Farmworkers, Farm, Ranch, and Aquacultural Animals salary

SOC 45-2093 · BLS OEWS May 2025

Median

$36,670

per year, nationally

Middle half

$31,020–$45,700

25th to 75th percentile

Employed

32,810

in the U.S.

Growth 2024–34

-5.0%

31,200 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.

$27,360$54,080

10th: $27,360
25th: $31,020
Median: $36,670
75th: $45,700
90th: $54,080

Getting in

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

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

Where farmworkers, farm, ranch, and aquacultural animals 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	Alaska	$50,450	102.4	40	0.61×
2	West Virginia	$48,460	89.5	40	0.30×
3	Hawaii	$47,050	110.0	160	1.23×
4	Minnesota	$46,020	98.6	580	0.93×
5	Washington	$45,370	107.0	1,100	1.46×
6	Maine	$42,170	97.0	140	1.06×
7	Maryland	$41,760	105.0	310	0.53×
8	Vermont	$40,730	98.0	80	1.24×
9	Idaho	$40,580	95.5	480	2.64×
10	North Dakota	$40,320	89.0	130	1.42×
11	Colorado	$39,740	103.1	1,270	2.09×
12	New Hampshire	$39,520	104.2	130	0.91×
13	New Jersey	$38,960	108.8	250	0.28×
14	Wyoming	$38,920	92.7	470	7.94×
15	North Carolina	$38,750	94.3	910	0.87×
16	Virginia	$38,670	101.1	630	0.73×
17	California	$38,640	110.7	3,600	0.94×
18	Massachusetts	$38,280	105.8	270	0.35×
19	Kentucky	$38,030	90.2	700	1.67×
20	South Dakota	$38,000	88.6	100	1.00×
21	Indiana	$37,530	93.3	420	0.62×
22	Mississippi	$37,430	87.0	290	1.19×
23	Nebraska	$37,220	90.1	570	2.65×
24	Kansas	$37,060	90.1	1,340	4.41×
25	Montana	$37,010	94.6	660	6.15×
26	Delaware	$36,940	99.8	90	0.89×
27	Florida	$36,790	103.4	820	0.39×
28	Alabama	$36,620	88.8	1,300	2.92×
29	Iowa	$36,480	87.8	1,240	3.77×
30	New Mexico	$36,400	92.2	330	1.78×
31	Oregon	$35,480	103.4	700	1.69×
32	Pennsylvania	$35,360	97.6	1,330	1.04×
33	Arizona	$35,160	100.7	650	0.95×
34	Connecticut	$35,140	103.6	90	0.25×
35	South Carolina	$35,090	93.7	190	0.40×
36	New York	$34,860	107.9	530	0.26×
37	Texas	$33,920	97.1	3,750	1.26×
38	Illinois	$33,840	100.0	450	0.35×
39	Tennessee	$33,720	91.9	450	0.65×
40	Oklahoma	$33,670	87.8	420	1.16×
41	Utah	$32,970	98.9	80	0.22×
42	Wisconsin	$32,970	94.1	930	1.50×
43	Missouri	$32,950	90.8	1,310	2.11×
44	Michigan	$32,660	96.2	750	0.80×
45	Louisiana	$31,940	88.2	80	0.19×
46	Nevada	$31,700	100.0	210	0.66×
47	Ohio	$31,200	92.8	1,160	0.99×
48	Arkansas	$29,340	86.9	460	1.68×
49	Georgia	$28,410	96.3	690	0.67×

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 farmworkers, farm, ranch, and aquacultural animals wages are suppressed by BLS for confidentiality are omitted.

Best paying metro areas for farmworkers, farm, ranch, and aquacultural animals

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	Salinas, CA	$62,540	109.0	70	1.74×
2	Wenatchee-East Wenatchee, WA	$59,900	103.9	50	4.41×
3	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV	$50,100	108.9	290	0.45×
4	Richmond, VA	$48,880	97.9	40	0.32×
5	Sioux City, IA-NE-SD	$48,870	86.5	70	4.50×
6	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI	$47,950	104.8	320	0.77×
7	Topeka, KS	$47,490	88.8	50	2.22×
8	Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC	$47,430	97.9	50	0.30×
9	North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota, FL	$46,860	102.4	50	0.67×
10	Chattanooga, TN-GA	$46,580	91.5	40	0.79×
11	Boulder, CO	$46,260	105.2	60	1.36×
12	Greensboro-High Point, NC	$46,130	92.9	90	1.18×
13	Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA	$45,970	107.8	100	2.22×
14	Montgomery, AL	$45,700	89.7	80	2.21×
15	Boise City, ID	$45,670	98.4	120	1.49×
16	St. Cloud, MN	$45,290	87.6	30	1.45×
17	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA	$45,140	110.4	130	0.53×
18	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA	$44,930	111.1	410	0.94×
19	Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater, WA	$44,750	103.7	30	1.18×
20	San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA	$44,300	115.6	380	0.75×
21	Charlottesville, VA	$43,960	99.1	40	1.72×
22	Urban Honolulu, HI	$43,560	111.0	90	0.91×
23	Bend, OR	$43,220	103.6	40	1.61×
24	San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA	$42,910	111.9	370	1.15×
25	Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO	$42,590	105.8	340	1.00×
26	Spokane-Spokane Valley, WA	$42,390	100.3	40	0.73×
27	Mount Vernon-Anacortes, WA	$42,370	102.4	70	6.58×
28	Bellingham, WA	$41,770	103.3	80	4.01×
29	Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN	$41,570	95.7	50	0.24×
30	Salem, OR	$41,400	103.6	90	2.24×
31	Raleigh-Cary, NC	$41,360	98.2	90	0.60×
32	Auburn-Opelika, AL	$41,270	87.9	40	2.91×
33	Yakima, WA	$40,660	95.5	60	2.69×
34	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA	$40,320	105.4	170	0.67×
35	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL	$40,180	100.9	110	0.36×
36	Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA	$40,120	91.7	50	0.55×
37	Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA	$39,810	106.7	140	0.63×
38	Lexington-Fayette, KY	$39,330	92.9	330	5.53×
39	Elkhart-Goshen, IN	$39,310	90.3	30	1.21×
40	Omaha, NE-IA	$39,100	91.9	70	0.64×

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 farmworkers, farm, ranch, and aquacultural animals 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
Agricultural Equipment Operators$41,730
Graders and Sorters, Agricultural Products$35,730
Agricultural Inspectors$49,940
Agricultural Workers, All Other$39,850
Animal Breeders$51,130

Farmworkers, Farm, Ranch, and Aquacultural Animals salary

What the range looks like

Getting in

Where farmworkers, farm, ranch, and aquacultural animals earn the most

Best paying metro areas for farmworkers, farm, ranch, and aquacultural animals

Similar occupations

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