# Construction and Building Inspectors

US SOC code 47-4011. Markdown version of https://futurehistory.earth/timeline/47-4011

Also called: Building inspector, Construction inspector, Plans examiner, Plan reviewer, Code enforcement officer.

## In brief

In May 2025, [BLS](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip) counted **146,720** US construction and building inspectors, with median pay of **$74,690** a year. Of the BLS counts since 2003, the May 2025 count is the highest. The earliest figure here is [an estimate](https://avelar.net/articles_publications/an-abridged-history-of-san-franciscos-bureau-of-building-inspection-1944-to-1992/) of **38,000** from 1950, not measured the same way as today's count. The last full technology era for construction and building inspectors: Remote video inspection, 2018 to 2023. BLS projects that remote inspection is reducing the need for inspectors in state and local government for qualifying scope items, contributing to the employment decline projected for 2024-2034.

## What the sources say

### Official outlook

BLS projects little or no change in employment from 2025 to 2035 (0%). Source: [BLS Employment Projections 2025-35](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=47-4011&ioType=o).

### AI exposure studies

- **13.8%** of this job's tasks are exposed to large language models. Not a forecast of job losses. [Eloundou and others, 2023](https://github.com/openai/GPTs-are-GPTs/blob/main/data/occ_level.csv)

Data as of BLS OEWS May 2025; BLS Employment Projections 2025-35. BLS publishes these counts as yearly survey snapshots and cautions against reading them as a precise trend. In May 2021 BLS changed how it estimates these counts (a model-based method using three years of survey data) and moved fully to the 2018 occupation codes, so part of a change across 2021 can come from the method rather than the work.

## Construction and Building Inspectors employment and pay by year

- On record since: 1875
- Latest US employment: 146,720 (May 2025). Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 [4]
- Latest US median pay: $74,690 (May 2025). Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 [10]
- Outlook: +0% by 2035. Source: BLS Employment Projections 2025-35 [25]

### In other countries

The latest figure each country's statistics agency publishes for this job. Each uses its own occupation definition, survey basis and currency, so the numbers are not directly comparable with each other or with the US figures.

- **Canada** (NOC 22233)
  - Employment, 2020: 15,620. Source: Statistics Canada Census 2021 [7]. Statistics Canada Census of Population 2021: number of persons with employment income in NOC 22233 Construction inspectors, Canada, reference year 2020. A recipients basis (anyone with employment income during the year), slightly broader than a point-in-time employed count. Statistics Canada Open Licence.
  - Median pay, 2020: C$77,000. Source: Statistics Canada Census 2021 [13]. Statistics Canada Census of Population 2021 (Table 98-10-0586): median employment income for NOC 22233 Construction inspectors, Canada, reference year 2020, full-year full-time workers (the basis comparable to the US OEWS full-time median). Statistics Canada Open Licence.

### All 27 years of cited US data

| Year | US employment | Annual pay (median unless marked) | Source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1950 | 38,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., Avelar [1] |
| 1960 | n/a | $5,200 (estimate) | Est., University of Missouri Libraries [8] |
| 1980 | 60,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., IPUMS USA [2] |
| 2000 | 68,690 | $38,750 | BLS OEWS 2000 [3] |
| 2003 | 79,720 | $42,650 | BLS OEWS May 2003 [4] |
| 2004 | 82,690 | $43,670 | BLS OEWS May 2004 [4] |
| 2005 | 87,820 | $44,720 | BLS OEWS May 2005 [4] |
| 2006 | 96,630 | $46,570 | BLS OEWS May 2006 [4] |
| 2007 | 95,890 | $48,330 | BLS OEWS May 2007 [4] |
| 2008 | 96,000 | $50,180 | BLS OEWS May 2008 [4] |
| 2009 | 90,730 | $51,530 | BLS OEWS May 2009 [4] |
| 2010 | 89,270 | $52,360 | BLS OEWS May 2010 [4] |
| 2011 | 89,620 | $53,180 | BLS OEWS May 2011 [4] |
| 2012 | 89,280 | $53,450 | BLS OEWS May 2012 [4] |
| 2013 | 87,620 | $54,450 | BLS OEWS May 2013 [4] |
| 2014 | 88,410 | $56,040 | BLS OEWS May 2014 [4] |
| 2015 | 91,480 | $57,340 | BLS OEWS May 2015 [4] |
| 2016 | 94,960 | $58,480 | BLS OEWS May 2016 [4] |
| 2017 | 98,810 | $59,090 | BLS OEWS May 2017 [4] |
| 2018 | 104,090 | $59,700 | BLS OEWS May 2018 [4] |
| 2019 | 110,420 | $60,710 | BLS OEWS May 2019 [4] |
| 2020 | 113,770 | $62,860 | BLS OEWS May 2020 [4] |
| 2021 | 117,830 | $61,640 | BLS OEWS May 2021 [4] |
| 2022 | 128,950 | $64,480 | BLS OEWS May 2022 [4] |
| 2023 | 133,640 | $67,700 | BLS OEWS May 2023 [4] |
| 2024 | 137,210 | $72,120 | BLS OEWS May 2024 [4] |
| 2025 | 146,720 | $74,690 | BLS OEWS May 2025 [4] |

