Agricultural inspectors
SOC Code: 45-2011
Agricultural inspectors carries a 28% AI exposure score (Medium automation risk), with a median annual wage of $50,990 and +1.5% projected employment growth from 2024 to 2034 (BLS), affecting approximately 14,700 workers. Full task breakdown, skills, and employer data are below.
Proportion of tasks susceptible to AI automation (O*NET analysis)
At 28% AI exposure, Agricultural inspectors sits 9 points below the 37.2% average across 832 U.S. occupations - more exposed than 23% of them. Most of its core tasks still require human judgment.
Career outlook score
51/100
Agricultural inspectors, weighted across 3 of 3 tracked dimensions
A weighted composite of median wage, projected growth, and AI-automation security (inverted exposure), each benchmarked against every other tracked occupation. It describes this occupation's standing across those three dimensions, not a guarantee of future outcomes.
- Median wage D $50,990
Annual median wage, percentile rank vs all tracked occupations
- Projected growth D +1.5%
Projected employment change, 2024-2034, BLS Employment Projections
- AI exposure (inverted) B+ 28% exposure
Lower O*NET task-automability scores lower risk; this dimension scores security, not exposure
Home health and personal care aides is #1 of 832 occupations by employment (4.3M, AI exposure rank #392 at 35%) vs. Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks #1 by AI task exposure (95%, employment rank #17 at 1.6M).
Automation-risk inventory
Exclusive cut of 832 occupations by PlainWorkforce automation-risk band. Orthogonal to the continuous AI-exposure distribution chart below and to this occupation's single risk badge, this is the corpus band mix, with Agricultural inspectors in the Medium band.
Credential × growth standing
Bachelor's band with mid-pack BLS pace
Agricultural inspectors shares the Bachelor's gate with 178 peer occupations and lands in Slow growth (245 of 832). Neither the rarest nor the most crowded growth shelf - use wage and AI desks on this page for the differentiator.
Where Agricultural inspectors sits among all occupations
AI-exposure score distribution across 832 U.S. occupations (O*NET task analysis). This occupation is marked in rose.
Where Agricultural inspectors sits by AI exposure
AI-exposure score distribution across U.S. occupations (O*NET task analysis)
28% Among the lowest lower than 77% of 832 occupations
Occupations, banded by AI-exposure score
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more occupations. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source O*NET task data (U.S. Department of Labor) · BLS 2024–2034
Source: O*NET task data (U.S. Department of Labor); AI-exposure scores are PlainWorkforce's analysis. As of BLS 2024–2034.
Agricultural inspectors vs. its occupational neighbors
AI exposure (horizontal) vs projected 2024–2034 growth (vertical) for occupations in the same SOC group. Agricultural inspectors is marked in rose; the top-left corner is the most future-proof.
Source: BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034 (growth) and O*NET (AI-exposure analysis by PlainWorkforce).
Employment Projections
Where This Score Comes From
Agricultural inspectors's Medium automation-risk tier is computed from O*NET Database 30.0 task-level analysis, where each documented task the occupation performs is evaluated against current generative AI, robotic process automation, and machine-learning capabilities. A score below 40% reflects tasks anchored in physical dexterity, unstructured environments, or high-touch human interaction that current AI cannot reliably replicate.
The employment, wage, and education figures above come from a second, separate federal source: BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034, matched to the O*NET task data by Standard Occupational Classification (SOC 45-2011) code, with the wage figure cross-validated against the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024 survey. BLS figures are presented exactly as published, with no adjustment on our part; the SOC-code match is what lets Agricultural inspectors be compared directly against every other tracked occupation on the same basis, not just roles that happen to share a job title.
For career planners, this profile should be read alongside the task, skill, and knowledge breakdowns below and the list of employers whose workforce composition includes Agricultural inspectors. Adjacent occupations shown further down offer lateral moves that preserve industry knowledge while potentially reducing exposure.
Education & Entry Requirements
Top Tasks (O*NET)
- 1. Inspect food products and processing procedures to determine whether products are safe to eat.
- 2. Inspect agricultural commodities or related operations, as well as fish or logging operations, for compliance with laws and regulations governing health, quality, and safety.
- 3. Label and seal graded products and issue official grading certificates.
