Construction and extraction occupations · SOC 47-4011 · South Carolina

Construction and building inspectors in South Carolina

Construction and building inspectors in South Carolina earned a median of $58,840 a year in May 2025, below the $74,690 national median for the occupation. South Carolina employs 2,500 of them, 1.1 of every 1,000 jobs in the state. Most people entering the occupation nationally do so with a high school diploma or equivalent.

Data snapshot: August 21, 2026

Median annual pay in South Carolina

$58,840

Below the $74,690 national median for this occupation

Median hourly pay in South Carolina

$28.29

Published separately by BLS, not calculated from the annual figure.

Middle half earn between

$45,370 – $74,060

The 25th to 75th percentile of everyone in the occupation in this state

Employed in South Carolina

2,500

1.1 of every 1,000 jobs in the state

Concentration vs national

1.15×

more concentrated here than nationally

Pay rank

#49 of 51

Among the states and DC that released an estimate for this occupation

Typical entry education (U.S.)

High school diploma or equivalent

What construction and building inspectors actually earn in South Carolina

The full published wage distribution, not one averaged figure. Pay inside a single occupation varies more by experience, employer and setting than most salary pages admit.

10th percentile
$36,140
25th percentile
$45,370
Median
$58,840
75th percentile
$74,060
90th percentile
$84,860

How South Carolina compares

  • Against the rest of the country. $58,840 in South Carolina against $74,690 nationally for the same occupation, which puts South Carolina 49th of the 51 jurisdictions that released an estimate. Neither figure is adjusted for cost of living, so a higher median does not by itself mean more money left over.
  • Against other work in South Carolina. $58,840 against $46,490, the median across every occupation in the state — 27% above it.
  • How much of this work is here. The occupation is more concentrated here than nationally (1.15× the national share of employment), 16th of 51 for concentration. Concentration describes where the work is, not how easy it is to be hired.

Where construction and building inspectors are paid most

The highest published medians for this occupation. Before reading it as a place to move, note that these are not cost-of-living adjusted and that the states paying most are often the ones where everything costs most.

How people get into this work

What the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports as typical for entry nationally. Typical is a measurement of the people already doing the work, not a rule: some enter with less and some with more.

Typical entry education

High school diploma or equivalent

Work experience needed

5 years or more

On-the-job training

Moderate-term on-the-job training

South Carolina licensing is not in these figures.

Many occupations, including most of health care, teaching, law, accountancy and the skilled trades, require a state licence, certification or registration before you can work. South Carolina sets its own, and none of it is part of the federal dataset above, so CampusPin cannot tell you whether this occupation is licensed here. Check the South Carolina licensing board before committing to a route, because where an occupation is licensed that requirement, not the typical credential, is the real gate.

Colleges in South Carolina

Pay is one half of the decision. What it costs to get qualified is the other, and it is the half that varies most between two colleges in the same state.

Source & methodology

State wage and employment figures are from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 release. National median pay, projections and typical entry education are from the BLS Employment Projections programme (2024 wages). Both are public domain; credit BLS.

Wages are May 2025 estimates from the federal Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey, which asks employers what they pay everyone currently working in the occupation — experienced and new alike. They are not starting salaries, not the earnings of recent graduates, and not adjusted for cost of living, which matters when comparing one state against another. Self-employed workers are not surveyed.

Suggested citation

CampusPin. (2026). Construction and building inspectors in South Carolina, pay and employment. Retrieved from https://campuspin.com/careers/construction-and-building-inspectors/in/south-carolina

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