Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2007

13-1021 Purchasing Agents and Buyers, Farm Products

Purchase farm products either for further processing or resale. Include Christmas tree contractors, grain brokers and market operators, grain buyers, and tobacco buyers.

National estimates for this occupation
Industry profile for this occupation
State profile for this occupation
Metropolitan area profile for this occupation

National estimates for this occupation: Top

Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for this occupation:

Employment (1) Employment
RSE (3)
Mean hourly
wage
Mean annual
wage (2)
Wage RSE (3)
12,930 3.4 % $25.95 $53,980 1.3 %

Percentile wage estimates for this occupation:

Percentile 10% 25% 50%
(Median)
75% 90%
Hourly Wage $13.24 $17.48 $23.27 $31.08 $42.14
Annual Wage (2) $27,540 $36,370 $48,410 $64,650 $87,650

Industry profile for this occupation: Top

Industries with the highest published employment and wages for this occupation are provided. For a list of all industries with employment in this occupation, see the Create Customized Tables function.

Industries with the highest levels of employment in this occupation:

Industry Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage
Grocery and Related Product Wholesalers 2,130 $29.74 $61,860
Farm Product Raw Material Merchant Wholesalers 1,640 $23.96 $49,830
Miscellaneous Nondurable Goods Merchant Wholesalers 1,040 $25.24 $52,510
Grocery Stores 940 $17.49 $36,380
Wholesale Electronic Markets and Agents and Brokers 860 $21.24 $44,190

Top paying industries for this occupation:

Industry Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage
Professional and Commercial Equipment and Supplies Merchant Wholesalers 90 $50.60 $105,260
Electric Power Generation, Transmission and Distribution 80 $35.99 $74,860
Navigational, Measuring, Electromedical, and Control Instruments Manufacturing 40 $33.79 $70,290
Architectural, Engineering, and Related Services (8) $32.30 $67,180
Management of Companies and Enterprises 650 $30.65 $63,760

State profile for this occupation: Top

States with the highest published employment concentrations and wages for this occupation are provided. For a list of all States with employment in this occupation, see the Create Customized Tables function.

States with the highest concentration of workers in this occupation:

State Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of State employment
North Dakota 250 $27.92 $58,080 0.073%
South Dakota 220 $23.26 $48,390 0.056%
Montana 170 $21.15 $43,990 0.039%
Nebraska 340 $28.63 $59,550 0.037%
Iowa 500 $21.66 $45,050 0.034%

Top paying States for this occupation:

State Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of State employment
Massachusetts 320 $35.41 $73,650 0.010%
New York 640 $34.40 $71,550 0.008%
Connecticut 160 $33.53 $69,740 0.010%
Kentucky 210 $31.62 $65,770 0.012%
Washington 400 $31.20 $64,890 0.014%

Metropolitan area profile for this occupation: Top

Metropolitan areas with the highest published employment concentrations and wages for this occupation are provided. For a list of all Metropolitan areas with employment in this occupation, see the Create Customized Tables function.

Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of workers in this occupation:

MSA Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of MSA employment
Sioux City, IA-NE-SD 70 $23.97 $49,860 0.096%
Grand Forks, ND-MN 40 $27.95 $58,130 0.080%
Sioux Falls, SD 90 $23.34 $48,550 0.068%
Greeley, CO 40 $22.32 $46,420 0.051%
Omaha-Council Bluffs, NE-IA 180 $27.75 $57,720 0.040%

Top paying Metropolitan areas for this occupation:

MSA Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of MSA employment
Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT (8) $40.68 $84,610 (8)
New York-White Plains-Wayne, NY-NJ Metropolitan Division 420 $37.12 $77,200 0.008%
Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, MA NECTA Division 180 $35.17 $73,150 0.011%
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, CA Metropolitan Division 440 $34.34 $71,430 0.011%
Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, WA Metropolitan Division 250 $33.58 $69,850 0.018%

About May 2007 National, State, Metropolitan, and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

These estimates are calculated with data collected from employers in all industry sectors in metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas in every State and the District of Columbia. The top five employment and wage figures are provided above. The complete list is available in the downloadable Excel files (XLS).

Percentile wage estimates show the percentage of workers in an occupation that earn less than a given wage and the percentage that earn more. The median wage is the 50th percentile wage estimate—50 percent of workers earn less than the median and 50 percent of workers earn more than the median. More about percentile wages.


(1) Estimates for detailed occupations do not sum to the totals because the totals include occupations not shown separately. Estimates do not include self-employed workers.

(2) Annual wages have been calculated by multiplying the hourly mean wage by a "year-round, full-time" hours figure of 2,080 hours; for those occupations where there is not an hourly mean wage published, the annual wage has been directly calculated from the reported survey data.

(3) The relative standard error (RSE) is a measure of the reliability of a survey statistic. The smaller the relative standard error, the more precise the estimate.

(8) Estimate not released.

Other OES estimates and related information:

May 2007 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2007 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2007 Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2007 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

List of Occupations in SOC Code Number Order

List of Occupations in Alphabetical Order

Download May 2007 Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates in Zipped Excel files

Technical notes

 

Last Modified Date: April 3, 2008