SalariesFarming, Fishing, and Forestry: pay for 13 occupations, May 2025
The field Farming, Fishing, and Forestry had 435,200 jobs in the United States in May 2025, with a median pay of $36,630 a year ($17.61 an hour) across all its occupations.
No occupation in this field matches.
| Occupation | Median a year | Median an hour | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| First-Line Supervisors of Farming, Fishing, and Forestry Workers | $59,320 | $28.52 | 27,960 |
| Fallers | $52,100 | $25.05 | 3,130 |
| Animal Breeders | $51,130 | $24.58 | 1,330 |
| Logging Workers, All Other | $50,840 | $24.44 | 1,700 |
| Agricultural Inspectors | $49,940 | $24.01 | 14,410 |
| Logging Equipment Operators | $49,740 | $23.91 | 21,060 |
| Log Graders and Scalers | $46,330 | $22.27 | 3,070 |
| Forest and Conservation Workers | $43,680 | $21.00 | 6,050 |
| Agricultural Equipment Operators | $41,730 | $20.06 | 28,500 |
| Agricultural Workers, All Other | $39,850 | $19.16 | 3,620 |
| Farmworkers, Farm, Ranch, and Aquacultural Animals | $36,670 | $17.63 | 32,810 |
| Graders and Sorters, Agricultural Products | $35,730 | $17.18 | 25,180 |
| Farmworkers and Laborers, Crop, Nursery, and Greenhouse | $35,660 | $17.15 | 265,500 |
In short
- Highest median pay in this field: First-Line Supervisors of Farming, Fishing, and Forestry Workers, $59,320 a year.
- Lowest: Farmworkers and Laborers, Crop, Nursery, and Greenhouse, $35,660 a year.
- Most jobs: Farmworkers and Laborers, Crop, Nursery, and Greenhouse (265,500), Farmworkers, Farm, Ranch, and Aquacultural Animals (32,810) and Agricultural Equipment Operators (28,500).
- For comparison, the median for all occupations in the country was $50,980 a year.
Sorted by median pay, highest first. "Not published" in the yearly or hourly column means BLS releases only the other one for that occupation.
The field as a whole
Farming, Fishing, and Forestry holds 435,200 of the 155,495,730 jobs in the national figures, about 1 in every 100. Its median pay of $36,630 a year is 28% below the median for all occupations ($50,980), which places it number 20 of the 22 fields. Across the whole field, the lowest-paid tenth earned less than $31,760 and the highest-paid tenth more than $58,220; the middle half earned between $34,540 and $44,990. The average was $41,510, 13% above the median.
Inside the field
Inside the field, the best-paid occupation with a published yearly median earns 1.7 times the lowest ($59,320 against $35,660). 3 of the 13 occupations with a yearly median are above the national median of $50,980, and 10 are below it. The occupation in the middle of the field's list is Log Graders and Scalers, at $46,330. Jobs are unevenly spread: the three largest occupations hold 75% of the field's jobs, while the smallest, Animal Breeders, has 1,330. Pay stretches furthest within Agricultural Workers, All Other, where the highest-paid tenth earn over $76,940 and the lowest-paid tenth under $27,760.
Reading the field
Pay also moves with place. For the field's largest occupation, Farmworkers and Laborers, Crop, Nursery, and Greenhouse, the state medians run from $21,960 in Puerto Rico to $55,180 in Wyoming; its own page has every state. The Bureau of Labor Statistics sorts every occupation into one field by the work done, not by the industry of the employer, so an accountant at a hospital is counted under business and financial operations, not health care.
Questions about this field
What is the highest-paying job in farming, fishing, and forestry?
By published median pay in May 2025: First-Line Supervisors of Farming, Fishing, and Forestry Workers, at $59,320 a year.
Which farming, fishing, and forestry occupation has the most jobs?
Farmworkers and Laborers, Crop, Nursery, and Greenhouse, with 265,500 jobs in the United States.
What is the median pay for farming, fishing, and forestry occupations?
$36,630 a year across the whole field, against $50,980 for all occupations.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. Checked in November 2026. Figures are for employees, before tax, and leave out overtime pay and benefits. They are official statistics, not advice or a pay offer; see bls.gov/oes for the original tables.