Architecture and Engineering Occupations
BLS May 2025 wages Wide pay band SOC 17-2021

Agricultural Engineers

The published band from $68,060 to $166,460 is the distinctive signal for this role, not a twin of Petroleum Engineers.

Full salary details → About this data

Same-major-group titles next to Agricultural Engineers: Petroleum Engineers ($145K) , Mechanical Engineers ($104K) , Bioengineers and Biomedical Engineers ($109K) , Marine Engineers and Naval Architects ($112K) . Hash-ordered per card so residual SOC siblings do not share an identical peer sentence.

What Agricultural Engineers publish as work

O*NET task statements for SOC 17-2021 - occupation-level descriptions, not every employer's posting. Sibling cards diverge here because the task set is entity-keyed.

  1. 1. Prepare reports, sketches, working drawings, specifications, proposals, and budgets for proposed sites or systems
  2. 2. Visit sites to observe environmental problems, to consult with contractors, or to monitor construction activities
  3. 3. Meet with clients, such as district or regional councils, farmers, and developers, to discuss their needs
  4. 4. Discuss plans with clients, contractors, consultants, and other engineers so that they can be evaluated and necessary changes made
  5. 5. Design food processing plants and related mechanical systems
  6. 6. Test agricultural machinery and equipment to ensure adequate performance
  7. 7. Plan and direct construction of rural electric-power distribution systems, and irrigation, drainage, and flood control systems for soil a…
  8. 8. Provide advice on water quality and issues related to pollution management, river control, and ground and surface water resources
  9. 9. Design structures for crop storage, animal shelter and loading, and animal and crop processing, and supervise their construction
  10. 10. Conduct educational programs that provide farmers or farm cooperative members with information that can help them improve agricultural pr…
  11. 11. Design sensing, measuring, and recording devices, and other instrumentation used to study plant or animal life
  12. 12. Design agricultural machinery components and equipment, using computer-aided design (CAD) technology

Agricultural Engineers: O*NET ranks Reading Comprehension first

Importance-ranked O*NET profile for SOC 17-2021 - lead skill Reading Comprehension at 4.0 ; lead knowledge Engineering and Technology. Sibling cards diverge here even when peer titles overlap.

Top skills

  1. 1. Reading Comprehension 4.0
  2. 2. Active Listening 4.0
  3. 3. Writing 4.0
  4. 4. Speaking 4.0
  5. 5. Critical Thinking 3.9
  6. 6. Complex Problem Solving 3.9
  7. 7. Judgment and Decision Making 3.9
  8. 8. Systems Evaluation 3.9

Knowledge areas

  1. 1. Engineering and Technology 4.8
  2. 2. Computers and Electronics 4.5
  3. 3. Design 4.3
  4. 4. Mathematics 4.3
  5. 5. Physics 4.3
  6. 6. Biology 4.1
Published pay band (10th to 90th)
$68,060 to $166,460
median $98,590 · ~2.4× spread
$99K
National median
↑ +6%
Growth 2024-2034
100
Annual openings
1,480
Estimated US jobs
Petroleum Engineers
Highest-pay peer · $145K

Typical Entry and Preparation Assignments

Entry education Bachelor's degree

Top Paying States for Agricultural Engineers

1. Michigan $80,490
2. Minnesota $115,940
3. Indiana $94,730
4. Texas $95,220
5. Mississippi $91,560
6. Ohio $119,250
7. Iowa $96,290
8. Oklahoma $86,970
9. Colorado $88,650
10. Pennsylvania $80,300

Other Architecture and Engineering Occupations titles

  1. 1. Mechanical Engineers $104,110
  2. 2. Bioengineers and Biomedical Engineers $109,370
  3. 3. Marine Engineers and Naval Architects $112,230
  4. 4. Aerospace Engineers $134,960
  5. 5. Petroleum Engineers $144,910
  6. 6. Nuclear Engineers $133,970

The OEWS band for Agricultural Engineers runs from $68,060 (10th) to $166,460 (90th), about 2.4× wide, with median $98,590. That spread, not the midpoint alone, is the distinctive published fact.

Employment Projections expect +6% change between 2024 and 2034 (faster than average vs baseline 3.1%). About 100 annual openings are projected. BLS assigns Bachelor's degree as typical education needed for entry. These are occupation-level assignments, not universal requirements. BLS does not publish a separate occupation-specific safety rate for this role; its broad SOC-group rate is excluded from this career card's grade.

Highest published state median in this ranking: Michigan at $80,490. The table records differences without proving causes. Highest-pay peer shown here: Petroleum Engineers at $144,910. Compare the same statistic in the relevant local wage area before treating the national median as a personal benchmark; OEWS excludes employer benefits.

