Occupation salary profile

Farmworkers and Laborers, Crop, Nursery, and Greenhouse

SOC 45-2092 BLS OEWS May 2025

Manually plant, cultivate, and harvest vegetables, fruits, nuts, horticultural specialties, and field crops. Use hand tools, such as shovels, trowels, hoes, tampers, pruning hooks, shears, and knives. Duties may include tilling soil and applying fertilizers; transplanting, weeding, thinning, or pruning crops; applying pesticides; or cleaning, grading, sorting, packing, and loading harvested products. May construct trellises, repair fences and farm buildings, or participate in irrigation activities. Excludes “Pesticide Handlers, Sprayers, and Applicators, Vegetation” (37-3012), “Graders and Sorters, Agricultural Products” (45-2041), and “Forest, Conservation, and Logging Workers” (45-4011 through 45-4029).

National median · BLS
$35,660
▼ -0.08% YoY
H-1B sponsor median
—
Too few H-1B filings
Average salary · BLS
$37,630
Mean annual wage
U.S. employment
265,500
Jobs (BLS)
Highest-paying state (cost-adjusted) Loading…
Most jobs Loading…
Highest-paying metro (cost-adjusted) Loading…

Check your salary

Enter your pay and a location to see where you stand against BLS and H-1B pay, your estimated take-home pay, and your purchasing power.

Pay range for Farmworkers and Laborers, Crop, Nursery, and Greenhouse

Annual base pay at each percentile. BLS covers all U.S. workers in this occupation.

Percentile All U.S. workers (BLS)
10th — entry pay$32,900
25th$34,320
Median (50th)$35,660
75th$38,840
90th — top pay$45,690

Hourly ⇄ annual pay

Type in either box; the other updates instantly.

Monthly—
Every 2 weeks—
Weekly—
Daily—
Based on hrs/week × weeks/year = 2,080 hrs
Projections 2025–2035

Job outlook for Farmworkers and Laborers, Crop, Nursery, and Greenhouse

BLS projects employment of farmworkers and laborers, crop, nursery, and greenhouse to decline 2.4% from 2025 to 2035, while employment across all occupations grows 3.5%. About 72,500 openings are projected each year, on average, from new jobs and from replacing workers who retire or move to other occupations.

Jobs 2025 → 2035
546,800 → 533,600
-13,200 jobs
Projected change
-2.4%
All occupations: +3.5%
Openings per year
72,500
Average, 2025–2035
Typical entry education
No formal educational credential
No related experience required
On-the-job training
Short-term on-the-job training
Self-employed
8.9% of workers (2025)
Preparation needed (O*NET Job Zone 2)
Very Little to Some Preparation Needed. Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not.
Fastest-declining jobs → Best-paying jobs that need no formal education →

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025–2035 · BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook →

Skills & tools

Skills needed for Farmworkers and Laborers, Crop, Nursery, and Greenhouse

How important each skill and knowledge area is for this job, rated by O*NET on a 1–5 scale from surveys of workers and occupational analysts.

Top skills
  • Operations Monitoring3.0
  • Speaking3.0
  • Active Listening2.9
  • Critical Thinking2.8
  • Monitoring2.8
  • Operation and Control2.8
  • Reading Comprehension2.8
  • Repairing2.8
  • Social Perceptiveness2.8
  • Time Management2.8
Top knowledge areas
  • Biology2.8
  • Food Production2.8
  • Mechanical2.7
  • Administration and Management2.7
  • Chemistry2.6
  • Mathematics2.6
  • English Language2.5
  • Production and Processing2.4
Software and technology used
Microsoft ExcelMicrosoft Office softwareMicrosoft OutlookMicrosoft PowerPointMicrosoft WordBCL Landview Systems WinCropFarm Works Software TracGlobal positioning system GPS softwareIBM Lotus NotesWeb browser software

Highlighted = in demand: frequently listed in employer job postings for this occupation (O*NET).

Source: O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.

About the job

What farmworkers and laborers, crop, nursery, and greenhouse do

  • Record information about crops, such as pesticide use, yields, or costs.
  • Direct and monitor the work of casual and seasonal help during planting and harvesting.
  • Participate in the inspection, grading, sorting, storage, and post-harvest treatment of crops.
  • Harvest plants, and transplant or pot and label them.
  • Repair and maintain farm vehicles, implements, and mechanical equipment.
  • Harvest fruits and vegetables by hand.
  • Set up and operate irrigation equipment.
  • Inform farmers or farm managers of crop progress.
Also called
Greenhouse WorkerGrowerHarvesterNursery WorkerFarm LaborerFarmerField Irrigation WorkerGardenerOrchard WorkerPicker
More job titles for this occupation (80)
Agriculture LaborerAgriculture WorkerApple PickerApple ThinnerApple TurnerAsparagus CutterBale SewerBallerBean PickerBeet TopperBeet WorkerBerry and Nut HarvesterBerry PickerBerry PlanterBog WorkerBrush CutterBudderBulb FarmworkerBulb GrowerBulb PackerBulb PlanterBulb WeederCane BurnerCane CutterCane Flume WatcherCane Flume WatchmanCane LoaderCane PackerCane PusherCane StripperCarrot BuncherCarrot HarvesterCarrot TierCelery CutterCelery PackerCelery StripperCelery TierCelery WrapperCitrus Fruit PackerCitrus PickerCorn DetasselerCorn HuskerCorn PickerCorn ShellerCorn ShredderCorn ShuckerCotton PickerCotton PullerCotton StomperCrop Duster HelperCrop Farm HelperCrop FarmerCrop FarmworkerCrop PickerCrop Ranch HandCullerDetasselerDiggerDitch CleanerDitch DiggerDitch RiderDitch TenderDitcherDiversified Crops FarmworkerDryland FarmerFarm AssistantFarm HandFarm RancherFarm WorkerFarmworkerField BroomerField Cane Scaler HelperField Crop FarmworkerField Crop Harvest WorkerField HandField HandymanField HaulerField WorkerFig CaprifierFirebreak Cutter

Source: O*NET 31.0 (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0). These are general job titles, not H-1B filings; for titles employers actually filed, see “Job titles” above.