Agricultural & food scientists

Detailed Occupation

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2020 Workforce

26.3k

Average Age

40.2

Average Salary

$73,386

Average Male Salary

$81,853

Average Female Salary

$59,695

About

Agricultural & food scientists are most often employed by the Scientific research & development services industry. The average yearly wage for Agricultural & food scientists was $73,386 in 2016. The top 3 most similar occupations to Agricultural & food scientists by wage are Firefighters, School psychologists, and Facilities managers.

Agricultural & food scientists are part of the Life, physical, & social science occupations, along with Agricultural & food scientists, Biological scientists, Conservation scientists & foresters, Medical scientists, & life scientists, all other, Astronomers & physicists, and 17 more.

The top 3 locations that employ the most Agricultural & food scientists are Minot City PUMA, ND, West Des Moines & Urbandale Cities PUMA, IA, and West Town, Near West Side & Lower West Side PUMA, IL. The top 3 locations with a relatively high concentration of Agricultural & food scientists are Minot City PUMA, ND, Ames City PUMA, IA, and Whitman, Asotin, Adams, Lincoln, Columbia & Garfield Counties PUMA, WA.

Photo by CAFNR

Employment

Information on the businesses and industries that employ Agricultural & food scientists and on wages and locations for those in the field. Scientific research & development services is the industry that employs the most Agricultural & food scientists, both by share and by number, though the highest paid industry for Agricultural & food scientists, by average wage, is Agricultural chemical manufacturing. Agricultural & food scientists are paid most in Benton County PUMA, AR but are relatively concentrated in Minot City PUMA, ND.

Yearly Wage

$73,386

AVERAGE SALARY

± $8,133

In 2020, Agricultural & food scientists earned an average of $73,386, $17,432 more than than the average national salary of $55,954.

Facilities managers make somewhat more than Agricultural & food scientists while Firefighters make somewhat less. This chart shows the various occupations closest to Agricultural & food scientists as measured by average annual salary in the US.

Wage Distribution

0.366

WAGE GINI

In 2015, Agricultural & food scientists had a wage GINI coefficient of 0.366, which is lower than than the national average of 0.478. In other words, wages are distributed more evenly for Agricultural & food scientists (shown in red) than for the overall labor force (shown in gray).

Wage by Location

HIGHEST PAYING PUMAS

This map shows the Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMAs) in the United States shaded by average annual wage for Agricultural & food scientists.

Spatial Concentration

PUMAs with a Relatively High Concentration of Agricultural & food scientists

This map displays which Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMAs) in the United States have a relatively high population of Agricultural & food scientists.

Most Common

The most common industries employing Agricultural & food scientists, by number of employees, are Scientific research & development services, Colleges, universities & professional schools, including junior colleges, Administration of economic programs & space research, Farming, Seafood & other miscellaneous foods, n.e.c. , Animal food, grain & oilseed milling, Support activities for agriculture & forestry, Museums, art galleries, historical sites, & similar institutions, Management, scientific & technical consulting services, Dairy product manufacturing, and Architectural, engineering & related services.

Highest Paying

The highest paying industries for Agricultural & food scientists, by average wage, are Agricultural chemical manufacturing, Management of companies & enterprises, and Administration of human resource programs.

Industries by Share

26.3k

2020 Workforce

± 3,982

5.96%

1 YEAR GROWTH

± 20.5%

The number of people employed as Agricultural & food scientists has been growing at a rate of 5.96%, from 24,829 people in 2019 to 26,308 people in 2020.

This graphic shows the share of Agricultural & food scientists employed by various industries. Scientific research & development services employs the largest share of Agricultural & food scientists at 12.2%, followed by Colleges, universities & professional schools, including junior colleges with 9% and Administration of economic programs & space research with 8.7%.

Diversity

Demographic information on Agricultural & food scientists in the US. The average age of male Agricultural & food scientists in the workforce is 42.3 and of female Agricultural & food scientists is 36.7, and the most common race/ethnicity for Agricultural & food scientists is White (Non-Hispanic).

Composition by Sex

16.3k

MALE WORKFORCE

± 3,130

10.1k

FEMALE WORKFORCE

± 2,462

61.8% of Agricultural & food scientists are Male, making them the more common sex in the occupation. This chart shows the sex breakdown of Agricultural & food scientists.

Race & Ethnicity

Most Common Race or Ethnicity of Agricultural & food scientists

White (Non-Hispanic)
Asian (Non-Hispanic)
Black (Non-Hispanic)

80.3% of Agricultural & food scientists are White (Non-Hispanic), making that the most common race or ethnicity in the occupation. Representing 8.71% of Agricultural & food scientists, Asian (Non-Hispanic) is the second most common race or ethnicity in this occupation. This chart shows the racial and ethnic breakdown of Agricultural & food scientists.

Age by Sex

42.3

AVERAGE MALE AGE

± 2.63

36.7

AVERAGE FEMALE AGE

± 2.95

The median age of Agricultural & food scientists is 40.2, and Male employees are generally 5.51 years older than than their Female counterparts.

Education

Data on higher education choices for Agricultural & food scientists from The Department of Education and Census Bureau. The most common major for Agricultural & food scientists is Agriculture but a relatively high number of Agricultural & food scientists hold a major in Agriculture.