SOC 45-2041.00

    Graders and Sorters, Agricultural Products

    Grade, sort, or classify unprocessed food and other agricultural products by size, weight, color, or condition.

    Median pay
    $35,730
    Growth
    -3.4%
    Decline
    Openings a year
    5,800
    Typical education
    No formal credential

    Data verified Nov 2026 · CollegesRef 2026–27 edition

    Source: BLS 2025 wages · 2025–35 projections

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    Annual pay range

    Lowest 10% earn less than
    $29,580
    Median
    $35,730
    Highest 10% earn more than
    $44,490
    National wages for all workers in this occupation. BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025.

    25,180 people work in this occupation.

    What graders and sorters, agricultural products do

    Job Zone 2: Some preparation

    Grade, sort, or classify unprocessed food and other agricultural products by size, weight, color, or condition.

    Usually a high school diploma; some on-the-job training or experience.

    Interest profile

    Realistic (R) · strongest
    77 / 100
    Investigative (I)
    25 / 100
    Artistic (A)
    11 / 100
    Social (S)
    8 / 100
    Enterprising (E)
    19 / 100
    Conventional (C)
    67 / 100
    How strongly each interest area describes the work, from O*NET (scores rescaled to 0–100). The interest code lists the strongest areas in order.

    Interest code RCI. Compare it with yours

    What you'd do

    Handling and Moving Objects
    90
    Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events
    83
    Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates
    82
    Getting Information
    81
    Monitoring Processes, Materials, or Surroundings
    69
    Performing General Physical Activities
    68
    Judging the Qualities of Objects, Services, or People
    60
    Processing Information
    60
    Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards
    56
    Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work
    55
    Work activities rated by importance for this occupation, O*NET (0–100).

    Skills and strengths

    Skills

    • Monitoring
    • Active Listening
    • Speaking
    • Coordination
    • Critical Thinking
    • Judgment and Decision Making
    • Reading Comprehension
    • Time Management
    • Writing
    • Active Learning

    Knowledge

    • Production and Processing
    • English Language
    • Mechanical
    • Food Production
    • Education and Training
    • Foreign Language
    • Public Safety and Security
    • Administration and Management
    • Customer and Personal Service
    • Mathematics

    Abilities

    • Manual Dexterity
    • Near Vision
    • Category Flexibility
    • Finger Dexterity
    • Oral Comprehension
    • Oral Expression
    • Speech Recognition
    • Trunk Strength
    • Arm-Hand Steadiness
    • Speech Clarity

    Work styles

    • Attention to Detail
    • Dependability
    • Cautiousness
    • Integrity
    • Stress Tolerance
    • Perseverance
    • Cooperation
    • Achievement Orientation
    • Self-Control
    • Adaptability

    Also called

    Agricultural Establishment Grader Inspector · Agricultural Produce Sorter · Agriculture Laborer · Apple Sorter · Apple Turner · Asparagus Buncher · Banana Expert · Banana Grader · Bean Sorter · Bulb Grader

    CareerOneStop

    Certifications, licenses and pay by state

    What graders and sorters, agricultural products may need beyond a degree, where a license is required, and what the work pays in each state.

    Licenses by state

    26 states list a license for this work. Open your state for the license and the agency that issues it.

    Federal

    Check license requirements on CareerOneStop

    Data from CareerOneStop, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor (Employment and Training Administration, with the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development). Retrieved November 9, 2026.

    Your plan

    Build my pathway plan

    Courses, majors, colleges, scholarships and a timeline for this career, built from your profile.

    Related careers

    Careers with similar work, interests or skills.

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    Sources and attribution

    Every figure on this page comes from these public datasets. Missing values are shown as not reported, never estimated.

    O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. CollegesRef has modified all or some of this information.

    Data from CareerOneStop, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor (Employment and Training Administration, with the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development). Retrieved November 9, 2026.

    Page data updated November 5, 2026.