---
title: About 22.8 Million People are Employed in Agriculture
description: About 1 in 12 jobs, or 15% of jobs, that are depend on agriculture. About 22.8 milllion people hold jobs in Agriculture or related fields.
image: https://blog.aghires.com/hubfs/Ag-Fact-Friday_1-1-21_Ag-Jobs-1.png
---
[](https://aghires.com/)
- [JOBS](https://jobs.aghires.com/jobs)
- [SEARCH JOBS](https://jobs.aghires.com/jobs)
- [SUBMIT YOUR RESUME](mailto:resumes@aghires.com)
- [INTERNSHIPS](https://jobs.aghires.com/jobs/internship)
- [CAREER ADVICE](https://blog.aghires.com/tag/career-advice)
- [FIND COMPANIES](https://jobs.aghires.com/organizations)
- [CREATE ACCOUNT](https://jobs.aghires.com/user/login)
- [HIRE TALENT](https://aghires.com/#hiring-solutions)
- [POST A JOB](https://jobs.aghires.com/products)
- [RECRUITING SERVICES](https://aghires.com/recruiting-services)
- [EXECUTIVE SEARCH](https://aghires.com/executive-recruiting)
- [POST INTERNSHIPS FOR FREE](https://jobs.aghires.com/free-internship-job-postings)
- [BACKGROUND CHECKS](https://aghires.com/background-checks)
- [ADVERTISE ON AGHIRES](https://aghires.com/advertising-opportunities)
- [INDUSTRIES WE SERVE](https://aghires.com/#industries)
- [HIRING TIPS](https://aghires.com/resources)
- [RESOURCES](https://blog.aghires.com)
- [BLOG](https://blog.aghires.com)
- [VIDEO LEARNING](https://www.youtube.com/user/AgHiresJobs)
- [AG EDUCATORS & ADVISORS](https://aghires.com/ag-classroom-resources)
- [AG HIRING TRENDS](https://aghires.com/agriculture-workforce-key-hiring-trends)
- [ABOUT US](https://aghires.com/about-us)
- [ABOUT AGHIRES](https://aghires.com/about-us)
- [WORK AT AGHIRES](https://aghires.com/careers)
- [TESTIMONIALS & CASE STUDIES](https://aghires.com/testimonials)
- [CONTACT](https://aghires.com/contact)
- [SIGN UP/SIGN IN](https://jobs.aghires.com/user/login)
# About 22.8 Million People are Employed in Agriculture
3 Minute Read
Posted by [Karyn Moyer](https://blog.aghires.com/author/karyn-moyer)
Tags: [Ag Fun and Facts](https://blog.aghires.com/tag/ag-fun-and-facts)
Agriculture is an important and vast industry. There are millions of jobs that rely on the industry, not to mention our food, clothing and shelter. There are many industries within agriculture, including aquaculture, forestry, dairy, manufacturing, and much more. Check out these 15 facts about jobs in agriculture.
1. About 22.8 million people are employed in an agriculture-related field in the United States, such as farming, manufacturing, food science, agricultural engineering, and more. That’s about 1 in 12 jobs, or 15% of jobs, that are dependent on agriculture.
2. Farming jobs total over 2.5 million, or about 11% of all agricultural jobs.
3. In comparison, 200 years ago, 72% of workers were employed in “farming occupations.” By the late 1980s, that number dropped to 2%.
4. California has the most food and agriculture jobs with 2.8 million jobs, followed by Texas at 2 million jobs, and Florida with 1.4 million.
5. There are over 50,000 jobs available each year, and there aren’t enough qualified graduates to fill them.
6. The average age of today’s farmer is 55.9 years old.
7. Women make up 30% of today’s farmers.
8. 20% of all farmers are beginning farmers.
9. There are over 250,000 millennial farmers.
10. Manufacturing jobs related to agriculture and food total 2.1 million jobs, or 9% of all ag jobs.
11. Worldwide, there are about 39 million workers in the aquaculture and fisheries industry. There are nearly 6,500 aquaculture farms in the United States.
