Agricultural Economics

Types of Degrees Agricultural Economics Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many agricultural economics and business graduations there were in 2020-2021 for each degree level.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Bachelor’s Degree	5,097
Associate Degree	1,544
Basic Certificate	647
Undergraduate Certificate	400
Master’s Degree	326
Doctor’s Degree	76
Graduate Certificate	8

What Agricultural Economics Majors Need to Know

O*NET surveyed people in occupations related to agricultural business and asked them what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. The responses were rated on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being most important.

Knowledge Areas for Agricultural Business Majors

This major prepares you for careers in which these knowledge areas are important:

• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
• Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
• Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
• Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.

Skills for Agricultural Business Majors

A major in agricultural business prepares you for careers in which the following skill-sets are crucial:

• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
• Judgment and Decision Making - Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.

Abilities for Agricultural Business Majors

A major in agricultural business will prepare for your careers in which the following abilities are important:

• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.

What Can You Do With a Agricultural Economics Major?

People with a agricultural business degree often go into the following careers:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Economists	6.1%	$104,340
Environmental Economists	6.1%	$104,340
Farm and Home Management Advisors	7.7%	$49,840
First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers	3.4%	$55,810

Who Is Getting a Bachelor’s Degree in Agricultural Economics?

This is one of the most frequently chosen business majors. It is the 14th most popular in the country with 5,097 students graduating with a bachelor’s in agricultural business in 2021. This major tends to be male dominated. About 63% of recent graduates are men.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of agricultural business majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	105
Black or African American	118
Hispanic or Latino	412
White	4,054
International Students	177
Other Races/Ethnicities	231

Geographic Diversity

Students from other countries are interested in Agricultural Business, too. About 3.5% of those with this major are international students. The most popular countries for students from outside the country are:

• China
• South Korea
• India
• Canada
• Nepal

How Much Do Agricultural Economics Majors Make?

Bachelor’s Degree Starting Salary

Data from the U.S. Department of Education shows that agricultural economics and business students who graduated in 2017-2019 with a bachelor’s degree made a median starting salary of $43,092 per year. During this timeframe, most salaries fell between $38,849 (25th percentile) and $46,964 (75th percentile).

Note that some of these people may have jobs that are not directly related to a agricultural business degree.

Salaries According to BLS

Agricultural Business majors often go into careers where salaries can range from $50,790 to $79,940 (25th to 75th percentile). This range includes all degree levels, so you may expect those with a more advanced degree to make more while those with less advanced degrees will typically make less.

To put that into context, according to BLS data from the first quarter of 2020, the typical high school graduate makes between $30,000 and $57,900 a year (25th through 75th percentile). The average person with a bachelor’s degree (any field) makes between $45,600 and $99,000. Advanced degree holders make the most with salaries between $55,600 and $125,400.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Agricultural Economics

Some careers associated with agricultural business require an advanced degree while some may not even require a bachelor’s. Whatever the case may be, pursuing more education usually means that more career options will be available to you.

Find out what the typical degree level is for agricultural business careers below.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
Less than a High School Diploma	3.8%
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	15.8%
Post-Secondary Certificate - awarded for training completed after high school (for example, in agriculture or natural resources, computer services, personal or culinary services, engineering technologies, healthcare, construction trades, mechanic and repair technologies, or precision production)	8.3%
Some College Courses	9.1%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	8.4%
Bachelor’s Degree	27.7%
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Baccalaureate degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees carrying the title of Master.	0.6%
Master’s Degree	10.3%
Post-Master’s Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Master’s degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees at the doctoral level.	1.2%
First Professional Degree - awarded for completion of a program that: requires at least 2 years of college work before entrance into the program, includes a total of at least 6 academic years of work to complete, and provides all remaining academic requirements to begin practice in a profession.	0.3%
Doctoral Degree	12.9%
Post-Doctoral Training	2.1%

Online Agricultural Economics Programs

In 2020-2021, 354 schools offered a agricultural business program of some type. The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level	Colleges Offering Programs	Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year)	0	0
Certificate (1-2 years)	87	2
Certificate (2-4 Years)	9	0
Associate’s Degree	239	13
Bachelor’s Degree	5	1
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	57	5
Post-Master’s	4	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	27	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Is a Degree in Agricultural Economics Worth It?

The median salary for a agricultural business grad is $55,050 per year. This is based on the weighted average of the most common careers associated with the major.

This is 38% more than the average salary for an individual holding a high school degree. This adds up to a gain of about $303,000 after 20 years!

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020
• Image Credit: By {} under License

More about our data sources and methodologies.