Transportation Inspectors Salary
In Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX, transportation inspectors earn $92,570 at the median, or about $44.51 an hour. The range runs from $38K at the entry level to $142K for experienced workers. Adjusted for local prices (RPP 98.63), that's roughly $93,856 in purchasing power. Rent on a 2-bedroom averages $1,573/month, or 25.4% of estimated take-home pay.
So what does $93K get you in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands?
Groceries, utilities, transportation, and healthcare scaled from national averages by Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands’s Regional Price Parity (98.63). Rent from HUD Fair Market Rents. Taxes estimated for single filer, standard deduction. * Healthcare is the employee-paid share only (premiums + out-of-pocket). Actual costs vary by coverage type: employer-sponsored, ACA marketplace, or uninsured.
About transportation inspectors
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What this looks like in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands
Transportation inspectors pay in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands tracks closely to the national median, $93K locally vs. $92K nationwide, a 1% difference. Rent runs $1,573/month for a 2-bedroom (HUD FMR), taking 25.7% of the median take-home. That's within the 30% rule, though not by much. Cost of living (RPP 98.63) is near the national average, so spending patterns here track the typical American budget fairly closely. Pay and costs are both near average, leaving limited margin for savings at the median wage.
Compared to nearby metros
Median pay for transportation inspectors in metros near Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, adjusted for local cost of living.
| Metro | Median pay | COL-adjusted |
|---|---|---|
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington | $126K | $122K |
| San Antonio-New Braunfels | $89K | $94K |
| Beaumont-Port Arthur | $73K | $82K |
| El Paso | $38K | $43K |
COL-adjusted = median salary ÷ (BEA Regional Price Parity ÷ 100). Expresses purchasing power in national-average dollars.
Compensation breakdown
Annual earnings by percentile, Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX
Entry-level transportation inspectors (10th percentile) start around $38K. Mid-career wages sit at $93K. Top earners bring in $142K or more, a $104K spread from bottom to top.
Transportation Inspectors pay across states
Median income ranked highest to lowest, compared to the national figure
View Transportation Inspectors salary in all states
| State | Median salary | vs. national | Employment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alaska | $123K | +34% | 170 |
| Iowa | $117K | +27% | 60 |
| Oklahoma | $111K | +21% | 470 |
| Hawaii | $108K | +18% | 150 |
| Alabama | $108K | +17% | 670 |
| North Dakota | $106K | +15% | 60 |
| Washington | $104K | +13% | 490 |
| Kansas | $103K | +12% | 210 |
| Florida | $101K | +10% | 1,630 |
| Texas | $101K | +10% | 2,290 |
| Maryland | $101K | +9% | 250 |
| Georgia | $95K | +3% | 880 |
| New York | $93K | +1% | 3,720 |
| Minnesota | $93K | +1% | 310 |
| Connecticut | $92K | -1% | 330 |
| District of Columbia | $90K | -2% | 150 |
| Arkansas | $85K | -8% | 120 |
| North Carolina | $84K | -8% | 380 |
| Kentucky | $84K | -9% | 260 |
| California | $83K | -10% | 1,790 |
| Colorado | $82K | -11% | 460 |
| Pennsylvania | $82K | -11% | 340 |
| South Carolina | $80K | -13% | 440 |
| Indiana | $80K | -13% | 250 |
| Massachusetts | $80K | -14% | N/A |
| Tennessee | $78K | -15% | 420 |
| Oregon | $78K | -15% | 250 |
| Louisiana | $77K | -16% | 130 |
| Ohio | $77K | -16% | 430 |
| Wisconsin | $75K | -18% | 120 |
| South Dakota | $70K | -24% | 100 |
| Virginia | $69K | -26% | 330 |
| Missouri | $65K | -30% | 380 |
| Utah | $64K | -30% | 210 |
| Maine | $64K | -31% | 90 |
| New Mexico | $64K | -31% | 230 |
| Montana | $63K | -32% | 180 |
| Arizona | $62K | -32% | 830 |
| West Virginia | $59K | -36% | 90 |
| Idaho | $54K | -41% | 170 |
| Nevada | $50K | -46% | 430 |
| New Jersey | $49K | -47% | 930 |
| Illinois | $48K | -48% | 1,130 |
| Michigan | $36K | -61% | 540 |
Showing 1–10 of 44 states with published data
BLS does not publish data for every state when sample sizes are too small
Track transportation inspectors salary changes
BLS updates this data quarterly. We'll email you when Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands numbers change.
Related careers in Transportation
Frequently asked questions
Can a transportation inspector afford a 2BR apartment alone in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands?
Yes — at the median salary of $93K, rent takes 25.7% of take-home pay. A 2-bedroom at the HUD Fair Market Rent runs $1,573/month. That stays under the 30% guideline most financial planners use.
What’s the entry-level salary for transportation inspectors in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands?
The 10th-percentile wage — what new transportation inspectors typically earn — is $38K/year. Take-home on that works out to about $2,276/month. At HUD’s $1,573/month FMR, rent would take 69% of that take-home — above the 30% guideline, so a 1-bedroom or shared housing is likely necessary starting out.
Is transportation inspector a high-paying job in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands?
Pay here is roughly in line with the national average — $93K locally vs. $92K nationally, a 1% difference.
How does Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands compare to the national average for transportation inspectors?
Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands pays $93K median vs. the U.S. average of $92K — that’s +1%. After adjusting for local cost of living (RPP 98.63), the purchasing-power equivalent is $94K — still ahead of the national median.
How much do transportation inspectors make in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX?
The median is $92,570 a year, that works out to about $45 an hour. But the range is wide: entry-level workers start around $37,940, and experienced transportation inspectors can clear $141,770. These are BLS numbers, based on employer-reported data, not self-reported surveys.
Is $93K enough to live in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands?
On that salary, you'd take home roughly $6,126/month after taxes. A 2-bedroom here rents for about $1,573/month, which eats 25.7% of your paycheck. That's under the 30% guideline most financial planners use, so the numbers work.
How far does a transportation inspectors salary go in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands?
Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands has a Regional Price Parity of 98.63 (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 transportation inspectors salary is worth about $93,856 in national-average purchasing power.
Where do transportation inspectors get paid the most?
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.