Agricultural Inspectors
Inspect agricultural commodities, processing equipment, and facilities, and fish and logging operations, to ensure compliance with regulations and laws governing health, quality, and safety.
- Median annual earnings
- $49,175
- Projected change
- +4.4%
- Typical education
- High school diploma or less
- Employment
- 16.4K jobs
50th percentile, United States
2025 to 2035
63.2% of the workforce
Growing to 17.13K by 2035
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Build the skills
ASU learning related to this career
These courses and certificates are connected through catalog career relationships and Lightcast skill tags.
The work
What agricultural inspectors do
Tasks reported for this occupation, ordered by how often they come up in the role.
- 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.
Pay and outlook
What the job pays and where it is heading
Annual earnings range
Reported earnings by percentile, United States
- 10th percentile
- $35,930
- 25th percentile
- $40,993
- 50th percentile
- $49,175
- 75th percentile
- $64,531
- 90th percentile
- $79,575
The gold marker shows the median. Half earn more than $49,175 and half earn less.
Employment outlook
2025 to 2035 projection
728 more positions over the decade, before replacement hiring.
Preparation
Education levels
What people currently working in the career hold. These are not entry requirements.
- High school diploma or less
- 63.2%
- Some college
- 12.5%
- Associate degree
- 12.2%
- Bachelor's degree
- 10.3%
- Master's or Professional degree
- 1.8%
Skills
Skills employers ask for
Technical skills appearing most often in job postings for this occupation.
How the work gets done
Core competencies
Broad capabilities associated with strong performance in this occupation.
- Quality Control Analysis
- Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance.
- Monitoring
- Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
- Reading Comprehension
- Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
- Active Listening
- Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
- Critical Thinking
- Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
- Speaking
- Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
- Operations Monitoring
- Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
- Active Learning
- Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
- Writing
- Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
- Systems Analysis
- Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
- Systems Evaluation
- Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
- Complex Problem Solving
- Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
- Coordination
- Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
- Instructing
- Teaching others how to do something.
- Learning Strategies
- Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
- Time Management
- Managing one's own time and the time of others.
- Persuasion
- Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
- Service Orientation
- Actively looking for ways to help people.
- Negotiation
- Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
In the market
Job titles and employers
Recent job postings in United StatesCommon job titles
- 01Occupancy Managers315 postings
- 02Consumer Safety Inspectors289 postings
- 03Inspectors210 postings
- 04Transportation Specialists133 postings
- 05Field Inspectors122 postings
- 06Occupancy Specialists111 postings
- 07Watercraft Inspectors106 postings
- 08Agricultural Specialists95 postings
- 09Walkers86 postings
- 10Agriculture Inspectors78 postings
- 11Agricultural Inspectors77 postings
- 12Quality Control Inspectors63 postings
- 13Checkers53 postings
- 14Food Safety Inspectors51 postings
- 15Evaluators48 postings
- 16Meat Inspectors47 postings
- 17Livestock Managers45 postings
- 18Produce Inspectors45 postings
- 19Food Inspectors44 postings
- 20FSQA Managers43 postings
Top employers
- 01Field Asset Reporting1,570 postings
- 02US Foods170 postings
- 03Usda Food Safety & Inspection Service152 postings
- 04Food Safety And Inspection Service131 postings
- 05State Of Colorado63 postings
- 06State of Minnesota59 postings
- 07State of Florida48 postings
- 08Commonwealth Of Pennsylvania44 postings
- 09United States Department of Agriculture37 postings
- 10Environmental Systems Products36 postings
- 11State of Idaho34 postings
- 12Camin Cargo Control33 postings
- 13Aerotek30 postings
- 14SGS30 postings
- 15Newyork State Government29 postings
- 16Amspec25 postings
- 17State Of Illinois25 postings
- 18GPAC24 postings
- 19Ces Agency23 postings
- 20ManpowerGroup23 postings
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