What Farmworkers and Laborers, Crop, Nursery, and Greenhouse earn in Monterey County, CA
The median pay for Farmworkers and Laborers, Crop, Nursery, and Greenhouse in Monterey County, CA is $36,700 per year, which works out to $17.64 per hour. The figure comes from the Bureau of Labor Statistics wage survey for the Salinas, CA metropolitan area, the labor market that Monterey County, CA belongs to. Half of the workers in this occupation earn more than the median and half earn less, which makes it a sturdier yardstick than an average that a few very high earners can pull upward.
The mean wage is $40,270, which is 9.7% above the median, a sign that a group of high earners lifts the average. The survey counts about 26,830 people working in this occupation across the Salinas, CA metropolitan area, so the estimate rests on a substantial pool of workers. Monterey County, CA has roughly 437,613 residents, according to the population figures used by the rent data.
The salary range, from entry level to top earners
Pay for Farmworkers and Laborers, Crop, Nursery, and Greenhouse in the Salinas, CA metropolitan area is not one number. The lowest-paid tenth of workers earn up to $35,140 a year ($16.89 an hour), while the highest-paid tenth earn $47,450 or more ($22.81 an hour). That is a gap of $12,310 between the bottom and the top of the scale. The middle half of workers falls between $35,920 at the 25th percentile and $42,060 at the 75th percentile. A top-tier earner makes 1.4 times what someone at the bottom makes, so experience, certification and employer all matter.
What the hourly rate looks like
Employers quote this occupation by the hour or by the year, so here are both: $17.64 an hour or $36,700 a year at the median for Monterey County, CA. Before any deductions, that is $3,058 a month, $1,412 every two weeks and $706 each week. After taxes the same job pays $14.97 per hour of take-home income, which is the number that actually has to cover rent and groceries.
How pay in Monterey County, CA compares
Compared with the California average
A worker in this occupation in Monterey County, CA earns $816 more than the California average of $35,884, a premium of 2.3%. Over a year that premium is worth $816 before tax and roughly $692 after tax. Within California, Monterey County, CA already has the highest median we track for this job.
Compared with the national average
The national employment-weighted average for Farmworkers and Laborers, Crop, Nursery, and Greenhouse is $35,964 across the contiguous United States. At $36,700, Monterey County, CA pays $736 more, which is 2.0% above that benchmark. Keep in mind that a higher salary only helps if living costs do not rise faster, which is why the cost sections below matter as much as the headline number.
Where this job ranks in Monterey County, CA
Among the 331 occupations with published wages in Monterey County, CA, Farmworkers and Laborers, Crop, Nursery, and Greenhouse ranks number 320 by median pay, ahead of about 3% of them.
From gross pay to take-home pay
Three separate tax bills sit between the gross salary and the bank account: federal income tax, FICA, and state income tax. For Farmworkers and Laborers, Crop, Nursery, and Greenhouse earning the Monterey County, CA median of $36,700, they add up to $5,563. The result is $31,137 of take-home pay a year ($2,595 a month), based on a single filer using the standard deduction.
Put another way, of every $100 earned, about $15 goes to taxes and $85 reaches the paycheck. The overall effective tax rate is 15.2%.
Federal income tax
After the $15,750 standard deduction, taxable income is $20,950. Federal brackets are marginal, so only the slice of income above each threshold is taxed at the higher rate; the last dollars of this salary fall in the 12% bracket. The resulting federal income tax is $2,276, an effective 6.2% of gross pay, well below the 12% marginal rate because the lower brackets are cheaper.
Social Security and Medicare (FICA)
Payroll taxes are a flat percentage of wages. Social Security takes 6.2% up to a wage base of $176,100, which costs $2,275 on this salary. Medicare takes 1.45%, or $532. FICA totals $2,808, which is 7.6% of gross pay.
State income tax in California
California income tax on this salary is $480 a year, or 1.3% of gross pay, after the state's own deductions and exemptions are applied. That is 21% of the federal income tax bill, and it comes out to $40 a month. Local taxes such as county or city income taxes are not included, so a few jurisdictions may withhold slightly more.
A cross-check with IRS data for Monterey County, CA
IRS Statistics of Income data for Monterey County, CA show an average adjusted gross income of $89,303 per return and an average effective federal income tax rate of 13.8% across all filers. Filers in the $25,000 to under $50,000 bracket, where this salary falls, paid an average of 4.5%, compared with the 6.2% estimated here for a single filer taking the standard deduction. Gaps between the two reflect filing status, dependents, credits and other income, none of which a single-person wage estimate includes.
Cost of living in Monterey County, CA
Take-home pay only means something next to what life costs. We price four basics for one adult in Monterey County, CA: a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline. All of them are converted to annual figures first, then compared with the $31,137 of take-home pay.
Rent
Housing is the largest line in most budgets. For Monterey County, CA, HUD sets the Fair Market Rent for a one-bedroom unit at $2,009 a month ($24,108 a year), and at $2,416 for two bedrooms. For Farmworkers and Laborers, Crop, Nursery, and Greenhouse, a one-bedroom absorbs 77.4% of take-home pay and 65.7% of gross pay.
