Life & Physical Science
Soil & Plant Scientists
SOC 19-1013
Study how soil properties affect plant growth and sustainable land use.
The job
Median pay
$79k
$62k to $104k typical range
Outlook, 2025 to 2035
Growing fast
+6.7% projected
Openings a year
1k
BLS projection
Typical education
Master's
Our model
AI displacement risk
High
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
62nd pct
More exposed than 62% of occupations · modeled estimate · 65th pct in Microsoft's data
Future-proof
56/100
Key skills
- Reading Comprehension
- Speaking
- Science
- Critical Thinking
- Active Learning
- Active Listening
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 | 1,440 | 0.1 | 0.8× | $92k |
| Iowa | 960 | 0.6 | 6.1× | $96k |
| Massachusetts | 834 | 0.2 | 2.3× | $70k~ |
| Illinois | 820 | 0.1 | 1.3× | $79k |
| Minnesota | 750 | 0.3 | 2.5× | $80k |
| Wisconsin | 680 | 0.2 | 2.3× | $66k |
| Nebraska | 640 | 0.6 | 6.2× | $78k |
| Oregon | 620 | 0.3 | 3.1× | $85k |
| Michigan | 570 | 0.1 | 1.3× | $65k |
| North Carolina | 570 | 0.1 | 1.1× | $76k |
All 51 states
| State | Jobs | Per 1,000 | vs national | Median pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Idaho | 540 | 0.6 | 6.2× | $95k |
| Washington | 520 | 0.1 | 1.4× | $80k |
| Texas | 500 | 0.0 | 0.3× | $74k~ |
| South Dakota | 480 | 1.0 | 10.4× | $74k |
| Colorado | 460 | 0.2 | 1.6× | $75k |
| Indiana | 440 | 0.1 | 1.4× | $80k |
| North Dakota | 410 | 1.0 | 9.4× | $65k |
| Kansas | 380 | 0.3 | 2.6× | $66k |
| Tennessee | 370 | 0.1 | 1.1× | $62k |
| Ohio | 320 | 0.1 | 0.6× | $57k |
| Arizona | 270 | 0.1 | 0.8× | $84k |
| Florida | 270 | 0.0 | 0.3× | $103k |
| New York | 260 | 0.0 | 0.3× | $78k |
| Montana | 230 | 0.4 | 4.4× | $74k |
| Missouri | 220 | 0.1 | 0.7× | $76k |
| Georgia | 210 | 0.0 | 0.4× | $65k |
| Connecticut | 200 | 0.1 | 1.2× | $68k |
| Maryland | 200 | 0.1 | 0.7× | $85k |
| Pennsylvania | 200 | 0.0 | 0.3× | $71k |
| Louisiana | 170 | 0.1 | 0.9× | $60k |
| Kentucky | 140 | 0.1 | 0.7× | $67k |
| Virginia | 140 | 0.0 | 0.3× | $74k |
| New Jersey | 130 | 0.0 | 0.3× | $92k |
| Alabama | 110 | 0.1 | 0.5× | $63k |
| Arkansas | 110 | 0.1 | 0.8× | $60k~ |
| Mississippi | 100 | 0.1 | 0.8× | $73k |
| Oklahoma | 100 | 0.1 | 0.6× | $64k |
| Nevada | 90 | 0.1 | 0.6× | $71k |
| New Mexico | 90 | 0.1 | 1.0× | $69k |
| South Carolina | 90 | 0.0 | 0.4× | $79k |
| Utah | 90 | 0.1 | 0.5× | $60k |
| West Virginia | 78 | 0.1 | 1.1× | $65k~ |
| New Hampshire | 64 | 0.1 | 0.9× | $76k~ |
| Delaware | 60 | 0.1 | 1.2× | $65k |
| Washington DC | 60 | 0.1 | 0.8× | $107k |
| Hawaii | 60 | 0.1 | 0.9× | $84k |
| Wyoming | 50 | 0.2 | 1.8× | $56k |
| Rhode Island | 46 | 0.1 | 0.9× | $85k~ |
| Vermont | 35 | 0.1 | 1.1× | $58k~ |
| Alaska | 30 | 0.1 | 0.9× | $100k |
| Maine | 30 | 0.0 | 0.5× | $78k |
Top metro areas
- Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA430 jobs · $132k median
- Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI400 jobs · $80k median
- Boise City, ID290 jobs · $91k median
- Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA250 jobs · $95k median
- Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN240 jobs · $80k median
- Fargo, ND-MN230 jobs · $65k median
- Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV230 jobs · $96k median
- Fort Collins-Loveland, CO220 jobs · $67k median
Explore the rankings
Explore Soil & Plant Scientists interactively →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.