Horticultural Inspectors
Overview
Introduction
Horticultural inspectors are employed by federal, state, and local governments to enforce those laws that protect public health and safety as they pertain to plants and agricultural products. There are about 13,300 agricultural inspectors, including horticultural inspectors, employed in the United States.
Quick Facts
Median Salary
Employment Prospects
Minimum Education Level
Experience
Skills
Personality Traits
Earnings
According to the U.S. Department of Labor, agricultural inspectors, an occupation that includes horticultural inspectors, earned median wages of $48,010 in May 2023. Earnings ranged from less than $35,360 to $75,270 or more annually. Fifty percent of agricultural inspectors earned between $39,640 and $60,690. Agricultural inspectors who worked at local government agencies earned mean annual sal...
Work Environment
Most horticultural inspectors should expect to travel a considerable amount of the time. They will interact with a wide variety of people from different educational and professional backgrounds. Horticultural inspectors sometimes work long and irregular hours. Sometimes, inspectors will experience stressful, unpleasant, and even dangerous situations. Agricultural and food inspectors may be in c...
Outlook
Employment for agricultural inspectors is expected to grow about as fast as the average for all careers through 2033, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. Federal and state governments are not planning to hire a significant number of new inspectors within the next few years, but there will be a need to replace inspectors who retire or leave the field for other reasons. However, the threat...
