Foresters Salary: $70,660 Median Pay (2026 stats)
Executive Summary
About 9,650 foresters work nationally, and $70,660 is the BLS national median annual wage. Employment in the series shown fell about 11% from the first to the last year; much hiring sits in federal, state, and local government, including state and local government schools and hospitals and the u.s. postal service (oews designation).
Foresters: what the data shows
Common questions about foresters careers, answered from BLS OEWS and O*NET in this repository.
What is a foresters?
Foresters is tracked by the Bureau of Labor Statistics under SOC 19-1032.
U.S. employment in our OEWS extract is about 9,650 workers.
What does a foresters do?
O*NET work activities rated highest for this occupation include Making Decisions and Solving Problems, Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates, Communicating with People Outside the Organization, Documenting/Recording Information, Monitoring Processes, Materials, or Surroundings, Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards, and related tasks. See Work Activities for the full list.
How much does a foresters make?
BLS national median annual wage: $70,660 (May 2024 in our extract).
Mean annual wage in our occupational extract: $104,464 — higher than the median, which often reflects top earners in the distribution.
Wage percentiles below are from the California OEWS extract (not national unless noted).
| Wage percentile | Annual wage |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $67,753 |
| 25th percentile | $88,193 |
| Median (50th) | $101,557 |
| 75th percentile | $120,663 |
| 90th percentile | $142,336 |
What skills do you need?
O*NET ratings for this occupation emphasize skills such as Active Listening, Complex Problem Solving, Critical Thinking, Speaking, Reading Comprehension, Writing, and knowledge areas including Customer and Personal Service, English Language, Administration and Management, Biology. See Education & Skills for detail.
Is foresters in demand?
Historical employment trend in our series implies about 0.0% annual decline (compound rate in the extract).
Five-year projected employment change: -0.2%.
Ten-year projected employment change: -0.4%.
Current U.S. headcount: 9,650.
We report federal series only—compare wages, growth, and openings against your target market.
Where do foresterss work?
Top industries by employment share in our OEWS industry extract:
| Industry | Employment | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Cross-industry | 9,650 | 18.1% |
| Federal, State, and Local Government, including State and Local Government Schools and Hospitals and the U.S. Postal Service (OEWS Designation) | 6,360 | 11.9% |
| Federal, State, and Local Government, excluding State and Local Government Schools and Hospitals and the U.S. Postal Service (OEWS Designation) | 5,810 | 10.9% |
| Federal, State, and Local Government, excluding State and Local Government Schools and Hospitals and the U.S. Postal Service (OEWS Designation) | 5,810 | 10.9% |
| State Government, including Schools and Hospitals (OEWS Designation) | 3,690 | 6.9% |
| Cross-industry, Private Ownership only | 3,290 | 6.2% |
See Industry for charts.
What degrees lead to this career?
Common majors for Foresters in O*NET:
See Related degrees.
Employment
Employment and salary information for the Foresters workforce.
Employment Over Time
9,650 U.S. workforce (OEWS)
California employment for Foresters shrank from 3,000 in 2009 to 2,980 in 2025 (0.7%).
Historical employment for Foresters from the California OEWS series, 2009–2025. The U.S. workforce figure is national and is not the endpoint of this line.
Yearly Wage Ranking
$70,660 Median pay (BLS national)
Foresters earn $70,660 as the BLS national median annual wage.
Wage ranking compared to other occupations.
Wage Distribution
This chart shows the distribution of average salaries by income buckets for Foresters.
Salary distribution for Foresters.
Employment Growth Projections
-0.0% Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR)
2,973 Projected Employment (5 years)
Projected growth: -0.2%
2,967 Projected Employment (10 years)
Projected growth: -0.4%
This occupation is experiencing a decline. Consider related fields with better growth prospects.
Historical employment trends and future projections for Foresters.
Industry
Information on the industries that employ Foresters and on wages for those in the field.
Occupations by Industries
This graphic shows the share of Foresters employed by various industries.
Industry distribution for Foresters.
Wage Trends by Industry
14.2% Average Annual Wage Growth Rate
Historical wage growth trends by industry for Foresters.
Geographic Distribution
Employment and wage information by geographic location for Foresters.
State employment and wages are from the U.S. BLS OEWS May 2024 state extract. Metropolitan areas use the national MSA file when available.
