Farmers in the U.S. earn the most, with the highest average pay of $102,000, according to a new study.
That comes as the country continues to experience a boom in corn, soybean and wheat, the study, released Monday, shows.
The study from the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press examined the average pay and benefits of 1,100 agricultural workers nationwide.
The average annual farm worker pay in the United States was $96,900 in 2016, and the average farm worker’s annual benefits were $1,919, the report found.
The most common job category among the agricultural workers surveyed was truck driver.
Nearly three-quarters of farm workers surveyed had a truck driver’s license, the highest share of any occupation.
The highest paid worker was a farmer, with an average of $91,800 in 2016.
Only 7 percent of the farmers surveyed were farmers, and almost one in five were in the agriculture business.
About a third of the agricultural workforce had at least one other occupation, with a median of 19 occupations.
The report also found that almost 40 percent of farm jobs paid $30 or less a year, the lowest rate of pay in nearly a decade.
The median salary for farm workers in 2016 was $30,400, the most of any job in the survey.
About 70 percent of farmers had a household income of less than $30 a month, the lowest share of the workforce.
The national average wage for agricultural workers in 2015 was $29,000.
Nearly 80 percent of farms in 2017 were either owned or operated by small business, up from 71 percent in 2015.
The lowest share of farm work was among the lowest paid workers.
Only 19 percent of workers earned less than minimum wage, and only 5 percent earned more than $15.80 per hour, the survey found.
About 80 percent, or 1.2 million people, earned at least $100,000 in farm income in 2017.
The number of farm households in the country increased from 4.6 million in 2015 to 5.7 million in 2017, according the report.
The farm labor force includes all employees working in the farm sector, including farmers and other workers.