## Sources (88)

### Employment series

1. [Avelar — An Abridged History of San Francisco's Bureau of Building Inspection: 1944 to 1992 (staffing reference)](https://avelar.net/articles_publications/an-abridged-history-of-san-franciscos-bureau-of-building-inspection-1944-to-1992/), Avelar
2. [IPUMS USA — Occupation and Industry Codes and Documentation (1980 Census OCC scheme, public-administration construction inspector category)](https://usa.ipums.org/usa/volii/occ_ind.shtml), IPUMS / University of Minnesota
3. [BLS OES 2000 national estimates (flat file)](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oes00nat.zip), Bureau of Labor Statistics
4. BLS OEWS, national cross-industry estimates (flat file), Bureau of Labor Statistics. Editions: [2003](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm03nat.zip), [2004](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm04nat.zip), [2005](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm05nat.zip), [2006](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm06nat.zip), [2007](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm07nat.zip), [2008](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm08nat.zip), [2009](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm09nat.zip), [2010](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm10nat.zip), [2011](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm11nat.zip), [2012](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm12nat.zip), [2013](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm13nat.zip), [2014](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm14nat.zip), [2015](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm15nat.zip), [2016](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm16nat.zip), [2017](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm17nat.zip), [2018](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm18nat.zip), [2019](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm19nat.zip), [2020](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm20nat.zip), [2021](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm21nat.zip), [2022](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm22nat.zip), [2023](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm23nat.zip), [2024](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm24nat.zip), [2025](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip)
5. [Statistics Canada, Census of Population 2006, Table 97-563-XCB2006069 (Wage and salary statistics by occupation, NOC-S 2006), income reference year 2005](https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2006/dp-pd/tbt/Rp-eng.cfm?LANG=E&PID=96285), Statistics Canada
6. [Statistics Canada, Census of Population 2016, Table 98-400-X2016356 (Occupation by employment income statistics, NOC 2016), income reference year 2015](https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/en/catalogue/98-400-X2016356), Statistics Canada
7. [Statistics Canada, Census of Population 2021, Table 98-10-0586 (Employment income statistics by occupation unit group, NOC 2021), income reference year 2020](https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=9810058601), Statistics Canada

### Wage series

8. [University of Missouri Libraries — Prices and Wages by Decade: 1960-1969 (BLS historical wage surveys, government employees)](https://libraryguides.missouri.edu/pricesandwages/1960-1969), University of Missouri Libraries / BLS historical sources
9. [BLS OES 2000 national estimates (flat file)](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oes00nat.zip), Bureau of Labor Statistics
10. BLS OEWS, national cross-industry estimates (flat file), Bureau of Labor Statistics. Editions: [2003](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm03nat.zip), [2004](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm04nat.zip), [2005](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm05nat.zip), [2006](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm06nat.zip), [2007](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm07nat.zip), [2008](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm08nat.zip), [2009](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm09nat.zip), [2010](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm10nat.zip), [2011](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm11nat.zip), [2012](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm12nat.zip), [2013](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm13nat.zip), [2014](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm14nat.zip), [2015](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm15nat.zip), [2016](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm16nat.zip), [2017](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm17nat.zip), [2018](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm18nat.zip), [2019](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm19nat.zip), [2020](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm20nat.zip), [2021](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm21nat.zip), [2022](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm22nat.zip), [2023](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm23nat.zip), [2024](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm24nat.zip), [2025](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip)
11. [Statistics Canada, Census of Population 2006, Table 97-563-XCB2006069 (Wage and salary statistics by occupation, NOC-S 2006), income reference year 2005](https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2006/dp-pd/tbt/Rp-eng.cfm?LANG=E&PID=96285), Statistics Canada
12. [Statistics Canada, Census of Population 2016, Table 98-400-X2016356 (Occupation by employment income statistics, NOC 2016), income reference year 2015](https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/en/catalogue/98-400-X2016356), Statistics Canada
13. [Statistics Canada, Census of Population 2021, Table 98-10-0586 (Employment income statistics by occupation unit group, NOC 2021), income reference year 2020](https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=9810058601), Statistics Canada

