Agricultural & food scientists

Detailed Occupation

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2024 Workforce

32.8k

Average Age

Average Salary

$86,882

Average Male Salary

$96,407

Average Female Salary

$70,912

About

Agricultural & food scientists are most often employed by the Scientific research & development services industry. The average yearly wage for Agricultural & food scientists was $86,882 in 2024.

The locations that employ the most Agricultural & food scientists are Tompkins County PUMA, NY, Polk County (West) PUMA, IA, and Story & Boone Counties PUMA, IA. The locations with a relatively high concentration of Agricultural & food scientists are Central Region--Byram, Terry, Utica & Vicksburg City PUMA, MS, Tompkins County PUMA, NY, and Cabo Rojo, San Germán & Lajas PUMA, PR.

Photo by CAFNR

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Employment

Employment and salary information for the Agricultural & food scientists workforce. Agricultural & food scientists workforce in 2024 was 32,791 people, of which 37.4% were women and 62.6% were men.

Agricultural & food scientists are paid most in Dallas, Madison Counties PUMA, IA but are relatively concentrated in Central Region--Byram, Terry, Utica & Vicksburg City PUMA, MS.

Employment Over Time

Metric

Grouping

20,540

Male Workforce

± 3.52k

12,251

Female Workforce

± 2.72k

The Agricultural & food scientists workforce in 2024 was 32,791 people (37.4% women and 62.6% men). This implies an average annual growth of 19.8% between 2014 (27,371) and 2024 (32,791).

Employment by Location

Level

Metric

This map shows the states in the United States shaded by average wage for Agricultural & food scientists.

During 2024, the states that concentrated the best average annual wage were Delaware ($172,323), South Dakota ($131,932), and Arkansas ($121,106).

Yearly Wage Ranking

$86,882

AVERAGE WAGE

#119 in the ranking (2014)

$69,878

NATIONAL AVERAGE WAGE

For all occupations across the US

In 2024, Agricultural & food scientists earned an average of $86,882, $17,004 more than the average national salary of $69,878

The graph shows the ranking of Agricultural & food scientists in relation to all Detailed Occupation in 2014.

In 2024, Agricultural & food scientists had a wage GINI coefficient of 0.352, which is lower than the national average of 0.474. In other words, wages are distributed more evenly for Agricultural & food scientists (shown in red) than for the overall labor force (shown in gray).

The graphic shows the distribution of average salaries by buckets for Agricultural & food scientists compared to the entire workforce in the country.

Industry

Information on the industries that employ Agricultural & food scientists and on wages for those in the field. Scientific research & development services is the industry that employs the most Agricultural & food scientists, both by share and by number, though the highest paid industry for Agricultural & food scientists, by average wage, is Sugar & confectionery products ($150,844).

Occupations by Industries

Metric

Value

32.8k

2024 Workforce

± 4,445

0.235%

1 YEAR GROWTH

± 19.1%

This graphic shows the share of Agricultural & food scientists employed by various industries. Scientific research & development services employs the largest share of Agricultural & food scientists at 33.8%, followed by Farming with 27.7% and Administration of economic programs & space research with 21.8%.

Diversity

Demographic information on Agricultural & food scientists in the US. The workforce of Agricultural & food scientists in 2024 was 32,791 people, with 37.4% woman, and 62.6% men. The average age of male Agricultural & food scientists in the workforce is 42.8 and of female Agricultural & food scientists is 37.9, and the most common race/ethnicity for Agricultural & food scientists is White.

Gender and Age

Metric

The workforce of Agricultural & food scientists in 2024 was 32,791 people, with 37.4% woman, and 62.6% men.

The age ranges that concentrated the largest workforce were 30 to 34 years (5,373 people), 25 to 29 years (5,278 people), and 35 to 39 years (4,262 people). Among them they concentrated 45.7% of the total workforce.

Ethnicity

Gender

In 2024, 9.17% of Agricultural & food scientists workers were Hispanic and 90.8% non-Hispanic.

The treemap shows the distribution of Hispanic workers according to their origin, highlighting Mexican (52.4%), Puerto Rican (27.6)%, and Colombian (6.7)%

You can review this information by gender using the selectors above.

Races

In 2024, 76.5% of the Agricultural & food scientists workforce were White, of which 34.3% were women and 65.7% men. Other races that concentrated a significant number of workers were Asian (9.34%) and Two or More Races (7.35%).

Education & Skills

Data on higher education choices for Agricultural & food scientists from The Department of Education and Census Bureau. The most common major for Agricultural & food scientists is Agriculture but the most specialized major according to RCA in 2024 were Agriculture.

Majors

ACS PUMS data only shows the major for bachelor's degrees. However, we can filter the data based on highest degree obtained.

Type of Majors

Degree

The most common majors achieved by Agricultural & food scientists in 2024 (counting all academic degrees) were Agriculture (13,577 people), Biology (5,794 people), and Physical Sciences (1,791 people).

You can review this information for different academic grades by modifying the option selected in the selector above.

Education Levels

Metric

The main educational levels achieved by the Agricultural & food scientists workers were Bachelors Degree (20,891 people), Graduate Degree (11,900 people), and false (0 people).

The graphic shows the Agricultural & food scientists workforce by gender and educational level.