12. There are about 900,000 jobs in forestry in the United States.
13. In 2014, the U.S dairy production and processing industry accounted for over 900,000 jobs in the country.
14. The newest industry in agriculture is the legal marijuana industry, which employs over 200,000 workers.
15. Ornamental horticulture employees about 530,000 workers.
[Check out 4 Career Paths to take with an Agriculture Degree](https://blog.aghires.com/choosing-a-career-in-agriculture).
Search all [Ag Jobs here](https://aghires.com/).
[Want more Agriculture Facts? Click here](https://blog.aghires.com/tag/ag-fun-and-facts).
Follow us on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/AgHiresJobs/) and [Twitter](https://twitter.com/AgHires) to get your weekly dose of Ag Facts.
---
Sources:
[PayScale](https://www.payscale.com/career-news/2018/06/wait-how-many-us-jobs-are-dependent-on-agriculture)
[Farmflavor.com/](https://farmflavor.com/)
[Farm Bureau](https://www.fb.org/market-intel/feeding-the-economy-agricultural-jobs-by-state)
[U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics](https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/map_changer.htm)
[Business Insider](https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/farming-industry-facts-us-2019-5-1028242678#extreme-weather-is-the-cause-of-90-of-the-crop-losses-in-the-us5)
[U.S. News](https://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/data-mine/2014/02/24/us-farmers-are-old-and-getting-much-older)
[Iowa Agribusiness Radio Network](https://iowaagribusinessradionetwork.com/15-fantastic-food-and-farm-facts/)
[Jobmonkey.com](https://www.jobmonkey.com/aquaculturejobs/aquaculture-industry-facts/)
[CNBC](https://www.cnbc.com/2019/05/24/newly-legalized-hemp-industry-set-to-create-a-jobs-boom-in-the-us.html)
[FarmProgress.com](https://www.farmprogress.com/blog/dairy-industry-facts-0)
[DataUSA](https://datausa.io/profile/cip/ornamental-horticulture)
The agriculture industry is booming! Read more about it here.
### [Karyn Moyer](https://blog.aghires.com/author/karyn-moyer)
Karyn Moyer is the Senior Marketing Manager at AgHires, with over 13 years of marketing experience, over 9 of which she has spent in the agriculture marketing industry. Growing up in a small farming town, Karyn has a deep appreciation for the importance of agriculture and its role in our communities. Since joining AgHires in 2017, Karyn has used her wealth of experience and knowledge to help job seekers and clients achieve their goals. She has a passion for learning and discovering new ways to support the industry.
### Categories
- [Ag Fun and Facts (223)](https://blog.aghires.com/tag/ag-fun-and-facts)
- [Career Advice (200)](https://blog.aghires.com/tag/career-advice)
- [Hiring Advice (118)](https://blog.aghires.com/tag/hiring-advice)
- [For Students (54)](https://blog.aghires.com/tag/for-students)
- [Case Studies (12)](https://blog.aghires.com/tag/case-studies)
- [Featured Jobs (1)](https://blog.aghires.com/tag/featured-jobs)
### Subscribe
### Related Articles
**[Arkansas Ag Facts](https://blog.aghires.com/arkansas-ag-facts)**
**[5 Wyoming Agriculture Facts](https://blog.aghires.com/5-wyoming-agriculture-facts/)**
## **Search Jobs**
Search from thousands of jobs in agriculture and food production. Create a job seeker account to manage all jobs, easily apply to jobs, or be found by companies looking to hire.
[**Find Jobs**](https://cta-service-cms2.hubspot.com/web-interactives/public/v1/track/click?encryptedPayload=AVxigLLFfg9529YaiOv%2BkPY8xs2b1qJdNsPVEdisLibckFjKRV8G7gfihP1yQj9p2B1reoa15IgwtCQDWWAV6g%2B%2FYvY0x%2FCN7%2Fi%2BvLE3n5AWyzAK6FaEcLvAnVwaYNCWLGywU%2BsMUhp1Qge9iHRB72ogKpfRYffesiN%2FjzTP4pX%2FDczq&portalId=8483802)
## **Find Talent**
Let us help you develop optimized job postings, create targeted social media recruitment campaigns, and/or have our expert Recruiters headhunt passive candidates.
