Nursery worker vs grower

The differences between nursery workers and growers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a grower has an average salary of $36,332, which is higher than the $27,083 average annual salary of a nursery worker.

The top three skills for a nursery worker include pigs, water plants and CPR. The most important skills for a grower are harvest, cleanliness, and pesticide applications.

Nursery worker vs grower overview

	Nursery Worker	Grower
Yearly salary	$27,083	$36,332
Hourly rate	$13.02	$17.47
Growth rate	1%	1%
Number of jobs	23,072	188
Job satisfaction	-	3
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 43%	Bachelor's Degree, 52%
Average age	40	40
Years of experience	-	-

Nursery worker vs grower salary

Nursery workers and growers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Nursery Worker	Grower
Average salary	$27,083	$36,332
Salary range	Between $22,000 And $32,000	Between $21,000 And $61,000
Highest paying City	McMinnville, OR	Anchorage, AK
Highest paying state	Montana	Alaska
Best paying company	Twin Lakes Community	Cornell University
Best paying industry	Finance	Manufacturing

Differences between nursery worker and grower education

There are a few differences between a nursery worker and a grower in terms of educational background:

	Nursery Worker	Grower
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 43%	Bachelor's Degree, 52%
Most common major	Psychology	Plant Sciences
Most common college	-	-

Nursery worker vs grower demographics

Here are the differences between nursery workers' and growers' demographics:

	Nursery Worker	Grower
Average age	40	40
Gender ratio	Male, 22.2% Female, 77.8%	Male, 63.8% Female, 36.2%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 4.3% Unknown, 3.1% Hispanic or Latino, 28.2% Asian, 1.8% White, 61.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.2%	Black or African American, 4.1% Unknown, 3.0% Hispanic or Latino, 22.9% Asian, 1.8% White, 67.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1%
LGBT Percentage	3%	3%

Differences between nursery worker and grower duties and responsibilities

Nursery worker example responsibilities.

Haul and spread topsoil, fertilizer, and other materials to condition soil, using wheelbarrows and shovels.
Service the work trucks by checking the oil and gas, same with the weed eaters and the lawn mowers.
Earn a CPR and varous other certifications.
Work on the installation crew installing sprinklers and landscaping.
Haul soil, fertilizer and tools using wagons and wheelbarrows.
Help out around the nursery, repair sprinklers, mow lawns.

Grower example responsibilities.

Manage controlled environments and greenhouses for research on corn, soy, and wheat plants.
Provide back-up for lab crew with assisting in PCR, DNA extraction, seed plating and stocking solutions.
Work on plants, clone, up pot, feed, water.
Propagate cannabis plants from seed and clone.
Supervise the safety and cleanliness of the work environment.
Create hanging baskets and planters for sales and special orders.

Nursery worker vs grower skills

Common nursery worker skills

Pigs, 18%
Water Plants, 11%
CPR, 11%
Child Care, 10%
Church Services, 8%
Nursery Stock, 7%

Common grower skills

Harvest, 25%
Cleanliness, 12%
Pesticide Applications, 7%
Marijuana, 6%
Greenhouse Environment, 6%
IPM, 6%

Updated January 8, 2025

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