Explore national salary, projected growth, education requirements, and career opportunities across the United States.
A concise view of this occupation’s national scale, compensation, and projected demand.
National median annual wage for this occupation.
Estimated jobs currently supported nationwide.
Projected employment change through 2034.
Estimated openings created each year.
The typical education, prior experience, and on-the-job training associated with entry into this career.
Bachelor's degree
None
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These are the highest-rated capabilities associated with success in this occupation. Scores are derived from occupational skill analysis and are measured on a 100-point scale.
Based on skills, knowledge, and work activities, these occupations are the closest match to your current career.
Explore the states and metropolitan areas offering the strongest combination of salary, employment, demand, and long-term opportunity.
Discover metro markets where compensation, hiring demand, and long-term momentum align.
Understand the salary, outlook, education, and geographic opportunities shaping this career.
Foresters work in a specialized science-focused profession with a national median annual salary of $70,660 and employment of about 14,000 people. The role combines analytical thinking, problem solving and decision making, project management, and science, supported by skills in mathematics, writing and reading, and speaking and listening. Computers and information technology, mechanical skills, and leadership also play an important part in this field’s overall skill profile. Projected employment growth of 1.2% and about 1,000 annual openings indicate a modest but ongoing flow of opportunities. Job seekers can consider this career alongside related paths such as zoologists and wildlife biologists, conservation scientists, farmers, ranchers, and other agricultural managers, occupational health and safety technicians, and health and safety engineers (except mining safety engineers and inspectors). Overall, forester roles offer a blend of scientific knowledge, analytical work, and communication skills, with opportunities distributed across multiple states and metro areas.
Foresters have a national median annual salary of $70,660, but pay varies significantly by location. Among the top states by opportunity score, California reports the highest median salary at $107,120, followed by Washington at $78,460, Colorado at $76,400, New York at $73,710, and Massachusetts at $89,650. These figures show a wide salary range across states. Metro areas also differ: San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA stands out with a median salary of $112,560, while Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA reports $107,690 and Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH reports $86,070. The New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ metro shows a median of $69,620, and Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV has $74,710. Together, these numbers highlight that certain metros and states offer substantially higher earnings than the national median for foresters.
Foresters have national employment of about 14,000, with projected employment growth of 1.2%. In addition, there are an estimated 1,000 annual openings. This combination indicates that while the occupation is relatively small in total employment, there is a steady movement of positions becoming available each year. The projected growth rate of 1.2% is consistent across the highlighted states and metro areas in the data, suggesting a similar directional trend in those regions. For someone planning a career in forestry, the numbers point to a field that is not rapidly expanding but does present a continuous flow of opportunities over time. Because the occupation’s size is modest, targeting regions with stronger opportunity scores and higher employment levels can be an important part of a job search strategy.
Location plays a major role in career planning for foresters. Among states, California has a high median salary of $107,120 and employment of 820, with a CareerGPS opportunity score of 67.38. Washington combines the highest state employment in this group (950) with a median salary of $78,460 and an opportunity score of 56.29. Massachusetts offers a median salary of $89,650 but smaller employment of 130, while New York and Colorado show mid-range salaries and employment with opportunity scores above 55. At the metro level, New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ leads on opportunity score at 77.27, with a median salary of $69,620 and employment of 90. San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA reports the highest metro salary at $112,560, and Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA also has six-figure pay. Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV and Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH provide moderate employment levels and strong salaries, offering additional regional choices.
Foresters typically need a bachelor’s degree, indicating that this is a profession built on a formal academic foundation. The role draws heavily on science and mathematics, so a degree program that develops those strengths aligns well with the occupation’s requirements. The top skills also highlight project management, problem solving and decision making, and critical and analytical thinking, suggesting that coursework and experiences that build analytical and organizational abilities are valuable. Strong writing and reading, along with speaking and listening, support the communication demands of the field. Leadership, mechanical skills, and computers and information technology round out a broad skill profile. Together, these skills show that successful foresters blend scientific knowledge with quantitative reasoning, communication, and practical capabilities, and that a bachelor’s-level education should prepare students across this mix of competencies.
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