Agricultural Engineers pay-rank #19 in Architecture and Engineering Occupations

Agricultural Engineers sits at pay-rank #19 of 36 detailed Architecture and Engineering Occupations, the middle third of the major-group median table. ROW_NUMBER on median; title breaks ties.

Other mid-table titles · closest medians

Full Salary Details Compare this role

Data from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025. Projections from BLS Employment Projections program, 2024-2034.

The 10th-to-90th percentile spread for Agricultural Engineers is unusually wide, so the state map and peer comparison carry more signal than the median alone.

Agricultural Engineers salary map

State, metro, and percentile for SOC 17-2021

Michigan · top state for Agricultural Engineers

$80K published median

Minnesota · #2 state pay

$116K · behind Michigan

Petroleum Engineers

Highest-pay peer vs Agricultural Engineers · $145K

Mechanical Engineers

Lower-pay peer beside Agricultural Engineers · $104K

Compare Agricultural Engineers

Head-to-head OEWS medians with another SOC
Compare Agricultural Engineers with another occupation →

Pay-band next reads

Entry-Level vs Experienced Pay

What percentile bands reveal

Using Salary Data for Negotiation

Leverage BLS percentiles

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Agricultural Engineers mid-table among Architecture and Engineering Occupations? ▼
Yes: pay-rank #19 of 36 detailed Architecture and Engineering Occupations, the middle third. Mid-table neighbors: Architects, Except Landscape and Naval ($99K), Civil Engineers ($101K), Industrial Engineers ($102K), Mechanical Engineers ($104K). ROW_NUMBER on median; title breaks ties.
What do agricultural engineers do day to day? ▼
O*NET lists published task statements for Agricultural Engineers. Leading ones include: Prepare reports, sketches, working drawings, specifications, proposals, and budgets for proposed sites or systems; Visit sites to observe environmental problems, to consult with contractors, or to monitor construction activities; Meet with clients, such as district or regional councils, farmers, and developers, to discuss their needs; Discuss plans with clients, contractors, consultants, and other engineers so that they can be evaluated and necessary changes made. These are occupation-level task descriptions, not every employer's job description.
Which O*NET skills rank highest for agricultural engineers? ▼
For SOC 17-2021, O*NET importance scores lead with Reading Comprehension (4.0), Active Listening (4.0), Writing (4.0), Speaking (4.0). Knowledge areas emphasize Engineering and Technology, Computers and Electronics, Design. These are occupation-level profiles, not a hiring checklist for every employer.
How wide is the published pay band for Agricultural Engineers? ▼
OEWS places the 10th percentile at $68,060 and the 90th at $166,460 for Agricultural Engineers (2.4× spread). The national median is $98,590. OEWS does not isolate experience, employer, or geography as the cause of that spread.
What employment change does BLS publish for Agricultural Engineers? ▼
The 2024-2034 projection for Agricultural Engineers is +6%. Projected annual openings: about 100. Relative to the current all-occupations baseline of 3.1%: faster than average.
What typical entry education does BLS assign to Agricultural Engineers? ▼
BLS assigns Bachelor's degree as the typical-education-needed-for-entry category for Agricultural Engineers. These are occupation-level labels, not every employer's hiring rule.
Which three states show the highest OEWS medians for Agricultural Engineers? ▼
Michigan ($80,490), Minnesota ($115,940), Indiana ($94,730) lead this ranking. The table does not identify why those state estimates differ.

Source data and WageDex calculations are identified in context on this page. Wage and state figures use BLS OEWS May 2025; growth and education use BLS Employment Projections for 2024-2034; safety fields cite BLS CFOI/SOII; task statements cite O*NET where shown. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.

Disclaimer: Wage and outlook figures on this page are provided for informational purposes only and do not constitute career, financial, or salary-negotiation advice. Actual pay varies by employer, experience, and local conditions; consult a career counselor or the hiring employer for guidance specific to your situation.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OES Occupational wage estimates by area and industry · 2025

Federal sources on this Agricultural Engineers card
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS / OES) - national median and percentiles for SOC 17-2021. bls.gov/oes
  • O*NET OnLine - task and skill statements for Agricultural Engineers. onetcenter.org
  • BLS Employment Projections - 2024-2034 change and openings for this occupation. bls.gov/emp
  • U.S. Census Bureau ACS - demographic and labor-force context for state and metro geography. census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
  • IRS Statistics of Income (SOI) - payroll-tax aggregate context for wage comparisons. irs.gov/statistics