Fire Inspectors and Investigators Salary

Yes — at the median salary of $65K, rent takes 26% of take-home pay. A 2-bedroom at the HUD Fair Market Rent runs $1,119/month. That stays under the 30% guideline most financial planners use.

The 10th-percentile wage — what new fire inspectors and investigators typically earn — is $55K/year. Take-home on that works out to about $3,292/month. At HUD’s $1,119/month FMR, rent would take 34% of that take-home — above the 30% guideline, so a 1-bedroom or shared housing is likely necessary starting out.

Local pay runs 15% below the national median — $65K here vs. $76K nationally. Cost of living is 7% below the national average, which narrows that gap in real purchasing power.

New Mexico pays $65K median vs. the U.S. average of $76K — that’s -15%. After adjusting for local cost of living (RPP 93.06), the purchasing-power equivalent is $70K — below the national median.

The median is $64,680 a year, that works out to about $31 an hour. But the range is wide: entry-level workers start around $54,870, and experienced fire inspectors and investigators can clear $78,530. These are BLS numbers, based on employer-reported data, not self-reported surveys.

On that salary, you'd take home roughly $4,310/month after taxes. A 2-bedroom here rents for about $1,119/month, which eats 26% of your paycheck. That's under the 30% guideline most financial planners use, so the numbers work.

New Mexico has a Regional Price Parity of 93.06 (100 is the national average). That's below average, your money stretches further here than the raw salary number suggests. After cost-of-living adjustment, the median fire inspectors and investigators salary is worth about $69,504 in national-average purchasing power.

The table above ranks every state by median pay for this role. Keep in mind that the highest-paying states tend to have the highest costs of living, so the top salary doesn't always mean the most money in your pocket.