Top States by Employment
Top States by Employment:
- WA: 980 employees, $81,680 avg wage
- CA: 830 employees, $101,700 avg wage
- OR: 670 employees, $76,800 avg wage
- WI: 570 employees, $67,560 avg wage
- FL: 540 employees, $58,680 avg wage
- VA: 350 employees, $73,170 avg wage
- MI: 320 employees, $77,490 avg wage
- AL: 300 employees, $69,870 avg wage
- ID: 290 employees, $62,830 avg wage
- NY: 280 employees, $80,550 avg wage
Top 10 states by employment for Foresters.
Top Metropolitan Areas
Top Metropolitan Areas:
- Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH: 190 employees, $69,400 avg wage
- Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV: 140 employees, $87,430 avg wage
- Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA: 130 employees, $83,120 avg wage
- Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA: 120 employees, $114,330 avg wage
- Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA: 110 employees, $105,620 avg wage
- Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN: 110 employees, $79,670 avg wage
- Salem, OR: 100 employees, $84,180 avg wage
- Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater, WA: 90 employees, $73,770 avg wage
- Spokane-Spokane Valley, WA: 90 employees, $78,630 avg wage
- Eugene-Springfield, OR: 80 employees, $74,650 avg wage
Top 10 metropolitan statistical areas by employment for Foresters.
Diversity
Demographic information on Foresters in the US.
Gender and Age
The U.S. workforce for Foresters is about 9,650 people in our OEWS extract.
Gender and age distribution for Foresters.
Races
Racial and ethnic shares when present in the career dataset. If the chart area shows a notice instead, occupational race/ethnicity fields are not yet populated for this extract.
Race and ethnicity distribution for Foresters.
Education & Skills
Data on higher education choices and required skills for Foresters.
Majors
The most common majors achieved by Foresters in 2023 were Business Administration, Business, Social Sciences.
Common majors for Foresters.
Education Levels
The main educational levels achieved by Foresters workers.
Education level distribution for Foresters.
Skills
Foresters need many skills, but most especially Active Listening, Complex Problem Solving, Critical Thinking, Speaking, Reading Comprehension.
Required skills for Foresters.
Knowledge & Abilities
Knowledge areas and abilities required for Foresters.
Knowledge Areas
The most important knowledge areas for Foresters include Customer and Personal Service, English Language, Administration and Management, Biology, Law and Government.
Knowledge areas required for Foresters.
Abilities
Key abilities needed for Foresters include Oral Comprehension, Category Flexibility, Written Comprehension, Deductive Reasoning, Information Ordering.
Required abilities for Foresters.
Work Activities
Common work activities performed by Foresters.
Daily Activities
Foresters spend their time on activities such as Making Decisions and Solving Problems, Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates, Communicating with People Outside the Organization, Documenting/Recording Information, Monitoring Processes, Materials, or Surroundings.
Most important work activities for Foresters.
About
Foresters
Foresters earn $70,660 as the BLS national median annual wage.
SOC Code
19-1032 - Foresters
Insights and Analysis
High earnings profile: Foresters reports an average salary of $104,464, placing it among stronger-paying occupations.
Labor market presence: The current workforce is approximately 9,650 workers, indicating sustained demand.
Forward outlook: Projected annual decline is -0.0%, which should inform long-term career planning.
Data Sources
This page uses data from the following sources:
- College Scorecard - U.S. Department of Education
- Institutional characteristics, costs, completion rates, and earnings data
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: collegescorecard.ed.gov
- Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS)
- Employment and wage data by occupation
- Latest data: May 2024
- Source: bls.gov/oes
- O*NET Online - U.S. Department of Labor
- Occupational skills, knowledge, abilities, and work activities
- Database version: 28.0 (August 2023)
- Source: onetcenter.org
- IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) - National Center for Education Statistics
- Institutional data, completions, enrollment, and financial aid
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: nces.ed.gov/ipeds
- Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS)
- Demographic and workforce data
- Latest data: 2023 ACS 5-Year Estimates
- Source: census.gov/acs
Data Processing: All data has been processed, cleaned, and aggregated for presentation. Where specific data points are unavailable, estimates are based on available data and clearly marked.
Last Updated: Data reflects the most recent available information as of January 2025.
Methodology
Data for this profile is sourced from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS), and O*NET Online.
All wage figures represent annual averages and may vary by location, industry, and experience level.