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Agricultural Inspectors in Arizona

Thinking about a career as an Agricultural Inspectors in Arizona? Here’s what the data says. Inspect agricultural commodities, processing equipment, and facilities, and fish and logging operations, to ensure compliance with regulations and laws governing health, quality, and safety.

What do Agricultural Inspectors Make in Arizona?

For agricultural inspectors working in Arizona, the median annual wage is $44,100 per year (or roughly $21.20/hour).Pay can range from $37,440 at the 10th percentile to $55,780 at the 90th percentile.

Wage Statistic	Annual	Hourly
10th percentile	$37,440	$18.00
25th percentile	$37,440	$18.00
Median (50th)	$44,100	$21.20
75th percentile	$53,750	$25.84
90th percentile	$55,780	$26.82

Location quotient — how concentrated this career is in Arizona compared to the national average — is 0.69, indicating fewer agricultural inspectors per worker than the national average.

National Wage Comparison

Nationally, agricultural inspectors earn a median of $24,614 per year ($11.83/hour), exceeding the Arizona median.

Employment Outlook

National employment for 324,218 agricultural inspectors across the United States. In Arizona alone, approximately 170 people work in this role. That’s fewer than the typical state, which employs around 210 agricultural inspectors.

Top Arizona Metros for Agricultural Inspectors

These are the Arizona metros with the most agricultural inspectors in Arizona.

Metro Area	Number Employed	Annual Median Salary
Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ	80	$51,620

Top States for Agricultural Inspectors Employment

These states have the highest employment of agricultural inspectors work.

State	Number Employed
California	2,120
Pennsylvania	690
Georgia	690
Washington	620
Texas	590
Florida	510
Illinois	370
Nebraska	370
Puerto Rico	360
Iowa	350
North Carolina	300
New York	290
Missouri	290
Alabama	260
Wisconsin	250
Virginia	250
Michigan	240
Ohio	230
Tennessee	230
Indiana	220

Highest-Paying States for Agricultural Inspectors

These states pay the most for agricultural inspectors.

State	Annual Median Salary
Michigan	$72,300
New York	$71,710
Minnesota	$68,330
Ohio	$65,750
Delaware	$64,730
Washington	$62,560
Vermont	$61,080
Hawaii	$60,900
Louisiana	$60,170
New Jersey	$59,510

Skills

Top agricultural inspectors skills, rated on an importance scale of 0 to 5:

Knowledge Areas

Key knowledge areas for this occupation, rated on an importance scale of 0 to 5:

Abilities

Top abilities for agricultural inspectors, rated on an importance scale of 0 to 5:

Daily Tasks

Day-to-day, agricultural inspectors typically:

• Inspect food products and processing procedures to determine whether products are safe to eat.
• Interpret and enforce government acts and regulations and explain required standards to agricultural workers.
• Inspect agricultural commodities or related operations, as well as fish or logging operations, for compliance with laws and regulations governing health, quality, and safety.
• Label and seal graded products and issue official grading certificates.
• Monitor the operations and sanitary conditions of slaughtering or meat processing plants.
• Take emergency actions, such as closing production facilities, if product safety is compromised.
• Verify that transportation and handling procedures meet regulatory requirements.
• Inspect the cleanliness and practices of establishment employees.
• Examine, weigh, and measure commodities, such as poultry, eggs, meat, or seafood to certify qualities, grades, and weights.
• Inspect or test horticultural products or livestock to detect harmful diseases, chemical residues, or infestations and to determine the quality of products or animals.
• Monitor the grading performed by company employees to verify conformance to standards.
• Write reports of findings and recommendations and advise farmers, growers, or processors of corrective action to be taken.

Work Activities

• Documenting/Recording Information
• Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates
• Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards
• Getting Information
• Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events
• Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships
• Making Decisions and Solving Problems
• Working with Computers
• Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Materials
• Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work
• Communicating with People Outside the Organization
• Judging the Qualities of Objects, Services, or People

Tools & Technology

Common tools and software used in this occupation include: Hot technologies: Microsoft Access In-demand technologies: Microsoft Excel

Related Careers

Careers similar to agricultural inspectors include:

• Industrial Production Managers
• Quality Control Systems Managers
• Environmental Compliance Inspectors
• Government Property Inspectors and Investigators
• Health and Safety Engineers, Except Mining Safety Engineers and Inspectors
• Food Scientists and Technologists

Also Known As

Agricultural Commodities Inspector, Agricultural Commodity Grader, Agricultural Inspector, Agricultural Specialist, Agriculture Inspector, Brand Inspector, Cattle Examiner, Cattle Inspector, Certifier, Compliance Analyst, Compliance Coordinator, Compliance Technician (Compliance Tech), Consumer Compliance Examiner, Consumer Safety Inspector (CSI), Consumer Safety Officer (CSO).

References

• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics — https://www.bls.gov/oes/
• O*NET Online — https://www.onetonline.org/
• BLS Employment Projections — https://www.bls.gov/emp/
• O*NET-SOC code: 45-2011.00