How much do farm managers make in 2026?
Farm managers are reported in SOC 11-9013, farmers, ranchers and other agricultural managers, which BLS OEWS May 2025 puts at a national median of $89,900 a year, or $43.22 an hour, with a P10 to P90 range of $54,320 to $160,020 across just 6,500 employed workers. That employment figure needs explaining, because it looks impossible next to roughly 85,500 average annual openings projected for the occupation. The explanation is that OEWS surveys employers about wage-and-salary workers, and this occupation is overwhelmingly self-employed: farmers and ranchers working their own operations are not employees of anyone and are therefore outside the survey, while the projections cover the whole occupation including them. The 6,500 counted workers are salaried farm managers employed by farming companies, land management firms, institutional landowners and large family operations. That is a real and useful population, and this page describes it. It is not a measure of farm income, which depends on commodity prices, yields, land tenure and equity rather than on a wage. BLS projects the occupation 1.3% smaller by 2034. → Full farm manager career guide, career path, credentials & placement →
Note: $89,900 blends every experience level and every setting in this occupation. For pay by level alone, see Pay by Level below.
- Farm Managers earn a national median $89,900/yr ($43.22/hr) (BLS OEWS May 2025, SOC 11-9013); the P10 to P90 range is $54,320 to $160,020.
- OEWS counts only wage-and-salary workers, so the 6,500 employed figure reflects salaried farm managers and excludes the self-employed farmers who make up most of this occupation.
- The roughly 85,500 average annual openings projected for the occupation cover the whole population including the self-employed, which is why that figure and the employment count describe different things.
- Salaried farm management pay follows the scale and capital intensity of the operation, and housing or vehicle provision is common and not reflected in the wage figure.
US Farm Manager Pay Distribution · BLS OEWS May 2025
Pay by Level · BLS OEWS May 2025
How much do farm managers earn at each level?
BLS OEWS publishes one blended wage for the whole occupation and does not break pay out by credential or practice level. The levels below distribute the published percentile range across the credential tiers this role actually hires at.
Level medians are aligned to the BLS OEWS May 2025 percentile distribution for SOC 11-9013; GlobalCybers does not yet publish a verified placement sample for this role, so no verified median is shown.
Methodology & Sources
How the numbers on this page are built
Published (BLS): BLS OEWS May 2025, SOC 11-9013, United States national estimate. Public, methodologically rigorous, but sampled on a rolling 3-year basis and published ~10 months after collection — so it reflects wages that are already 1–2 years old by the time you read them.
Level and certification medians: distributed across the published BLS percentile range for this SOC code (P10 through P90) according to the credential tiers this occupation actually hires at. They are modeled reference points, not separately surveyed wages.
State and metro figures: modeled — the BLS national median multiplied by the GlobalCybers state wage index, and for metros by the published metro index for that state. They are estimates of local pay, not BLS state or metropolitan-area observations, and are labelled as modeled in the tables below.
No verified placement sample:GlobalCybers does not yet publish a placement median for this role, so no "verified" figure appears anywhere on this page.
Pay by Career Level
How much does a farm manager earn at each career stage?
Salaried farm management pay follows operation scale and capital intensity. Each median below is anchored to the BLS OEWS distribution for SOC 11-9013, which covers employed managers only.
By State
Which states pay farm managers the most in 2026?
These are modeled state estimates, not BLS state observations: the national median for SOC 11-9013 scaled by the GlobalCybers state wage index. Farm management pay depends on the enterprise type and capital intensity of the operation rather than on state wage levels, and land values and cropping systems vary far more than the index below implies.
6 of 51 state guides shown, ranked by median. Bar is relative to California ($103,380), the highest-paying state shown. See all 51 state salary guides →
By Metro
Which cities pay farm managers the most?
Metro figures are modeled, national median times state wage index times published metro index, not BLS metropolitan observations. Farm management is rural by definition, so the metro table is cost-of-living context only.
BLS OEWS MSA estimates, May 2025. Nominal pay — weigh each metro against its cost of living before relocating.
Certification Impact
Which certifications raise a farm manager’s pay the most?
Median annual pay before and after each credential, based on GlobalCybers placement data cross-referenced with BLS. License upgrades move the needle most; stackable certs add on top.
Impacts are not additive, the licensing rows share the same career ladder. Browse all 167 certifications →
Trade Comparison
How does farm manager pay compare to related roles?
BLS OEWS national median across the closest trades. Farm Managers sit mid-pack on median but carry one of the widest P10–P90 spreads, licensing and specialization drive the upside.
BLS OEWS May 2025. Verify farm manager wages on BLS.gov →
Take-Home Pay
What does a farm manager actually take home after taxes?
The medians above are gross base wage.
Estimates use 2026 federal brackets, standard deduction, and 7.65% FICA. Actual take-home varies with filing status, deductions, and local tax.
FAQ
Farm Manager Salary, Frequently Asked Questions
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