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The national median salary for Graders and Sorters, Agricultural Products is $35,734 per year ($17.18/hr) according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, May 2025. The middle 50% of earners make between $34,320 and $38,251 annually. Top earners at the 90th percentile reach $44,491 per year. There are approximately 25,180 graders and sorters, agricultural products employed in the United States.
About This Role
BLS Standard Occupational Classification 2018
Grade, sort, or classify unprocessed food and other agricultural products by size, weight, color, or condition.
Career Outlook
BLS Employment Projections · 2024-2034
10-year growth
-5.4%
Much slower than average
Annual openings
5K
per year, on avg
Workforce today
39K
as of 2024
Why those openings exist
0% from new growth100% from people leaving the role
Most openings come from replacement, not growth. Retention matters more than recruiting here.
Typical entry requirements
Education
No formal educational credential
Experience
None
On-the-job training
Short-term on-the-job training
Industry Wage Breakdown
Top 5 industries by employment · median annual wage, sector-specific
Industry
Workforce
Median Pay
Animal Slaughtering and Processing
NAICS 311600
9K
$35,720
Support Activities for Crop Production
NAICS 115100
9K
$35,010
Merchant Wholesalers, Nondurable Goods (4244 and 4248 only)
NAICS 4240A1
2K
$35,810
Fruit and Vegetable Preserving and Specialty Food Manufacturing
NAICS 311400
1K
$35,670
Farm Product Raw Material Merchant Wholesalers
NAICS 424500
850
$39,170
Wage range across top 5 industries: $35,010 to $39,170 (12% spread)
Wage Percentiles
Hourly & annualized (2,080 hours)
Percentile
Hourly Rate
Annual Salary
P10
$14.22
$29,578
P25
$16.50
$34,320
P50MEDIAN
$17.18
$35,734
P75
$18.39
$38,251
P90
$21.39
$44,491
Market Context Signal
JOLTS · other sector
Active
Openings Rate
3.4%
Quits Rate
2.0%
The labor market rebounded in March: hires jumped to 5.6M (+655K) and separations rose to 5.4M (+356K), both more than offsetting February's drop. Job openings held at 6.9M. Quits ticked to 2.0%.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the average graders and sorters, agricultural products salary?
The national median salary for Graders and Sorters, Agricultural Products is $35,734 per year ($17.18/hr) according to BLS OEWS May 2025 data. The middle 50% earn between $34,320 and $38,251 annually.
How much do top-earning graders and sorters, agricultural products make?
The 90th percentile salary for Graders and Sorters, Agricultural Products is $44,491 per year ($21.39/hr). The 75th percentile is $38,251 per year.
What is the entry-level salary for graders and sorters, agricultural products?
Entry-level Graders and Sorters, Agricultural Products (10th percentile) earn approximately $29,578 per year ($14.22/hr). The 25th percentile is $34,320 per year.
Wage figures on this page come from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, May 2025 release. OEWS surveys roughly 1.1 million establishments annually. It is the most comprehensive employer-reported wage dataset in the United States.
P10 through P90 percentiles represent the wage distribution across all surveyed employers (not self-reported by workers). Geographic adjustments use BLS-derived cost multipliers calibrated from regional wage variation.
Wages are estimates. Individual compensation depends on experience, education, employer size, industry, and negotiation. Use this as benchmark context, not absolute ground truth.
CompSignal is a free labor market intelligence tool built for HR, compensation, and talent acquisition teams. We make BLS data, the same primary source Mercer and Radford cross-reference in their paid surveys, searchable and actionable without an enterprise subscription.
Built and maintained by Falcon Incentives, a compensation strategy and incentive design consultancy.