SOC 33-2021 · May 2025 · BLS OEWS
Fire Inspectors and Investigators — Portland
Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA
The median wage for Fire Inspectors and Investigators in Portland, OR is $119,780 per year, well above the national median of $75,920.
Wage distribution · annual
Shaded band holds the middle 50% of earners
How pay has moved
The next ten years
Projected to grow about as fast as average
- Change in jobs, 2024 to 2034
- +3.8%
- Openings per year
- 1,500
- Typical entry-level education
- Postsecondary nondegree award
- Related work experience
- 5 years or more
- On-the-job training
- Moderate-term on-the-job training
Includes jobs opened by workers leaving the occupation, not only new positions.
Projections are published nationally only. This is the outlook for the occupation across the United States, not a measurement for Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA.
Projections are based on 2024 employment and run to 2034. The wages above are from the May 2025 survey, a separate BLS programme on a different release cycle, so the two are not two views of one dataset.
Salary overview
The median wage for Fire Inspectors and Investigators in Portland, OR is $119,780 per year, well above the national median of $75,920. The gap of 57.8% is among the widest recorded for this occupation. Pay ranges from under $68,230 at the tenth percentile to more than $150,500 at the ninetieth, with the interquartile range running from $68,230 to $146,980.
Set against every other occupation measured in the same area, it ranks 95th of 681 by median pay.
Percentile breakdown
| Percentile | Annual | vs US median |
|---|---|---|
| 10th | $68,230 | −10.1% |
| 25th | $68,230 | −10.1% |
| Median (50th) | $119,780 | +57.8% |
| 75th | $146,980 | +93.6% |
| 90th | $150,500 | +98.2% |
| Mean | $110,110 | +45.0% |
What the pay is worth locally
Prices in Portland run 5.4% above the national average, so the median of $119,780 buys what $113,643 would elsewhere in the country. Measured that way the gap against the national median narrows to 49.7% above the national median in real terms.
Published median
$119,780as reported by BLSLocal price level
105.4US average = 100 · BEA 2024Adjusted for local prices
$113,643US average = 100 · BEA 2024Why the state that pays most is usually not where pay goes furthest
Key takeaways
- Median pay is $119,780 a year, 57.8% above the national median.
- Published pay spans $68,230 to $150,500 between the tenth and ninetieth percentiles.
Frequently asked questions
What is the median wage for Fire Inspectors and Investigators in Portland, OR?
The median annual wage is $119,780, or $57.59 per hour, as of May 2025. Half of the workers in this occupation earn more than that and half earn less.
Is that higher than the national average?
The national median for this occupation is $75,920, so pay in Portland, OR is 57.8% higher. These figures are medians, not averages: half of workers fall on each side.
What do the top earners make?
The top tenth of this occupation in Portland, OR earns more than $150,500 per year. The ninetieth percentile is the highest figure the survey publishes.
What is the starting range?
The tenth percentile wage is $68,230 per year. The survey measures wages actually paid rather than experience level, so this reflects the lowest-paid tenth rather than entry-level pay specifically.
Source and methodology
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 Wages are for wage-and-salary workers; self-employed workers are not included. Salary Explorer is an independent project. It is not affiliated with, or endorsed by, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics or any government agency. Full methodology.
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