- 4. Monitor the operations and sanitary conditions of slaughtering or meat processing plants.
- 5. Take emergency actions, such as closing production facilities, if product safety is compromised.
- 6. Interpret and enforce government acts and regulations and explain required standards to agricultural workers.
- 7. Verify that transportation and handling procedures meet regulatory requirements.
- 8. Inspect the cleanliness and practices of establishment employees.
- 9. Examine, weigh, and measure commodities, such as poultry, eggs, meat, or seafood to certify qualities, grades, and weights.
- 10. Inspect or test horticultural products or livestock to detect harmful diseases, chemical residues, or infestations and to determine the quality of products or animals.
Key Skills Required
- Quality Control Analysis
- Reading Comprehension
- Active Listening
- Monitoring
- Critical Thinking
- Speaking
- Active Learning
- Operations Monitoring
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Writing
Knowledge Areas
- Customer and Personal Service
- Administration and Management
- Law and Government
- Administrative
- Mathematics
- Public Safety and Security
- English Language
- Education and Training
- Food Production
- Computers and Electronics
Frequently Asked Questions
Will AI replace Agricultural inspectors?
Agricultural inspectors has an AI exposure score of 28%, indicating a medium level of automation risk. The majority of tasks in this role require human judgment, creativity, or physical presence that AI cannot easily replicate.
What is the job outlook for Agricultural inspectors?
According to BLS Employment Projections 2024-2034, Agricultural inspectors is projected to grow by 1.5% over the decade. Current employment stands at approximately 14,700 workers.
What skills are needed for Agricultural inspectors?
Key skills for Agricultural inspectors include Quality Control Analysis, Reading Comprehension, Active Listening, and others. Typical entry-level education is Bachelor's degree.
How much do Agricultural inspectors earn?
The median annual wage for Agricultural inspectors is $50,990, according to BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2024). Actual earnings vary by location, experience, industry, and employer. The BLS publishes detailed wage percentiles by region in its Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program.
What education is required for Agricultural inspectors?
The typical entry-level education for Agricultural inspectors is Bachelor's degree. Employers generally expect None of related work experience. On-the-job training typically involves Moderate-term on-the-job training. Requirements can vary by employer and specialization.
Which companies employ Agricultural inspectors?
Agricultural inspectors roles exist across many industries and employers. Workforce composition is estimated from BLS industry-occupation employment distributions matched to SEC-registered public companies.
AI Exposure Rating
Medium automation risk based on 10 analyzed tasks. Most tasks require human judgment and are resistant to automation.
Nationwide occupations with similar workforce profiles
Two data-derived peer sets for Agricultural inspectors: AI-exposure neighbors and BLS 2034 growth neighbors (distinct comparison neighborhoods, cross-occupation).
Similar AI exposure score
Nearest O*NET task-automability scores nationwide (28% here).
- Acupuncturists · AI exposure 28%
- Advertising and promotions managers · AI exposure 28%
- Carpenters · AI exposure 28%
- Emergency medical technicians · AI exposure 28%
Similar projected growth (2024–2034)
Nearest BLS employment change rates nationwide (+1.5% here).
- Educational instruction and library workers, all other · growth +1.5%
- Engineering technologists and technicians, except drafters, all other · growth +1.5%
- Laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand · growth +1.5%
- Automotive body and related repairers · growth +1.6%
Peers are nearest-neighbor matches on published BLS + O*NET metrics among occupations with ≥10,000 workers in 2024; corpus ranks above sort the full tracked set.
Related Occupations
Showing 6 of 10 occupations with a comparable automation-risk profile.
What to do with this
Use Agricultural inspectors' numbers above to compare, not just read in isolation.
- Compare Agricultural inspectors side by side against another occupation on wage, growth, and AI exposure. Workforce comparison tool
- Understand how the AI exposure score above is actually calculated before treating it as a verdict. Reading AI exposure scores
- See the full ranked list of occupations with the lowest automation exposure nationwide. Safest occupations from AI
AI exposure scores estimate task automatability from O*NET data; they are not a certainty of job loss, and BLS growth projections are estimates, not guarantees.
Data sources: Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections 2024–2034 and O*NET Database 30.0. Employment figures are rounded. Wage data from BLS Occupational Employment Statistics (OES).