Hired farmworkers include field crop workers, nursery workers,
livestock workers, farmworker supervisors, and hired farm managers.
Hired farmworkers make up less than 1 percent of all U.S. wage and
salary workers, but they play an essential role in U.S.
agriculture. In 2010, the Current Population Survey (conducted by
the Census Bureau) estimated average hired farm employment at
755,000. Of these farmworkers, 62 percent work in crop agriculture,
and the remaining 38 percent work in livestock. Roughly 37 percent
of all hired farmworkers live in the Southwest (defined to include
California), and 24 percent live in the West region. Two
States--California and Texas--account for more than one-third of
all farmworkers. More farmworkers are located in metropolitan areas
(59 percent) than in nonmetro counties. In California, 99 percent
of farmworkers are located in metro areas, and in Washington State
the figure is 95 percent. This chart is from the Farm Labor topic
page on the ERS website.