Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2004

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)
20,960 10.2 % $9.76 $20,300 2.0 %

Percentile wage estimates for this occupation:

Percentile 10% 25% 50%
(Median)
75% 90%
Hourly Wage $6.49 $7.49 $8.88 $11.33 $14.15
Annual Wage (2) $13,500 $15,590 $18,460 $23,560 $29,430

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 13,970 $9.04 $18,810
Misc. nondurable goods merchant wholesalers 1,460 $12.67 $26,350
Farm product raw material merch. whls. 880 $12.06 $25,090
Beverage manufacturing 490 $11.95 $24,850
Grain and oilseed milling 340 $11.41 $23,730

Top paying industries for this occupation:

Industry Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage
Dairy product manufacturing 60 $14.22 $29,590
Logging (7) $14.01 $29,140
Agricultural chemical manufacturing 80 $12.82 $26,670
Misc. nondurable goods merchant wholesalers 1,460 $12.67 $26,350
Lawn and garden equipment and supplies stores (7) $12.50 $25,990

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
Kansas 950 $12.39 $25,780 0.073%
North Dakota 210 $10.13 $21,080 0.066%
California 7,010 $9.27 $19,290 0.048%
Arizona 1,070 $8.68 $18,050 0.046%
Iowa 620 $10.64 $22,130 0.044%

Top paying States for this occupation:

State Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of State employment
Pennsylvania 60 $14.57 $30,300 0.001%
Maryland 80 $14.50 $30,170 0.003%
Illinois 690 $13.38 $27,840 0.012%
Washington 120 $12.67 $26,350 0.005%
Wisconsin 210 $12.57 $26,140 0.008%

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 470 $9.01 $18,740 0.839%
Salinas, CA MSA 690 $11.01 $22,900 0.444%
Stockton-Lodi, CA MSA 670 $10.22 $21,260 0.323%
Bakersfield, CA MSA 740 $8.57 $17,830 0.316%
San Angelo, TX MSA 60 $7.07 $14,710 0.139%

Top paying Metropolitan areas for this occupation:

MSA Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of MSA employment
Madison, WI MSA 30 $15.26 $31,750 0.011%
St. Cloud, MN MSA (7) $14.92 $31,040 (7)
Miami, FL PMSA 40 $14.67 $30,510 0.004%
Chicago, IL PMSA (7) $14.61 $30,390 (7)
Vallejo-Fairfield-Napa, CA PMSA 220 $12.64 $26,290 0.117%

About May 2004 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

May 2004 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2004 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2004 Metropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2004 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

List of Occupations in SOC Code Number Order

List of Occupations in Alphabetical Order

Download May 2004 Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates in Zipped Excel files

Technical notes

 

Last Modified Date: June 02, 2005