[**Find Candidates**](https://cta-service-cms2.hubspot.com/web-interactives/public/v1/track/click?encryptedPayload=AVxigLIi1KTIJiSLGDw6zpgUxjuqHk8BncR7Z5M2ScV0XTJr5JHxJ4w4MNCyfwG0iJUKtyi%2FcWFxTQBi%2Bs27HUAvoiNKP1tf4HUsCLK6IVX0jwDwVHp6PHoMHnhusqwyNOcDfPwgO43JRd9YaM7mqNjtWg5jUZoiy2ZPWHfv3Y6eueqhsMkOsA%3D%3D&portalId=8483802)
[](https://aghires.com/)
© AgHires
###### Find Talent
- [Professional Recruiting](https://info.aghires.com/professional-recruiting)
- [Executive Search](https://info.aghires.com/executive-recruiting)
- [Job Postings & Advertising](https://aghires.com/main/clients/products)
###### Employers
- [The AgHires Difference](https://info.aghires.com/why-aghires)
- [Hiring Advice](https://blog.aghires.com/tag/hiring-advice)
- [Background Checks](https://info.aghires.com/background-checks)
###### Job Seekers
- [Find a Job](https://aghires.com/candidate/job_search/quick/results)
- [Job Alerts](https://aghires.com/main/static/signIn)
- [Career Advice](https://blog.aghires.com/tag/career-advice)
###### Contact Us
[(1-844-244-4737)](tel:18442444737)
[sales@aghires.com](mailto:sales@aghires.com)
Contact Us 24 / 7 / 365
###### Join Our Newsletter
[Privacy](https://aghires.com/privacy)
[Terms & Conditions](https://aghires.com/terms)
```json
{
"@context" : "https://schema.org",
"@type" : "BlogPosting",
"author" : {
"@type" : "Person",
"name" : "Karyn Moyer",
"url" : "https://blog.aghires.com/author/karyn-moyer"
},
"dateModified" : "2025-02-13T10:37:09.970Z",
"datePublished" : "2021-05-02T04:45:00.000Z",
"headline" : "About 22.8 Million People are Employed in Agriculture",
"image" : [ "https://blog.aghires.com/hubfs/Ag-Fact-Friday_1-1-21_Ag-Jobs-1.png" ],
"mainEntityOfPage" : {
"@id" : "https://blog.aghires.com/millions-people-are-employed-in-agriculture/",
"@type" : "WebPage"
},
"publisher" : {
"@type" : "Organization",
"logo" : {
"@type" : "ImageObject",
"url" : "https://blog.aghires.com/hubfs/Logos/AgHires_Logo_Black_no_tag-1.png"
},
"name" : "AgHires"
}
}
```
```json
{
"@context" : "https://schema.org",
"@id" : "https://blog.aghires.com/hubfs/AgHires_Logo_215x87-2.png#logo",
"@type" : "LocalBusiness",
"address" : {
"@type" : "PostalAddress",
"addressCountry" : "US",
"addressLocality" : "Lambertville",
"addressRegion" : "MI",
"postalCode" : "48144",
"streetAddress" : "PO Box 706"
},
"geo" : {
"@type" : "GeoCoordinates",
"latitude" : 41.75290880000001,
"longitude" : -83.624201
},
"image" : "https://blog.aghires.com/hubfs/AgHires_Logo_215x87-2.png",
"name" : "AgHires",
"openingHoursSpecification" : {
"@type" : "OpeningHoursSpecification",
"closes" : "17:00",
"dayOfWeek" : [ "Monday", "Tuesday", "Wednesday", "Thursday", "Friday" ],
"opens" : "08:00"
},
"priceRange" : "$",
"sameAs" : [ "https://www.facebook.com/AgHiresJobs/", "https://www.linkedin.com/company/aghires", "https://www.instagram.com/aghiresjobs/", "https://www.youtube.com/user/AgHiresJobs" ],
"telephone" : "(1-844-244-4737)",
"url" : "https://blog.aghires.com/"
}
```