Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between ranch hands and farm workers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a ranch hand has an average salary of $27,569, which is higher than the $26,598 average annual salary of a farm worker.
The top three skills for a ranch hand include harvest, farm work and farm machinery. The most important skills for a farm worker are harvest, mowing, and farm equipment.
| Ranch Hand | Farm Worker | |
| Yearly salary | $27,569 | $26,598 |
| Hourly rate | $13.25 | $12.79 |
| Growth rate | 1% | 1% |
| Number of jobs | 4,309 | 25,368 |
| Job satisfaction | 1 | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 38% | Bachelor's Degree, 36% |
| Average age | 40 | 40 |
| Years of experience | - | - |
A ranch hand is a person who takes care of livestock animals in a ranch. Ranch hands perform the ranch husbandry job, which involves keeping them healthy, feeding them, and overseeing breeding. The primary duty they serve is to assist in the day-to-day operations in the ranch. They prepare livestock animals for slaughter or sale. They must have experience in cattle handling and/or animal husbandry. They should also be adaptable, enthusiastic, and know ranch equipment and maintenance.
A farmworker is responsible for applying fertilizer, pesticides, and herbicides to crops and livestock. You will operate agricultural machinery under the direction of a rancher, farmer, or an agricultural manager. Your duties will typically include harvesting and inspecting crops manually, irrigating farm soil and maintaining pipes, pumps, d ditches, and feeding livestock. As a farmworker, you will operate milking machinery and other farm machinery such as plows and tractors, maintain farm buildings, and trim hedges. You are also expected to mend walls and fences and clear drainage ditches.
Ranch hands and farm workers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Ranch Hand | Farm Worker | |
| Average salary | $27,569 | $26,598 |
| Salary range | Between $21,000 And $34,000 | Between $21,000 And $33,000 |
| Highest paying City | Petersburg, ND | Greenville, MS |
| Highest paying state | North Dakota | North Dakota |
| Best paying company | Williams International | FAT CATS CAFE |
| Best paying industry | Health Care | Manufacturing |
There are a few differences between a ranch hand and a farm worker in terms of educational background:
| Ranch Hand | Farm Worker | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 38% | Bachelor's Degree, 36% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between ranch hands' and farm workers' demographics:
| Ranch Hand | Farm Worker | |
| Average age | 40 | 40 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 78.3% Female, 21.7% | Male, 72.6% Female, 27.4% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 4.2% Unknown, 3.1% Hispanic or Latino, 26.8% Asian, 1.8% White, 62.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.2% | Black or African American, 4.1% Unknown, 3.0% Hispanic or Latino, 25.2% Asian, 1.8% White, 64.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 3% | 3% |