### Tool eras

14. [Fine Homebuilding — A History of U.S. Building Codes (early building code development, 1905 NBFU model code)](https://www.finehomebuilding.com/2023/07/19/a-history-of-u-s-building-codes), Fine Homebuilding
15. [Engineering Design Resources — Building Codes: Code of Hammurabi through BOCA, ICBO, SBCCI (historical code organization timeline)](https://engineeringdesignresources.com/building-codes/), Engineering Design Resources
16. [JRank Law Articles — Building Officials and Code Administrators International (BOCA history, 1915 founding, 1950 first model code)](https://law.jrank.org/pages/4920/Building-Officials-Code-Administrators-International.html), JRank / Encyclopedia of Law
17. [BetaQuick — AI Building Inspection Scheduling (background on permit-system evolution, Accela and Tyler EnerGov)](https://betaquick.com/blog/ai-building-inspection-scheduling/), BetaQuick
18. [ICC — Who We Are (organization history)](https://www.iccsafe.org/about/who-we-are/), International Code Council
19. [O\*NET 47-4011.00 — Construction and Building Inspectors (task descriptions including permitting platform use)](https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/47-4011.00), O\*NET / BLS
20. [BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook — Construction and Building Inspectors (2024-2034, remote inspection reducing government demand)](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/construction-and-extraction/construction-and-building-inspectors.htm), Bureau of Labor Statistics
21. [CodeComply — Building Code AI and Plan Review Software](https://codecomply.ai/), CodeComply
22. [CivCheck — Guided AI Plan Review Platform (4-5 reviews in 20-30 min vs. 1-1.5 hr)](https://www.civcheck.ai/), CivCheck / Clariti
23. [UF Warrington — AI Automated Plan Review (AutoReview.AI, Altamonte Springs pilot, 30-min review)](https://warrington.ufl.edu/news/ai-review-construction-plans/), University of Florida Warrington College of Business
24. [DroneDeploy — Inspection AI (audit-ready reports, asset tagging, defect flagging)](https://insider.dronedeploy.com/media/introducing-inspection-ai), DroneDeploy

### Forecasts and exposure studies

25. [BLS Employment Projections 2025-35, National Employment Matrix: 47-4011 Construction and building inspectors (2025: 153.9 thousand; 2035: 153.9 thousand; 0.0%)](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=47-4011&ioType=o), Bureau of Labor Statistics
26. [Eloundou, Manning, Mishkin & Rock (2023), "GPTs are GPTs", occupation-level exposure data occ\_level.csv (O\*NET-SOC 47-4011.00, human-rated β 0.138)](https://github.com/openai/GPTs-are-GPTs/blob/main/data/occ_level.csv), OpenAI

### Historical notes

27. [The Inception of Building Codes: Tracing Back to the Great Chicago Fire (PL Studio)](https://www.pl.studio/post/the-inception-of-building-codes-tracing-back-to-the-great-chicago-fire), PL Studio
28. [Fine Homebuilding -- A History of U.S. Building Codes (1905 NBFU model code)](https://www.finehomebuilding.com/2023/07/19/a-history-of-u-s-building-codes), Fine Homebuilding
29. [US Department of Labor -- The New York Factory Investigating Commission (Triangle Shirtwaist aftermath, 1911)](https://www.dol.gov/general/aboutdol/history/mono-regsafepart07), US Department of Labor
30. [JRank Law Articles -- Building Officials and Code Administrators International (BOCA founding 1915)](https://law.jrank.org/pages/4920/Building-Officials-Code-Administrators-International.html), JRank / Encyclopedia of Law
31. [ASHI -- About ASHI (founded 1976, home inspection professionalization, nearly five decades elevating the profession)](https://www.homeinspector.org/about-ashi/about-us/), American Society of Home Inspectors
32. [ICC -- Who We Are (ICC formation 1994, I-Codes 1997-2000)](https://www.iccsafe.org/about/who-we-are/), International Code Council
33. [BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook -- Construction and Building Inspectors (remote inspection as employment driver, 2024-34)](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/construction-and-extraction/construction-and-building-inspectors.htm), Bureau of Labor Statistics

### Predecessors & successors

34. [Fine Homebuilding -- A History of U.S. Building Codes (municipal building official emergence post-1871)](https://www.finehomebuilding.com/2023/07/19/a-history-of-u-s-building-codes), Fine Homebuilding
35. [BLS OOH -- Construction and Building Inspectors (entry pathway: construction experience leading to inspector role)](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/construction-and-extraction/construction-and-building-inspectors.htm), Bureau of Labor Statistics

### Present-day analysis

- [O\*NET 30.3 — Construction and Building Inspectors (47-4011.00)](https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/47-4011.00), accessed 2026-06-05
- [BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook — Construction and Building Inspectors (2024-2034)](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/construction-and-extraction/construction-and-building-inspectors.htm), accessed 2026-06-05
- [BLS OEWS May 2024 — 47-4011 Construction and Building Inspectors](https://www.bls.gov/oes/2023/may/oes474011.htm), accessed 2026-06-05
- [Eloundou et al. 2024 — GPTs are GPTs (Science)](https://arxiv.org/abs/2303.10130), accessed 2026-06-05
- [CodeComply — Building Code AI and Plan Review Software](https://codecomply.ai/), accessed 2026-06-05
- [CivCheck — Guided AI Plan Review Platform (now a Clariti company)](https://www.civcheck.ai/), accessed 2026-06-05
- [UF Warrington — AI Automated Plan Review (AutoReview.AI, Altamonte Springs pilot)](https://warrington.ufl.edu/news/ai-review-construction-plans/), accessed 2026-06-05
- [BetaQuick — AI Building Inspection Scheduling (Morgan voice agent)](https://betaquick.com/blog/ai-building-inspection-scheduling/), accessed 2026-06-05
- [DroneDeploy — Inspection AI Product Page](https://insider.dronedeploy.com/media/introducing-inspection-ai), accessed 2026-06-05

How to read these figures: https://futurehistory.earth/methodology. Every figure links to its own source; gaps stay gaps.