National Averages - Farmers

• Farmers and ranchers own their own land, farm business or nursery. These workers earned an average hourly wage of $20.53, or $42,710 per year in 2009, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The lowest 10th percentile of earners made an average hourly salary of $9.09, or $18,900 per year, while the top 10th percentile earned an average of $44.09 per hour, or $91,710 per year. The median 50 percent of farmers and ranchers made $15.55 per hour, or $32,350 per year.
  
  

National Averages - Farm Workers

• The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that the average salary for a farm worker, sometimes known as a hired hand or ranch hand, in 2009 was $11.37 per hour, or $23,640 per year. Farmers in the lowest 10th percentile of earners made an average of $7.50 per hour, or $15,610 per year. The top 10th percentile of earners made an average of $16.59 per hour, or $34,520 per year. Those in the middle 50 percent made an average of $10.42 per hour, or $21,670 per year.
  
  

Highest Paying States - Farm Workers

• Farm worker salaries varied widely depending on the particular sector of the industry in which they worked. For example, the Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that the highest-paying industry sector for these workers in 2009 was the federal executive branch, which paid farm workers an average hourly salary of $20.03, or $41,670 per year. The fifth highest paying industry for farm workers was big government, which paid workers in average salary of $14.86 per hour, or about $30,910 per year.
  
  

Highest Paying States - Farm Workers

• Farm worker salaries also differed depending on the state in which the worker was employed. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that farm workers in Illinois had the highest average salary, earning an income of $14.79 per hour, or $30,770 per year. The fifth highest paying state, Delaware, paid the workers an average of $13.16 per hour, or about $27,370 per year.