Agricultural Equipment Operators salary

SOC 45-2091 · BLS OEWS May 2025

Median

$41,730

per year, nationally

Middle half

$36,810–$48,100

25th to 75th percentile

Employed

28,500

in the U.S.

Growth 2024–34

+7.7%

10,500 openings/yr

What the range looks like

A single median hides most of what a job pays. The bar below is the full national range: the wash spans the 10th to 90th percentile, the solid bar is the middle half, and the tick is the median.

$33,500$58,650

10th: $33,500
25th: $36,810
Median: $41,730
75th: $48,100
90th: $58,650

Getting in

Typical education to enter: No formal educational credential
Related work experience: None
On-the-job training: Moderate-term on-the-job training

Entry requirements describe what is typical, not mandatory. Source: BLS Employment Projections, 2024–34.

Where agricultural equipment operators earn the most

Nominal pay and pay adjusted for local prices rank states differently — a high-wage state with high costs can be worse off in real terms than a middling one. Switch between the two below.

The median wage as published, before local prices are taken into account.

#	State	Median	Cost of living	Employed	Concentrationvs. national
1	Montana	$58,770	94.6	130	1.42×
2	Louisiana	$58,520	88.2	270	0.76×
3	New York	$50,020	107.9	—	—
4	Delaware	$49,910	99.8	40	0.45×
5	Massachusetts	$49,150	105.8	40	0.06×
6	Minnesota	$48,520	98.6	900	1.67×
7	North Dakota	$48,080	89.0	430	5.47×
8	South Dakota	$48,060	88.6	240	2.86×
9	Virginia	$47,890	101.1	120	0.16×
10	Iowa	$47,220	87.8	1,530	5.37×
11	Ohio	$47,220	92.8	600	0.59×
12	Pennsylvania	$47,100	97.6	390	0.35×
13	Wisconsin	$47,100	94.1	830	1.53×
14	Nebraska	$46,670	90.1	1,090	5.83×
15	Maine	$46,490	97.0	60	0.47×
16	Missouri	$46,490	90.8	900	1.67×
17	Indiana	$46,280	93.3	810	1.39×
18	Illinois	$46,050	100.0	1,910	1.71×
19	Kansas	$45,570	90.1	670	2.55×
20	Oregon	$44,150	103.4	310	0.87×
21	Michigan	$42,380	96.2	460	0.57×
22	Kentucky	$42,000	90.2	190	0.52×
23	New Jersey	$41,660	108.8	70	0.09×
24	Maryland	$39,580	105.0	180	0.37×
25	North Carolina	$39,580	94.3	550	0.61×
26	Idaho	$38,920	95.5	490	3.14×
27	California	$38,820	110.7	7,940	2.38×
28	Washington	$38,470	107.0	550	0.84×
29	Tennessee	$37,750	91.9	390	0.65×
30	Colorado	$37,290	103.1	—	—
31	Florida	$36,660	103.4	790	0.43×
32	Arizona	$36,600	100.7	730	1.22×
33	Mississippi	$36,460	87.0	280	1.31×
34	New Mexico	$35,580	92.2	130	0.84×
35	Georgia	$35,410	96.3	570	0.64×
36	Oklahoma	$34,900	87.8	170	0.56×
37	South Carolina	$34,490	93.7	380	0.90×
38	Texas	$34,260	97.1	2,200	0.85×
39	Alabama	$33,910	88.8	370	0.96×
40	Arkansas	$32,060	86.9	350	1.48×

Cost of living is the BEA regional price parity for all items, where 100 is the national average. Concentration is the BLS location quotient: how much more of the local workforce does this job than the national average, so 2.00× means twice the national share. It is often the reason wages differ — a place that concentrates an occupation has the employers and the competition for it. States where agricultural equipment operators wages are suppressed by BLS for confidentiality are omitted.

Best paying metro areas for agricultural equipment operators

The 40 highest-paying metros with a published estimate. BLS suppresses roughly half of all occupation-by-metro cells, so a metro absent here has no local figure rather than a low one.

The median wage as published, before local prices are taken into account.

#	Metro area	Median	Cost of living	Employed	Concentrationvs. national
1	Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN	$54,380	95.4	50	0.25×
2	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI	$53,680	104.8	180	0.49×
3	Lafayette-West Lafayette, IN	$52,100	93.4	30	1.66×
4	Columbus, OH	$51,050	95.5	50	0.27×
5	Sioux City, IA-NE-SD	$49,990	86.5	50	3.59×
6	Dubuque, IA	$49,440	87.3	40	3.81×
7	Madison, WI	$49,410	97.3	110	1.50×
8	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD	$49,220	102.6	140	0.26×
9	Fargo, ND-MN	$48,710	90.9	70	2.70×
10	Mankato, MN	$48,520	91.0	70	6.74×
11	Medford, OR	$48,510	101.4	40	2.21×
12	Terre Haute, IN	$48,330	87.8	40	2.94×
13	Eau Claire, WI	$48,250	92.8	30	1.95×
14	Omaha, NE-IA	$48,010	91.9	120	1.31×
15	Grand Forks, ND-MN	$47,900	86.7	40	4.08×
16	Napa, CA	$47,880	112.6	590	41.06×
17	Ames, IA	$47,610	88.8	30	2.96×
18	Kansas City, MO-KS	$47,610	92.5	140	0.70×
19	Evansville, IN	$47,500	91.5	40	1.61×
20	St. Louis, MO-IL	$47,280	95.1	150	0.62×
21	Green Bay, WI	$47,220	93.1	50	1.44×
22	Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN	$47,080	103.6	360	0.44×
23	Champaign-Urbana, IL	$47,060	92.7	80	4.30×
24	Sioux Falls, SD-MN	$46,970	90.6	40	1.15×
25	Iowa City, IA	$46,940	91.5	30	1.82×
26	Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN	$46,840	95.7	140	0.68×
27	Albany, OR	$46,770	102.1	40	4.36×
28	Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA	$46,220	91.7	110	1.49×
29	Lincoln, NE	$45,980	91.6	40	1.17×
30	Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA	$45,960	106.7	300	1.52×
31	Wichita, KS	$45,860	88.9	30	0.54×
32	Topeka, KS	$45,850	88.8	30	1.46×
33	Peoria, IL	$45,610	91.2	80	2.48×
34	Fort Wayne, IN	$45,470	92.6	70	1.63×
35	Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL	$45,310	89.1	70	2.25×
36	Bloomington, IL	$45,280	93.5	50	2.79×
37	Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA	$44,810	87.1	60	3.59×
38	Cedar Rapids, IA	$44,660	89.0	40	1.72×
39	Grand Island, NE	$44,310	86.7	60	8.45×
40	Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA	$44,260	107.8	280	7.52×

Cost of living is the BEA regional price parity for all items, where 100 is the national average. Concentration is the BLS location quotient: how much more of the local workforce does this job than the national average, so 2.00× means twice the national share. It is often the reason wages differ — a place that concentrates an occupation has the employers and the competition for it. Metro areas where agricultural equipment operators wages are suppressed by BLS for confidentiality are omitted.

Similar occupations

Other jobs in the same field, with what each pays nationally.

Farmworkers and Laborers, Crop, Nursery, and Greenhouse$35,660
Farmworkers, Farm, Ranch, and Aquacultural Animals$36,670
Graders and Sorters, Agricultural Products$35,730
Agricultural Inspectors$49,940
Agricultural Workers, All Other$39,850
Animal Breeders$51,130