Find a Job You Really Want In
Farmers are one of the most common jobs in America. Additionally, a significant number of people work as farmers in every state in the union — it’s not like they are all just concentrated in California or the South.
Since farmers are such a prominent occupation, we at Zippia wanted to look at where farmers have it the best: where there are plenty of jobs to go around, and people get paid what they deserve during every phase of their career.
To that end, we dove into the numbers from the BLS to figure out which states have the best opportunities for farmers. After all the numbers had been crunched, we were left with this list of the best of best for America’s Farmers:
So there you have it — Nebraska is the best of the best when it comes to being a farmer.
How did it end up here and does it really deserve this ranking? Read on to see how we completed our research on the best states for farmers and for more on the top ten states.
How we determined the best states to be a farmer
Here at Zippia, we talk to a lot of people of all different backgrounds looking for jobs. Our research has concluded that there are two common things people want in a job:
- Availability of jobs
- Pay
So in order to find out the best states for farmers in America we needed to figure out where the jobs are and how well farmers get paid. This led to the following criteria taken from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’s Occupational Employment Statistics for 2015:
- Location quotient. A measure of how common a job is a given state.
- Average annual salary.
- Average annual salary for entry level work.
- Average annual salary for experienced professionals.
To make all the salary numbers more apples to apples across states, we compared the salary data relative to the state’s cost of living.
Applying this standardization allows us to account for that fact that it costs more to live in certain in states. For example, the average salary for farmers in California is $21,550 and the average salary in Illinois is $30,310, but the Illinois salary actually goes further in paying for life’s essentials.
In order to develop and overall ranking, we ranked each state for each criteria from 1 to 50 where 1 was the best.
We then averaged all the rankings for a state into a Job Score with the state having the lowest overall Job Score earning the distinction of being the best state for farmers in America.
So without further ado, let’s get into just what made each state so great for farmers.
1. Nebraska
Total Jobs: 950
Average Annual Salary: $32,590
Average Entry Level Salary: $18,530
Average Experienced Salary: $53,770
Location Quotient: 0.51
2. Illinois
Total Jobs: 2,670
Average Annual Salary: $30,310
Average Entry Level Salary: $19,150
Average Experienced Salary: $45,720
Location Quotient: 0.23
3. Kentucky
Total Jobs: 940
Average Annual Salary: $27,930
Average Entry Level Salary: $17,990
Average Experienced Salary: $41,070
Location Quotient: 0.26
4. Iowa
Total Jobs: 560
Average Annual Salary: $28,560
Average Entry Level Salary: $18,750
Average Experienced Salary: $42,740
Location Quotient: 0.19
5. Michigan
Total Jobs: 1,600
Average Annual Salary: $26,680
Average Entry Level Salary: $18,210
Average Experienced Salary: $39,370
Location Quotient: 0.2
6. Washington
Total Jobs: 10,160
Average Annual Salary: $27,180
Average Entry Level Salary: $20,070
Average Experienced Salary: $38,650
Location Quotient: 1.72
7. Arkansas
Total Jobs: 1,630
Average Annual Salary: $23,050
Average Entry Level Salary: $16,580
Average Experienced Salary: $31,900
Location Quotient: 0.7
8. Indiana
Total Jobs: 1,450
Average Annual Salary: $24,660
Average Entry Level Salary: $16,780
Average Experienced Salary: $37,390
Location Quotient: 0.25
9. Kansas
Total Jobs: 630
Average Annual Salary: $24,740
Average Entry Level Salary: $18,060
Average Experienced Salary: $33,360
Location Quotient: 0.23
10. Ohio
Total Jobs: 2,010
Average Annual Salary: $26,340
Average Entry Level Salary: $17,800
Average Experienced Salary: $38,130
Location Quotient: 0.19
There You Have It
If you’re looking to start out your career as a farmer these are the states that should be at the top of your list. You’ll find high pay, available jobs, and chances for career advancement.
If you’re curious, here are the worst states to be a farmer in America:
Detailed List Of The Best States For Sackers
| Rank | State | Average Salary |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nebraska | $32,590 |
| 2 | Illinois | $30,310 |
| 3 | Kentucky | $27,930 |
| 4 | Iowa | $28,560 |
| 5 | Michigan | $26,680 |
| 6 | Washington | $27,180 |
| 7 | Arkansas | $23,050 |
| 8 | Indiana | $24,660 |
| 9 | Kansas | $24,740 |
| 10 | Ohio | $26,340 |
| 11 | Georgia | $22,930 |
| 12 | Delaware | $29,630 |
| 13 | North Dakota | $26,670 |
| 14 | Idaho | $22,090 |
| 15 | Oklahoma | $24,120 |
| 16 | Montana | $25,120 |
| 17 | Mississippi | $20,480 |
| 18 | Utah | $23,650 |
| 19 | Louisiana | $24,980 |
| 20 | Colorado | $25,610 |
| 21 | Wisconsin | $24,370 |
| 22 | Nevada | $29,830 |
| 23 | Minnesota | $25,790 |
| 24 | South Carolina | $24,420 |
| 25 | Missouri | $22,030 |
| 26 | North Carolina | $21,780 |
| 27 | Florida | $20,650 |
| 28 | Vermont | $27,760 |
| 29 | Maine | $26,460 |
| 30 | Texas | $19,850 |
| 31 | West Virginia | $21,000 |
| 32 | Virginia | $24,960 |
| 33 | Arizona | $19,070 |
| 34 | New Mexico | $20,060 |
| 35 | Pennsylvania | $24,040 |
| 36 | Oregon | $23,240 |
| 37 | Tennessee | $21,090 |
| 38 | Alabama | $21,540 |
| 39 | New Hampshire | $27,360 |
| 40 | New Jersey | $25,390 |
| 41 | Rhode Island | $26,850 |
| 42 | South Dakota | $22,800 |
| 43 | California | $21,550 |
| 44 | Maryland | $28,310 |
| 45 | Hawaii | $26,120 |
| 46 | Connecticut | $24,970 |
| 47 | Massachusetts | $26,660 |
| 48 | New York | $26,120 |
Author
Chris Kolmar is a co-founder of Zippia and the editor-in-chief of the Zippia career advice blog. He has hired over 50 people in his career, been hired five times, and wants to help you land your next job. His research has been featured on the New York Times, Thrillist, VOX, The Atlantic, and a host of local news. More recently, he's been quoted on USA Today, BusinessInsider, and CNBC.
