California · 2026 pay · 646 people
How much does a construction inspector make in California?
$126,647typical pay for a construction inspector in 2026
$97,347 – $147,470what most people earned
Includes everyone paid during 2026, including part-year workers. Each employer counts with its latest published year (2025 or 2026). Typical pay rose 4.2% from the same employers' year before.
✓ Official data from 10 agencies · Matches each agency's latest release · Show sourcesHide sources
- California State Controller's Office · sco.ca.gov ↗
- California State Controller's Office · sco.ca.gov ↗
- LA City Controller · controller.lacity.gov ↗
- SF Controller's Office · sf.gov ↗
- California State Controller's Office · sco.ca.gov ↗
- LA County Auditor-Controller · lacounty.gov ↗
- City of San Jose · sanjoseca.gov ↗
- San Mateo County · smcgov.org ↗
- California State Controller's Office · sco.ca.gov ↗
- City of Richmond · ci.richmond.ca.us ↗
Where construction inspectors work
Typical pay at each employer, 2026 (everyone paid).
- Los Angeles114 people$138,556
- San Francisco63 people$154,942
- City of Long Beach36 people$127,362
- County Sanitation District No. 2 (Los Angeles)35 people$124,717
- Metropolitan Water District of Southern California34 people$173,709
- City of Sacramento20 people$88,193
- Los Angeles County16 people$101,673
- City of Bakersfield15 people$74,845
- East Bay Municipal Utility District13 people$160,815
- Sacramento County13 people$86,447
- Orange County Sanitation District11 people$82,224
- City of Tracy9 people$140,082
- San Jose9 people$94,144
- Marin Municipal Water District8 people$161,400
- City of Pasadena8 people$109,858
- City of Carlsbad7 people$85,156
- City of Modesto7 people$93,273
- City of Irvine7 people$120,486
- City of Redlands6 people$93,315
- City of Pleasanton6 people$77,290
- City of Fremont6 people$123,507
- City of Santa Ana6 people$132,568
- Central Contra Costa Sanitary District (Contra Costa)5 people$154,612
- City of Hayward5 people$129,986
- City of West Sacramento5 people$103,773
- Calleguas Municipal Water District5 people$142,230
- City of Roseville5 people$110,971
- San Mateo County5 people$127,242
- City of Glendale4 people$95,429
- City of San Mateo4 people$117,355
- City of Vallejo4 people$100,860
- East Bay Regional Park District4 people$125,840
- City of Thousand Oaks4 people$110,588
- Contra Costa Water District4 people$168,928
- Palmdale Water District4 people$131,543
- Santa Clara County4 people$119,771
- El Dorado Irrigation District4 people$89,408
- Otay Water District4 people$110,492
- Alameda County Water District4 people$152,328
- Santa Clara Valley Water District3 people$173,440
- City of Salinas3 people$58,095
- Santa Margarita Water District3 people$131,401
- Valley Center Municipal Water District3 people$91,315
- City of Chico3 people$89,746
- Riverside County3 people$94,455
- City of Alameda3 people$98,374
- City of Pittsburg3 people$103,641
- City of Orange3 people$78,537
- City of Concord3 people$116,663
- Irvine Ranch Water District3 people$125,733
- Coachella Valley Water District3 people$120,580
- San Diego County3 people$100,520
- Tahoe City Public Utility District2 people$100,864
- Dublin San Ramon Services District2 people$133,101
- City of Hanford2 people$78,453
- City of Lafayette2 people$105,691
- West Valley Sanitation District of Santa Clara County (Santa Clara)2 people$141,504
- City of Costa Mesa2 people$125,849
- Judicial Council of California2 people$108,376
- City of Fullerton2 people$101,379
- San Lorenzo Valley Water District2 people$28,681
- Fresno Metropolitan Flood Control District2 people$67,271
- City of La Quinta2 people$85,292
- City of Inglewood2 people$94,271
- City of Garden Grove2 people$124,604
