Farming & Agriculture

Forest & Conservation Workers

SOC 45-4011

Plant, tend, and protect forests and natural areas.

The job

Median pay

$44k

$37k to $46k typical range

Outlook, 2025 to 2035

Declining

-1.5% projected

Openings a year

BLS projection

Typical education

High school

Our model

AI displacement risk

Moderate

How much of this job AI may do instead of the person

Works with AI

9/100

AI alongside the person rather than instead of them

AI exposure

34th pct

More exposed than 34% of occupations · modeled estimate · 22nd pct in Microsoft's data

Future-proof

42/100

Take the next step

Weigh it against Vineyard & Winery WorkersPay, outlook, entry and AI exposure side by side See where it pays mostHawaii leads at $56k; every state is below Find careers like itOpen the map at Forest & Conservation Workers and explore its neighbours See open jobsForest & Conservation Workers roles hiring now Learn the skillsCourses for Forest & Conservation Workers, who lean most on critical thinking Real pay & reviewsWhat Forest & Conservation Workers say they actually earn

Key skills

Critical Thinking
Monitoring
Reading Comprehension
Active Listening
Speaking
Active Learning

Pay and jobs by state

BLS OEWS May 2025, 51 states. Sorted by jobs; per 1,000 is jobs per thousand workers in the state; vs national compares that rate with the country's. A tilde marks a figure estimated from the parent occupation group where BLS publishes none.

State	Jobs	Per 1,000	vs national	Median pay
California	2,270	0.1	3.2×	$44k
South Dakota	490	1.1	27.5×	$38k
Washington	460	0.1	3.3×	$44k
Wisconsin	300	0.1	2.6×	$36k
Pennsylvania	210	0.0	0.9×	$50k
Tennessee	210	0.1	1.6×	$40k
Texas	209	0.0	0.4×	$30k~
Georgia	160	0.0	0.8×	$34k
Ohio	160	0.0	0.7×	$48k
Louisiana	150	0.1	2.0×	$40k

All 51 states

State	Jobs	Per 1,000	vs national	Median pay
Arizona	132	0.0	1.1×	$42k~
Michigan	126	0.0	0.7×	$48k~
Massachusetts	120	0.0	0.8×	$52k
Missouri	120	0.0	1.1×	$37k
Colorado	110	0.0	1.0×	$38k
Illinois	90	0.0	0.4×	$53k~
Alabama	87	0.0	1.1×	$45k~
Idaho	83	0.1	2.5×	$59k~
Florida	70	0.0	0.2×	$37k
Oregon	70	0.0	0.9×	$46k
New York	68	0.0	0.2×	$53k~
Virginia	67	0.0	0.4×	$55k~
Hawaii	60	0.1	2.5×	$56k
Mississippi	60	0.1	1.3×	$45k~
Kansas	51	0.0	0.9×	$47k~
North Carolina	50	0.0	0.3×	$45k~
Indiana	44	0.0	0.3×	$54k~
Maryland	41	0.0	0.4×	$48k~
Nebraska	41	0.0	1.0×	$54k~
Connecticut	40	0.0	0.6×	$34k
Iowa	40	0.0	0.7×	$34k
New Jersey	40	0.0	0.2×	$42k
South Carolina	40	0.0	0.5×	$44k
Kentucky	36	0.0	0.5×	$47k~
Oklahoma	36	0.0	0.5×	$43k~
Montana	31	0.1	1.6×	$33k~
Arkansas	30	0.0	0.6×	$47k
Minnesota	30	0.0	0.3×	$40k
New Mexico	30	0.0	0.9×	$36k
Maine	24	0.0	1.0×	$55k~
Utah	17	0.0	0.3×	$49k~
Nevada	16	0.0	0.3×	$36k~
North Dakota	14	0.0	0.8×	$55k~
West Virginia	13	0.0	0.5×	$44k~
Delaware	12	0.0	0.6×	$48k~
New Hampshire	10	0.0	0.4×	$56k~
Wyoming	10	0.0	0.9×	$46k~
Vermont	7	0.0	0.6×	$56k~
Alaska	5	0.0	0.4×	$61k~
Rhode Island	5	0.0	0.3×	$47k~
Washington DC	2	0.0	0.1×	$85k~

Top metro areas

Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA370 jobs · $44k median
Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA330 jobs · $44k median
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA220 jobs · $46k median
Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA180 jobs · $44k median
Sioux Falls, SD-MN150 jobs · $37k median
San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA140 jobs · $44k median
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD110 jobs · $39k median
Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA110 jobs · $44k median

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Pay and outlook from BLS (OEWS 2025, Employment Projections 2025-2035). Skills and work activities from O*NET 30.3. AI exposure and future-proof scores are modeled estimates. How these numbers are made.