Occupational Employment and Wages, November 2003

45-2091 Agricultural Equipment Operators

Drive and control farm equipment to till soil and to plant, cultivate, and harvest crops. May perform tasks, such as crop baling or hay bucking. May operate stationary equipment to perform post-harvest tasks, such as husking, shelling, threshing, and ginning.

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)
20,440 9.3 % $9.68 $20,130 1.9 %

Percentile wage estimates for this occupation:

Percentile 10% 25% 50%
(Median)
75% 90%
Hourly Wage $6.40 $7.38 $8.80 $11.19 $14.08
Annual Wage (2) $13,320 $15,350 $18,300 $23,280 $29,280

Industry profile for this occupation: Top

Industries with the highest levels of employment in this occupation:

Industry Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage
Support activities for crop production 13,980 $9.02 $18,760
Misc. nondurable goods merchant wholesalers 1,260 $12.36 $25,710
Farm product raw material merch. whls. 730 $12.03 $25,010
Beverage manufacturing 560 $11.47 $23,850
Services to buildings and dwellings 330 $11.90 $24,760

Top paying industries for this occupation:

Industry Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage
Lessors of real estate 40 $14.83 $30,840
Logging (7) $14.10 $29,330
Dairy product manufacturing 70 $14.10 $29,320
Agricultural chemical manufacturing 110 $13.22 $27,490
Misc. nondurable goods merchant wholesalers 1,260 $12.36 $25,710

State profile for this occupation: Top

States with the highest concentration of workers in this occupation:

State Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of State employment
Arkansas 1,060 $9.69 $20,160 0.095%
Kansas 800 $12.16 $25,300 0.062%
California 7,040 $9.24 $19,220 0.049%
North Dakota 150 $10.40 $21,620 0.048%
Arizona 950 $8.76 $18,220 0.042%

Top paying States for this occupation:

State Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of State employment
Pennsylvania 270 $13.26 $27,570 0.005%
Illinois 660 $12.75 $26,510 0.012%
Wisconsin 240 $12.69 $26,400 0.009%
Michigan (7) $12.58 $26,170 (7)
Kentucky 50 $12.39 $25,770 0.003%

Metropolitan area profile for this occupation: Top

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

MSA Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of MSA employment
Yuma, AZ MSA 330 $8.83 $18,360 0.615%
Salinas, CA MSA 630 $10.52 $21,870 0.404%
Stockton-Lodi, CA MSA 630 $10.54 $21,930 0.306%
Bakersfield, CA MSA 650 $8.35 $17,370 0.286%
Visalia-Tulare-Porterville, CA MSA 260 $9.81 $20,400 0.213%

Top paying Metropolitan areas for this occupation:

MSA Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of MSA employment
Madison, WI MSA 40 $14.29 $29,720 0.014%
Los Angeles-Long Beach, CA PMSA 30 $13.20 $27,460 0.001%
Melbourne-Titusville-Palm Bay, FL MSA (7) $12.20 $25,380 (7)
West Palm Beach-Boca Raton, FL MSA 60 $12.14 $25,250 0.012%
Vallejo-Fairfield-Napa, CA PMSA 210 $12.04 $25,040 0.111%

About November 2003 National, State, and Metropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

These estimates are calculated with data collected from employers in all industry sectors in metropolitan and non-metropolitan 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.

(7) Estimates not released.

All Farming, Fishing, and Forestry Occupations

November 2003 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

November 2003 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

November 2003 Metropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

November 2003 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

List of Occupations in SOC Code Number Order

List of Occupations in Alphabetical Order

Download November 2003 Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates in Zipped Excel files

Technical notes

 

Last Modified Date: April 19, 2005