations as a Food Inspector appears to be exceedingly fruitful.
Additionally, another factor to consider is the average salary for these top 10 cities varies as much as 34% between Pennington County, SD, and Berkeley, CA, , suggesting a strong potential for positive wage variance in a Food Inspector role. Cost of living should also be factored in when balancing location and salary.
City | Annual Salary | Hourly Wage |
|---|---|---|
Pennington County, SD | $71,076 | $34.17 |
Beverly, MA | $69,764 | $33.54 |
Glenwood Springs, CO | $68,558 | $32.96 |
Paramus, NJ | $66,605 | $32.02 |
Burleigh County, ND | $63,890 | $30.72 |
Scranton, PA | $59,334 | $28.53 |
Douglas County, NE | $59,315 | $28.52 |
Johnson City, TN | $56,673 | $27.25 |
Nome, AK | $50,593 | $24.32 |
Berkeley, CA | $49,939 | $24.01 |
What are Top 5 Best Paying Related Food Inspector Jobs in the U.S.
We found a few related jobs that pay more than jobs in the Food Inspector category.
For example Building Inspector jobs pay as much as $28,096 (68.9%) more than the average Food Inspector salary of $40,785. If you're qualified, finding work as a Building Inspector may help you make more money than that of the average Food Inspector position.
Job Title | Annual Salary | Hourly Wage |
|---|---|---|
Building Inspector | $68,881 | $33.12 |
Engineering Inspector | $62,788 | $30.19 |
Pipeline Inspector | $57,298 | $27.55 |
Api Inspector | $54,939 | $26.41 |
Material Inspector | $46,503 | $22.36 |
About Our Data
ZipRecruiter salary estimates, histograms, trends and comparisons are derived from both employer job postings and third party data sources.