- Oro Loma Sanitary District (Alameda)2 people$84,136
- City of Lathrop2 people$106,958
- Yolo County2 people$15,993
- San Bernardino County2 people$88,174
- City of Riverside2 people$104,868
- Richmond2 people$89,702
- West Bay Sanitary District (San Mateo)2 people$164,611
- Rancho California Water District2 people$112,238
- Union Sanitary District (Alameda)2 people$125,977
- City of Manteca2 people$137,746
- City of Anaheim2 people$143,259
- City of Burbank2 people$102,166
- City of Glendora2 people$85,170
- City of Belmont2 people$137,274
- Monterey One Water1 person$110,776
- Fair Oaks Water District1 person$97,898
- City of Moreno Valley1 person$117,708
- City of San Buenaventura1 person$90,989
- City of Los Altos1 person$115,611
- City of San Juan Capistrano1 person$103,517
- City of Huntington Beach1 person$121,079
- Desert Water Agency1 person$112,433
- Yuba County1 person$83,690
- City of Riverbank1 person$85,060
- Town of Paradise1 person$91,898
- Orange County1 person$47,458
- South Coast Water District1 person$139,842
- Soquel Creek Water District1 person$112,916
- City of Eastvale1 person$52,146
- Padre Dam Municipal Water District1 person$55,581
- City of Brentwood1 person$158,553
- Novato Sanitary District (Marin)1 person$111,013
- City of Rocklin1 person$22,560
- Mission Springs Water District1 person$118,420
- Delta Diablo1 person$150,924
- Laguna Beach County Water District1 person$181,618
- Kings County1 person$75,841
- San Juan Water District1 person$120,591
- Department of Transportation1 person$102,310
- Yorba Linda Water District1 person$113,933
- Jurupa Community Services District1 person$136,213
- City of Yuba City1 person$75,054
- City of San Clemente1 person$94,486
- Napa County1 person$142,312
No employers match.
Pay by level
Levels with 5 or more people.
- Construction Inspector I56 people$90,650
- Construction Inspector II155 people$113,983
- Construction Inspector364 people$132,993
- Construction Inspector III53 people$134,993
- Construction Inspector 27 people$142,230
- Construction Inspector IV6 people$207,336
Related jobs and the next step up
Same line of work at a different rank, by typical pay (full-year employees where we can tell).
- Assistant Construction Inspector$116,185 (everyone)
- Construction Inspector (this page)$126,647 (everyone)
- Head Construction Inspector$138,475 (everyone)
- Senior Construction Inspector$146,957 (everyone)
- Supervising Construction Inspector$163,587 (everyone)
- Principal Construction Inspector$173,808 (everyone)
- Chief Construction Inspector$179,165 (everyone)
Highest-paid construction inspectors, 2026
- 1Patrick LouieConstruction Inspector · San Francisco$275,868
- 2Jonathan WolfConstruction Inspector · San Francisco$245,616
- 3Robert BooneConstruction Inspector · San Francisco$234,356
- 4Joshua HendrixConstruction Inspector · San Francisco$210,627
- 5Kenneth KimConstruction Inspector · Los Angeles$207,587
Common questions
How much does a construction inspector make in California?
The typical construction inspector was paid $126,647 in 2026; most earned between $97,347 and $147,470. This counts all 646 people paid, including part-year workers.
How much of the pay is overtime?
Overtime made up 6.6% of all pay for construction inspectors in 2026.
Which job titles are included?
Everyone whose payroll title is Construction Inspector, at any level (for example "Construction Inspector I"). Part-time-schedule titles (such as "20 hours") are left out. Senior, supervising and trainee titles have their own pages.
Job titles are written out in full from the payroll's abbreviations (for example "SR CRRECTNL POLC OFCR" → "Senior Correctional Police Officer"). "Typical pay" is the median; "most earned" is the middle half. How we calculate this