The farmworker wage gap in 2023: Farmworkers earn very low wages compared with other workers: Average hourly wage rate for nonsupervisory farmworkers nationwide and H-2A farmworkers in selected states, compared with average hourly wages of other workers, 2023
| Type | Amount | |
|---|---|---|
| Nonsupervisory farmworkers (nationwide) | $17.55 | |
| H-2A in California (AEWR) | $18.65 | |
| H-2A in Florida (AEWR) | $14.33 | |
| H-2A in Georgia (AEWR) | $13.67 | |
| All workers with less than high school (nationwide) | $17.47 | |
| All workers with HS diploma only (nationwide) | $22.94 | |
| Nonsupervisory nonfarm (nationwide) | $28.94 | |
| All workers (nationwide) | $33.50 | |
Notes: All values are for 2023 and in 2023 dollars. HS = high school. H-2A wage reflects the Adverse Effect Wage Rate set by the Department of Labor for fiscal year 2023 for migrant farmworkers working in H-2A status in the listed states of Florida and Georgia, which together account for nearly one-quarter of all H-2A workers. Nonsupervisory nonfarm workers’ wage represents the average hourly earnings of production and nonsupervisory employees, total for the private sector, not seasonally adjusted. Nonsupervisory farmworkers’ wage is the gross average hourly wage of field and livestock workers, combined. Data for all workers, and for workers with a high school diploma and less than high school, can be found at the Economic Policy Institute State of Working America Data Library.
Source: Author’s analysis of USDA Farm Labor Survey data and nonfarm wage data from the BLS Current Employment Statistics survey; EPI analysis of CPI-ORG microdata; Employment and Training Administration, U.S. Department of Labor, Labor Certification Process for the Temporary Employment of Foreign Workers in Agriculture in the United States: Adverse Effect Wage Rates for Non-Range Occupations in 2023, 87 Fed. Reg. 77142 (December 16, 2022).
This chart appears in:
- The farmworker wage gap continued in 2020: Farmworkers and H-2A workers earned very low wages during the pandemic, even compared with other low-wage workers
- tables and figs for MA OT testimony farmworkers (Nov 2021)
- Testimony for the Massachusetts Joint Committee on Labor & Workforce Development: Hearing on the Fairness for Farmworkers Act
- Testimony before the NY State Department of Labor’s Farm Laborers Wage Board: The overtime threshold for farmworkers in New York state should be lowered to 40 hours per week
- EPI comments on DOL’s proposed changes to the Adverse Effect Wage Rate methodology for H-2A visas for temporary migrant farmworkers
- Testimony for the Maine Legislature, Labor and Housing Committee: An overtime pay threshold for farmworkers in Maine should be set at 40 hours per week
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