Construction and Building Inspectors in Arizona
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$59,062
after federal, FICA and Arizona tax
Tax takes
$14,378
19.6% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$58,416
Arizona costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Arizona — roughly, since only five points along the band are published.
One filer, standard deduction, no dependants and nothing paid in before tax — the same household the rest of this page uses, so the comparison holds. City and school-district income taxes are not included.
Median here
$73,440
Kept after tax
$59,062
Worth in national money
$58,416
State rank
24
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Arizona is 24 of 51 states for construction and building inspectors, with a middle wage of $73,440. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 491 occupations Arizona reports figures for, this is number 148.
- No great distortion either way. Arizona costs about what the country costs, so from $73,440, take-home of $59,062 is worth roughly $58,416 in national money. The average comes to $78,380, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Arizona ranks 24 of 51 for construction and building inspectors at $73,440. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- In Arizona's occupational distribution, construction and building inspectors sits at 148 of 491 — neither quartile. This local position is what a resident compares against, and it is determined by the state's own labor market rather than by national patterns for this occupation.
- Price parity in Arizona is near the national base, so for construction and building inspectors, whose median is $73,440, the adjusted figure of $58,416 differs little from $59,062 retained after tax. The state's position for this occupation is therefore set by wage and tax rather than by living costs. At $78,380 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Construction and Building Inspectors
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $55,310 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $73,440 |
| Top tenth earn over | $105,980 |
| This salary | $73,440 |
Positions between the published tenth, quarter, half, three-quarter and ninetieth points are estimated by straight line.
The same pay, somewhere else
The state median for this job
| Take-home in Arizona | $59,062 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $60,495 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$3,838 |
State income tax and state price levels only. No city income tax, and no housing market.
What you would need there
The state median for this job
| To match take-home only | $71,402 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$5,301 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 101 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- A median is the middle, not an offer. Half of construction and building inspectors in Arizona earn under $73,440 and half over. The published range runs $55,310 at the tenth percentile to $105,980 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In Arizona the take-home figure of $59,062, from $73,440, assumes one filer, no dependants, and nothing paid into a pension before tax. Each of those lowers the bill, so treat it as the plain case. City and school-district income taxes are not included either, and in a few states those are real money. It ranks 148 of 491 occupations here.
- One number stands for prices across all of Arizona, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $58,416, the adjusted value of that $73,440 median, as a way to compare states fairly, not as a quote for any particular place. The two datasets are also from different years. This job sits at 148 of 491 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for construction and building inspectors in Arizona, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $55,310 to $105,980; within-state dispersion of that width routinely exceeds the dispersion between states, so tenure, employer and metropolitan area predict an individual's pay better than geography does.
- Take-home for Arizona is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $59,062 from $73,440. Each omitted item reduces taxable income, so the figure is a lower bound on retained pay for this household shape. Municipal and school-district income taxes are excluded, which understates the burden materially in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Maryland. The occupation ranks 148 of 491 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Arizona, so $58,416 — the adjusted value of that $73,440 median — establishes comparability between states rather than accuracy within one. The wage and parity series are dated independently, each following its own publication cycle, and neither is projected forward. This occupation sits at 148 of 491 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
Half earn more than this and half earn less. The average sits at $78,380 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $55,310 at the tenth percentile, $105,980 at the ninetieth.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
Not on its own. Prices in Arizona run above the national level, so the same dollars buy less here. Adjusted for that, this pay is worth $58,416 — the wage did not change, only what it covers.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Four deductions, stacked. The federal layer and the two payroll taxes apply wherever you work; Arizona then takes its own share, leaving $59,062.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like one.
How does the published median differ from the mean for this occupation?
The median is the midpoint of the distribution; the mean for this occupation in Arizona is $78,380. Wage distributions are right-skewed, so the mean exceeds the median wherever a minority earn substantially more. BLS publishes both because substituting one for the other misstates a typical worker's pay.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($55,310 to $105,980) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Arizona rather than a national figure.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
Arizona's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $58,416 in national-average terms. ⚠️ RPPs are an all-items index; housing parities vary far more widely than the headline figure.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $59,062 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Arizona income tax for a single filer with no adjustments. The state layer is levied in addition to the federal one; only its rate and base differ between states.
Is this occupation's state coverage complete?
State-level estimates are published for all 51 jurisdictions for this occupation, so cross-state comparison is not confounded by suppression. ⚠️ Estimates remain survey-based and carry sampling error; small differences between adjacent states should not be over-read.