Farmers, Ranchers, and Other Agricultural Managers
SOC 11-9013 · 2024-2034
Plan, direct, or coordinate the management or operation of farms, ranches, greenhouses, aquacultural operations, nurseries, timber tracts, or other agricultural establishments. May hire, train, and supervise farm workers or contract for services to carry out the day-to-day activities of the managed operation. May engage in or supervise planting, cultivating, harvesting, and financial and marketing activities.
How the U.S. Department of Labor describes this work. Published in English only.
Shrinking -2.5%
California projects this job will shrink over the next ten years. Fewer openings may mean a harder search.
What California expects of this job
- Typical pay in California
- $110,971per year
- Projected openings
- 89,600
- Projected change
- -2.5%
- Usually needs
- High school diploma or equivalent
Bright Outlook — a U.S. Department of Labor designation
Numerous Job Openings
The Department's own designation, made from its national projections. It is not this project's assessment and it is not California's: every other figure on this page comes from California's projection, which can point the other way and for some occupations does.
Skills this work uses most
O*NET, the U.S. Department of Labor's occupation database, rates how important each of these is to this work, and they are listed in that order, most important first. The ratings themselves are not shown, because the data carries the number without the scale it was measured on. The names are as published, in English.
- Critical Thinking
- Active Listening
- Reading Comprehension
- Speaking
- Management of Personnel Resources
- Complex Problem Solving
Pay by region
| Region | Typical pay in California | Projected openings |
|---|---|---|
| North Valley-Northern Mountains Region (Colusa, Glenn, Lassen, Modoc, Nevada, Plumas, Sierra, Siskiyou, Tehama, and Trinity Counties) | $156,285 | 6,030 |
| Napa MSA (Napa County) | $126,472 | 2,110 |
| Santa Maria-Santa Barbara MSA (Santa Barbara County) | $125,668 | 6,160 |
| Salinas MSA (Monterey County) | $125,097 | 6,340 |
| Santa Rosa-Petaluma MSA (Sonoma County) | $124,211 | 3,790 |
| Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom MSA (El Dorado, Placer, Sacramento, and Yolo Counties) | $121,919 | 4,460 |
| Oakland-Fremont-Berkeley MD (Alameda and Contra Costa Counties) | $117,180 | 1,180 |
| Stockton-Lodi MSA (San Joaquin County) | $114,779 | 1,980 |
| Bakersfield-Delano MSA (Kern County) | $113,323 | 7,210 |
| Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario MSA (Riverside and San Bernardino Counties) | $107,293 | 3,930 |
| North Coast Region (Del Norte, Humboldt, Lake, and Mendocino Counties) | $106,203 | 2,190 |
| San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles MSA (San Luis Obispo County) | $105,195 | 6,590 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale MD (Los Angeles County) | $104,796 | 1,920 |
| San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad MSA (San Diego County) | $104,686 | 4,590 |
| Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura MSA (Ventura County) | $103,025 | 7,250 |
| El Centro MSA (Imperial County) | $100,703 | 690 |
| Fresno MSA (Fresno and Madera Counties) | $99,552 | 5,930 |
| Anaheim-Santa Ana-Irvine MD (Orange County) | $85,126 | 780 |
| Chico MSA (Butte County) | Not reported | 3,070 |
| Eastern Sierra-Mother Lode Region (Alpine, Amador, Calaveras, Inyo, Mariposa, Mono, and Tuolumne Counties) | Not reported | 250 |
| Hanford-Corcoran MSA (Kings County) | Not reported | 1,230 |
| Merced MSA (Merced County) | Not reported | 2,870 |
| Modesto MSA (Stanislaus County) | Not reported | 3,420 |
| Redding MSA (Shasta County) | Not reported | 890 |
| San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City MD (San Francisco and San Mateo Counties) | Not reported | 780 |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara MSA (San Benito and Santa Clara Counties) | Not reported | 1,290 |
| San Rafael MD (Marin County) | Not reported | 230 |
| Santa Cruz-Watsonville MSA (Santa Cruz County) | Not reported | 3,200 |
| Vallejo MSA (Solano County) | Not reported | 550 |
| Visalia MSA (Tulare County) | Not reported | 8,760 |
| Yuba City MSA (Sutter and Yuba Counties) | Not reported | 1,750 |
What the pay actually ranges across
- The lowest-paid tenth earn under
- $75,028
- A quarter earn under
- $98,251
- Half earn under
- $110,971
- Three quarters earn under
- $144,565
- The highest-paid tenth earn over
- $177,743
A median is one point. These are the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics' 2026 figures for California, and they say how far apart the people doing this job actually are. Read them as the spread across everyone already in the work — not as a starting wage and not as a promise about where anyone lands.
Similar work
O*NET, the U.S. Department of Labor's occupation database, names these as occupations involving work similar to this one — its own reading of the job, not a grouping by code. They keep O*NET's order, and only those California publishes a projection for are shown.
| Occupation | Typical pay in California | Projected openings | Projected change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Agricultural Technicians | $62,009 | 5,430 | +5.9% |
| First-Line Supervisors of Farming, Fishing, and Forestry Workers | $57,805 | 23,740 | +3.3% |
| Soil and Plant Scientists | $94,503 | 1,660 | +4.8% |
| Industrial Production Managers | $134,845 | 18,120 | +0.8% |
Programs that train for this job — 15
Commercial Cut-Flower Greenhouse Production Certificate of Achievement
City College of San Francisco · San Francisco · $1,836
Professional Winemaking (Certificate)
UC Davis Continuing and Professional Education · Davis · $8,685
Revolution National Pest Council Apprenticeship Program
Revolution National Pest Council, LLC · Carson · $10,810
Agribusiness: Viticulture (Associates in Science)
Allan Hancock College · Santa Maria · $3,998
Agricultural Plant Science (Associates in Science) Transfer
Allan Hancock College · Santa Maria · $3,760
Agribusiness: Enology/Viticulture (Associates in Arts)
Allan Hancock College · Santa Maria · $4,176
Viticulture and Enology Certificate of Achievement
Napa Valley College · Napa · $3,454
Aquaculture Technology, AS
College of the Redwoods · Eureka · $3,844
Aquaculture Technology, CA
College of the Redwoods · Eureka · $1,982
Horticulture: Landscape Design Certificate of Achievement
Diablo Valley College · Pleasant Hill · $2,463
Horticulture: Arboriculture Certificate of Achievement
Diablo Valley College · Pleasant Hill · $2,352
Horticulture: Nursery and Greenhouse Certificate of Achievement
Diablo Valley College · Pleasant Hill · $2,180
Horticulture: Plant Science and Horticulture Certificate of Achievement
Diablo Valley College · Pleasant Hill · $2,296
Agriculture Business Management-BC
Kern Community College District · Bakersfield · $2,900
Animal Science-BC
Kern Community College District · Bakersfield · $2,900