Government Property Inspector and Investigator Salary (2026), outlook and how to become one

Government Property Inspectors and Investigators earn a median of $80,730 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025). That is 58% above the $50,980 median for all US occupations. That works out at $38.81/hr. The middle half earn between $61,280 and $109,010. The top 10% earn $133,720 or more.

The median hourly wage for government property inspectors and investigators is $38.81 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). On a full-year basis the $80,730 annual median works out to about $6,730 a month before tax.

BLS does not publish a starting salary. The nearest measure is the low end of the pay range: the lowest-paid 10% of government property inspectors and investigators earn less than $48,220 a year and the bottom quarter less than $61,280 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). New workers often start near that end, but where a particular job starts depends on the employer, the state and the credentials you bring, so read these as the bottom of the range rather than a guaranteed entry wage.

Some do. $100,000 sits between the median ($80,730) and the 75th percentile ($109,010), so roughly a quarter to a half of government property inspectors and investigators earn more than that (BLS OEWS, May 2025). In 3 states the median itself is above $100,000: District of Columbia ($111,030), Massachusetts ($102,060), New Jersey ($100,000).

The highest state medians for Government Property Inspectors and Investigators are District of Columbia ($111,030), Massachusetts ($102,060), New Jersey ($100,000) (BLS OEWS, May 2025).

BLS does not split government property inspectors and investigators' pay by specialty or employer, but its range shows how far the top end runs: the highest-paid 10% earn more than $133,720, against a median of $80,730 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). Location moves pay the most in the published data: the best-paying states are District of Columbia ($111,030), Massachusetts ($102,060), New Jersey ($100,000).

Yes. BLS reports a bachelor's degree as the typical entry-level education for Government Property Inspectors and Investigators, and O*NET rates the preparation needed as medium preparation. BLS also lists moderate-term on-the-job training as typical on-the-job training. In O*NET's survey of people already doing the job, 39.3% hold bachelor's degree.

BLS does not publish a fixed length; it depends on the route. What it does publish: the typical way in for government property inspectors and investigators is a bachelor's degree. Once hired, BLS lists moderate-term on-the-job training as typical. O*NET classes the work as needing medium preparation.

It is stable rather than fast-growing: employment is projected to change 3.8% over 2025–2035, about the same as the 3.5% projected across all occupations (BLS EP, 2025–2035). BLS still projects about 32,700 openings a year, mostly from workers retiring or moving to other work.

Compliance officers make sure that people and organizations meet legal and regulatory requirements. A core O*NET task: examine records, reports, or other documents to establish facts or detect discrepancies. Employers most often ask for Computer aided design CAD software, Data base user interface and query software, Desktop publishing software.

Yes, for most. In O*NET's survey of people in the job, 10% of government property inspectors and investigators usually work more than 40 hours a week, 89% work exactly 40 and 1% work fewer. 87% say their schedule is regular and 13% irregular. Source: O*NET 31.0 Database, Work Context.

O*NET scores Government Property Inspectors and Investigators highest on the Conventional, Enterprising and Investigative interest areas, so the work mixes organising, following procedures and working precisely with data with leading, persuading, selling and making decisions. On NueCareer's MBTI-to-interest mapping the closest types are ESTJ, ISTJ. Personality is a fit signal, not a gate. The free NueCareer quiz scores your own profile against all 1,731 careers in the bank.

Women make up 52.7% of government property inspectors and investigators, against 47.1% of all employed people: more women than in the workforce as a whole. 29.2% are 55 or older (23.2% across all jobs), so a larger-than-usual share of the workforce reaches retirement age over the next decade. Those exits are counted in the BLS openings figure. The median worker is 47.3 years old (all workers: 42.1). Source: BLS Current Population Survey, 2025 annual averages.