Occupational Employment and Wages, May 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)
21,330 6.9 % $9.47 $19,690 2.1 %

Percentile wage estimates for this occupation:

Percentile 10% 25% 50%
(Median) 		75% 90%
Hourly Wage $6.24 $7.12 $8.59 $11.05 $14.07
Annual Wage (2) $12,980 $14,810 $17,880 $22,980 $29,260

Industry profile for this occupation: Top

Industries with the highest levels of employment in this occupation:

Industry Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Employment rank Wage rank
Support activities for crop production 13,860 $8.74 $18,180 1 21
Misc. nondurable goods merchant wholesalers 1,470 $11.42 $23,750 2 8
Farm product raw material merch. whls. 700 $11.83 $24,610 3 7
Beverage manufacturing 650 $11.34 $23,580 4 9
Fruit and vegetable preserving and specialty 450 $10.00 $20,800 5 16

Top paying industries for this occupation:

Industry Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Employment rank Wage rank
Dairy product manufacturing 90 $14.45 $30,060 16 1
Agricultural chemical manufacturing 100 $13.24 $27,540 15 2
Colleges and universities 140 $13.00 $27,040 12 3
Lessors of real estate 30 $12.10 $25,160 18 4
Lawn and garden equipment and supplies stores (6) $11.91 $24,780 (6) 5

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 Wage rank within State
Iowa 800 $11.34 $23,590 0.057% 519
Kansas 710 $12.27 $25,520 0.055% 470
Arkansas 620 $8.26 $17,180 0.055% 593
Nebraska 430 $11.30 $23,500 0.049% 482
North Dakota 150 $10.58 $22,010 0.048% 413

Top paying States for this occupation:

State Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of State employment Wage rank within State
Massachusetts (6) $17.06 $35,490 (6) 415
Pennsylvania 270 $12.81 $26,640 0.005% 561
Kentucky 40 $12.30 $25,590 0.002% 454
Kansas 710 $12.27 $25,520 0.055% 470
Wisconsin 330 $12.23 $25,450 0.012% 564

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 $8.67 $18,040 0.872%
Salinas, CA MSA 560 $10.81 $22,480 0.361%
Stockton-Lodi, CA MSA 590 $10.39 $21,610 0.292%
Bakersfield, CA MSA 550 $8.32 $17,310 0.247%
Jonesboro, AR MSA 90 $6.80 $14,150 0.224%

Top paying Metropolitan areas for this occupation:

MSA Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of MSA employment
Miami, FL PMSA 30 $14.03 $29,180 0.003%
Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN-WI MSA 80 $13.75 $28,600 0.005%
St. Cloud, MN MSA 40 $12.82 $26,670 0.045%
Madison, WI MSA 40 $12.65 $26,310 0.014%
West Palm Beach-Boca Raton, FL MSA 80 $12.54 $26,080 0.015%

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

To see profiles of other occupations, select from the major groups below:

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.

(6) Estimates not released.

All Farming, Fishing, and Forestry Occupations

2003 May National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

2003 May State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

2003 May Metropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

2003 May National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

List of Occupations in SOC Code Number Order

List of Occupations in Alphabetical Order

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

Technical notes

 

Last Modified Date: May 7, 2004