Inspectors, Testers, Sorters, Samplers, and Weighers Salary in Houston, TX (2024)
Inspectors, Testers, Sorters, Samplers, and Weighers in the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX metro area earn a median of $43,810 per year ($21.06 per hour) based on 17,030 jobs counted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in 2024. That is -7.7% against the national median of $47,460 for this occupation.
Pay distribution
The median is a single point on a wide curve. The table below shows where inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers actually sit across the pay range in Houston, TX, from the bottom decile to the top.
| Percentile | Hourly | Annual | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $14.97 | $31,140 | |
| 25th percentile | $18.02 | $37,480 | |
| Median | $21.06 | $43,810 | half earn more, half earn less |
| 75th percentile | $27.23 | $56,640 | |
| 90th percentile | $36.05 | $74,990 | |
| Average (mean) | $23.58 | $49,050 |
How Houston, TX compares
The local median of $43,810 runs -7.7% below the US median of $47,460 for this occupation; it pays 9.7% less than the metro-wide median across all jobs ($48,490); within the metro it ranks 486th of 677 detailed occupations by median pay.
| Benchmark | Median annual | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| Houston, TX — this occupation | $43,810 | — |
| US median, same occupation (all areas) | $47,460 | -7.7% |
| Houston, TX — all occupations | $48,490 | -9.7% |
| Highest metro in the US for this job | $62,480 | -29.9% |
At a location quotient of 1.37, this occupation is over-represented locally: the metro has about 137% of the national share of these workers.
High confidence The relative standard error on this estimate is 1.2%, which is a tight margin — the figure is stable enough to plan around.
Ranked 486th of 677 detailed occupations in the metro by median annual wage.
Highest-paying jobs in Houston, TX
To put $43,810 in context, these are the best-paid detailed occupations in the same metro area. This occupation sits 486th.
| Occupation | Median annual | Employment |
|---|---|---|
| Nurse Anesthetists | $235,490 | 900 |
| Dentists, All Other Specialists | $220,420 | — |
| Podiatrists | $213,840 | 70 |
| Physicists | $212,050 | 130 |
| Anesthesiologists | $202,830 | 1,190 |
| Pediatricians, General | $187,590 | 1,280 |
| Architectural and Engineering Managers | $172,810 | 5,510 |
| Dentists, General | $170,170 | 1,410 |
| Geoscientists, Except Hydrologists and Geographers | $168,280 | 1,760 |
| Law Teachers, Postsecondary | $167,680 | 50 |
Where inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers earn the most
Across the 25 metro areas with released data for this occupation, medians run from $43,810 to $62,480. These are the top markets.
| Metro area | Median annual | Employment |
|---|---|---|
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | $62,480 | 7,700 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | $58,950 | 6,860 |
| Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD | $58,710 | 2,250 |
| Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO | $58,180 | 2,290 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | $57,220 | 2,380 |
| Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA | $57,050 | 4,010 |
| San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA | $56,110 | 5,550 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH | $55,220 | 7,700 |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI | $53,910 | 7,320 |
| St. Louis, MO-IL | $51,530 | 5,290 |
See the full national picture on the Inspectors, Testers, Sorters, Samplers, and Weighers salary by metro page.
Frequently asked questions
What is the median salary for inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers in Houston, TX?
The median annual wage is $43,810, or $21 per hour. That means half of the inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers working in the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX metro area earn more than this figure and half earn less. The average is $49,050.
What do the highest and lowest paid inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers in Houston, TX earn?
The bottom 10% earn $31,140 or less, while the top 10% earn $74,990 or more — a spread of $43,850 between the two ends of the distribution. The middle half of workers sit between $37,480 and $56,640.
Is inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers pay in Houston, TX above the local average?
Yes, it is 9.7% below the all-occupation median for the metro, which is $48,490. That comparison is the fairer one for judging local purchasing power, because it holds the metro's overall cost and wage level constant.
How does Houston, TX pay compare with the rest of the US for this job?
At $43,810 the metro median is 7.7% lower than the US median of $47,460 for inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers. Across the 25 metro areas covered here, this occupation ranges from $43,810 to $62,480.
How many inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers work in Houston, TX?
BLS counts about 17,030 people in this occupation in the metro area, or 5.25 jobs per 1,000 total jobs. At a location quotient of 1.37, this occupation is over-represented locally: the metro has about 137% of the national share of these workers.
About these figures
Figures come from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey for 2024 (employment relative standard error 4.4%). OEWS measures what employers pay, not what any individual earns; it excludes self-employed workers, and it does not adjust for local cost of living.
Read the full methodology, or the original data at bls.gov/oes.