Food
The USDA Thrifty Food Plan (August 2026) puts the cost of a nutritious home-cooked diet for an adult at about $3,436 a year, which is $286 a month or $66.07 a week. That equals 9.4% of gross pay for Farmworkers and Laborers, Crop, Nursery, and Greenhouse in Monterey County, CA. It is a thrifty budget with no restaurant meals, so treat it as a floor.
Energy and gasoline
Using California residential prices from the Energy Information Administration and national household averages for consumption, electricity costs about $3,378 a year and other home energy such as natural gas about $751, for $4,129 in total. Gasoline in California averages $4.42 per gallon; at about 463 gallons a year (11,106 miles at 24 miles per gallon) fuel adds $2,047.
What is left over
The basics cost $33,719 a year in Monterey County, CA, but take-home pay for Farmworkers and Laborers, Crop, Nursery, and Greenhouse is $31,137. That is a shortfall of $2,582 a year, or $215 a month, before health care, transportation beyond fuel, debt or savings. Closing the gap would take roughly 172 extra paid hours a year at the take-home hourly rate of $14.97, or a second earner, a cheaper home or a roommate.
Can Farmworkers and Laborers, Crop, Nursery, and Greenhouse afford to live in Monterey County, CA?
The 30% rent guideline
A common rule of thumb says rent should stay under 30% of gross income. For a gross salary of $36,700 that ceiling is $918 a month. The one-bedroom Fair Market Rent of $2,009 is $1,092 over it, so rent breaks the guideline. Put as a wage, covering a one-bedroom at the 30% guideline takes $38.63 an hour; the median for Farmworkers and Laborers, Crop, Nursery, and Greenhouse is $17.64, which is 54% below that mark. Another way to see it: at $14.97 of take-home pay an hour, a one-bedroom takes about 31.0 working hours every week.
Splitting a two-bedroom
Sharing a two-bedroom at $2,416 a month means $1,208 each. Compared with renting a one-bedroom alone, that saves $9,612 a year. With a roommate, the yearly margin after the basics becomes $7,030, which turns the shortfall into a surplus.
How fast you can save
With no monthly margin after the four basics, saving requires a change on one side of the ledger: higher pay than the $36,700 median, lower housing costs than the $2,009 one-bedroom rent, or a second income.
Frequently asked questions about Farmworkers and Laborers, Crop, Nursery, and Greenhouse pay in Monterey County, CA
How much do Farmworkers and Laborers, Crop, Nursery, and Greenhouse make per hour in Monterey County, CA?
The median is $17.64 per hour, based on $36,700 a year over 2,080 hours. Hourly pay runs from about $16.89 at the 10th percentile to $22.81 at the 90th percentile.
How much do Farmworkers and Laborers, Crop, Nursery, and Greenhouse take home after taxes in Monterey County, CA?
After federal income tax, FICA and state income tax, the median salary of $36,700 becomes $31,137 a year. That is $2,595 a month, $1,198 every two weeks or $599 a week.
How much tax do Farmworkers and Laborers, Crop, Nursery, and Greenhouse pay in Monterey County, CA?
Total taxes are $5,563 a year, an effective rate of 15.2%: $2,276 federal income tax, $2,808 FICA and $480 California income tax.
Do Farmworkers and Laborers, Crop, Nursery, and Greenhouse earn more in Monterey County, CA than elsewhere in California?
Yes. The local median of $36,700 is +2.3% versus the California average of $35,884, a difference of $816 a year.
Can Farmworkers and Laborers, Crop, Nursery, and Greenhouse afford a one-bedroom apartment in Monterey County, CA?
A one-bedroom costs $2,009 a month against take-home pay of $2,595, which is 77.4% of take-home pay. That does not meet the 30%-of-gross guideline, which allows up to $918 a month.
What is the monthly budget margin for Farmworkers and Laborers, Crop, Nursery, and Greenhouse in Monterey County, CA?
Nothing remains: the basics cost $33,719 a year, which is $2,582 more than take-home pay, a monthly shortfall of $215.
What hourly wage covers a one-bedroom in Monterey County, CA at the 30% guideline?
$38.63 an hour for a full-time schedule, calculated as the $24,108 annual rent divided by 0.30 and by 2,080 hours. The median for Farmworkers and Laborers, Crop, Nursery, and Greenhouse is $17.64.
How we calculated these numbers
Wages are May 2025 medians from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey for the Salinas, CA metropolitan area; hourly-only values are annualized at 2,080 hours. Rents are HUD Fair Market Rents, food costs come from the USDA Thrifty Food Plan, and energy prices come from the Energy Information Administration. County-level tax statistics come from the IRS Statistics of Income.
Taxes use tax-year 2025 federal brackets, FICA rates and the California rules for a single filer with wage income only. Figures are estimates for planning and comparison, not tax or financial advice, and they exclude local income taxes, benefits, retirement contributions and individual circumstances.