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The differences between ranch hands and wranglers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a wrangler has an average salary of $34,274, which is higher than the $27,569 average annual salary of a ranch hand.
The top three skills for a ranch hand include harvest, farm work and farm machinery. The most important skills for a wrangler are tack, CPR, and guest safety.
| Ranch Hand | Wrangler | |
| Yearly salary | $27,569 | $34,274 |
| Hourly rate | $13.25 | $16.48 |
| Growth rate | 1% | 1% |
| Number of jobs | 4,309 | 176 |
| Job satisfaction | 1 | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 38% | Bachelor's Degree, 57% |
| 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 wrangler has different responsibilities according to their place or industry of employment. There are wranglers who specialize in handling and training various animals such as horses, dogs, cattle, and even snakes. Their responsibilities often include preparing food and feeding animals, cleaning barns or cages, teaching tricks, and bathing animals. There are also instances when a wrangler may work for private companies or film productions to handle potentially dangerous animals or help them adjust to their surroundings.
Ranch hands and wranglers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Ranch Hand | Wrangler | |
| Average salary | $27,569 | $34,274 |
| Salary range | Between $21,000 And $34,000 | Between $17,000 And $68,000 |
| Highest paying City | Petersburg, ND | Pikesville, MD |
| Highest paying state | North Dakota | New York |
| Best paying company | Williams International | Automattic |
| Best paying industry | Health Care | - |
There are a few differences between a ranch hand and a wrangler in terms of educational background:
| Ranch Hand | Wrangler | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 38% | Bachelor's Degree, 57% |
| Most common major | Business | Animal Science |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between ranch hands' and wranglers' demographics:
| Ranch Hand | Wrangler | |
| Average age | 40 | 40 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 78.3% Female, 21.7% | Male, 37.7% Female, 62.3% |
| 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, 22.1% Asian, 1.8% White, 67.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 3% | 3% |