Compared with the local labor market
Plumbing Inspector pay vs. the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA area
Across all employers in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA area, the median wage for Construction and Building Inspectors — about 2,380 people — is $125,130. Department of Building Inspection pays a median base salary of $164,983 for this role, 32% above that figure — about the 85th percentile of local pay for the occupation.
Where Department of Building Inspection sits in the local pay range
$76,000
$96,800
$125,130
$144,020
$175,460
Department of Building Inspection median · $164,983
The bar is the range of annual wages for Construction and Building Inspectors across every employer in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA area, from the 10th to the 90th percentile, with the middle 50% highlighted. The marker shows Department of Building Inspection’s median base salary for this role. Both figures are base pay only.
And across the country
Nationwide, the median wage for Construction and Building Inspectors — about 146,720 people — is $74,690. Department of Building Inspection’s median base salary is 121% above that national figure, above the 90th percentile of pay for the occupation nationally.
$47,140
$58,860
$74,690
$94,710
$114,200
Department of Building Inspection median · $164,983
Local and national wages differ for reasons beyond how well a job pays — cost of living, the mix of employers, and local demand for the occupation all move the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA range relative to the national one.
Computed over the 14 of 17 people in this role paid at least $25,000in base salary. The rest are part-year or part-time records, whose actual pay isn’t comparable to a full-time annual wage.
Median total compensation for this role at Department of Building Inspection is $236,878, which includes overtime and employer-paid benefits. The benchmark above excludes both, so total compensation is deliberately not compared against it.
Benchmark: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2025). BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) covers all employers in the area — private, non-profit, and government alike — so this is a comparison against the whole local labor market for the occupation, not against private-sector pay. OEWS wages are straight-time pay and exclude overtime, shift differentials, and employer-paid benefits, so the government figure shown here is base pay on the same basis. Total compensation is not comparable to it. Job titles are matched to the closest standard occupation, so the comparison is between similar work rather than an identical job classification.
Compare departments
This role across City and County of San Francisco
Plumbing Inspector is held in 2 City and County of San Francisco departments. In Department of Building Inspection, the median of $236,878 ranks #2 of 2.
Highest-paying departments for this role
Median total compensation for the Plumbing Inspector role in other City and County of San Franciscodepartments (highest first). Each bar links to that department’s page for this role.