Fallers earn a median of $52,100 per year ($25.05/hr) (BLS OEWS, May 2025). Employment is projected to fall 9.9% through 2035, with about 500 openings a year (BLS EP, 2025–2035). Typical entry-level education: High school diploma or equivalent.
- SOC 45-4021
- Farming, Fishing, and Forestry
- Last updated October 9, 2026
At a glance
Faller in four numbers
- Median pay
- $52,100a year, or $25.05/hrBLS OEWS, May 2025Lowest 10% $35KTop 10% $82K
US median, all jobs: $50,980
- Projected growth
- -9.9%DecliningBLS EP, 2025–2035This career−9.9%All jobs+3.5%
Projected employment change, 2025–2035 Item Value This career −9.9% All jobs +3.5% - Openings a year
- 5004,300 jobs todayBLS EP, 2025–2035
- Jobs in 20254.3K
- Projected 20353.9K
Employment, 2025–2035 Item Value Jobs in 2025 4.3K Projected 2035 3.9K - Typical education
- High schoolneeded to enterBLS EP, 2025–2035; mix: O*NET
Also advertised as: Bucker, Cutter Operator, Feller, Logger, Sawyer, Timber Cutter.
Pay
How much do Fallers make?
Every faller in the US, by percentile of annual wage
Median
$52,100
Middle half earn $41,360 to $63,390
- 10th
- $35,180
- 25th
- $41,360
- 75th
- $63,390
- 90th
- $82,360
All US occupations: $50,980
| Percentile | Value |
|---|---|
| 10th | $35,180 |
| 25th | $41,360 |
| Median | $52,100 |
| 75th | $63,390 |
| 90th | $82,360 |
| All US occupations | $50,980 |
Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025
- Median annual wage
- $52,100
- Median hourly wage
- $25.05/hr
- Mean annual wage
- $57,110
- People employed
- 3,130
Versus all US occupations
At $52,100, the median for Fallers sits in line with the $50,980 median across all US occupations.
Versus farming, fishing, and forestry occupations
Inside the Farming, Fishing, and Forestry group, where the middle occupation pays $45,005, this is 16% above the group median.
Pay range
The top 10% earn $82,360 or more while the bottom 10% earn $35,180, a gap of 2.3×. That is a typical spread for a US occupation.
Rank in the bank
This median pays more than 25% of the 1,741 occupations in the NueCareer career bank.
Cost of living
Oregon posts the highest raw median ($84,490), but once local prices are taken into account Idaho leads at $82,026 in national-average dollars.
Pay by state
Which states pay Fallers the most?
State medians come from the same OEWS release as the national figures. The cost-of-living column divides each state median by that state's BEA Regional Price Parity, restating pay in national-average dollars so a high-cost state and a low-cost one can be compared directly.
| State | Median | COL-adjusted | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Oregon | $84,490 | $81,743 | 180 |
| 2Idaho | $78,330 | $82,026 | 190 |
| 3Washington | $77,340 | $72,272 | N/A |
| 4South Carolina | $76,350 | $81,441 | 130 |
| 5Arkansas | $67,060 | $77,136 | N/A |
| 6Louisiana | $62,040 | $70,335 | 200 |
| 7California | $59,590 | $53,820 | 260 |
| 8Maryland | $58,300 | $55,545 | 60 |
| 9Mississippi | $54,110 | $62,229 | 140 |
| 10Michigan | $51,700 | $53,733 | 410 |
Job outlook
Is Faller a growing career?
Employment change over 2025–2035, against every US occupation
Declining. -9.9% projected growth vs 3.5% for all occupations.
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Fallers | −9.9% |
| All US occupations | +3.5% |
Source: BLS EP, 2025–2035
Declining
BLS projects employment of Fallers to change -9.9% over 2025–2035, while total US employment is projected to rise 3.5%. That is 400 fewer jobs.
Annual openings
About 500 openings are projected each year, 11.6% of the 4,300 jobs that existed in 2025. Most come from workers leaving the occupation, not from growth alone.
Overall employment of logging workers is projected to grow 5 percent from 2025 to 2035, decline.
Many of those openings are expected to result from the need to replace workers who transfer to different occupations or exit the labor force, such as to retire.
The mechanization of logging operations and improvements in logging equipment have increased productivity, which is expected to reduce demand for logging workers. However, the need to prevent destructive wildfires by thinning susceptible forests is expected to support some employment.
Getting in
How to become a Faller
Logging workers typically need a high school diploma, although some jobs do not require a formal educational credential. These workers get on-the-job training to become familiar with forest environments and to learn how to operate logging machinery.
- 1
Typical entry-level education
High school diploma or equivalent
- 2
Work experience in a related occupation
None
- 3
Typical on-the-job training
Moderate-term on-the-job training
- 4
Preparation needed (O*NET job zone)
Little or no preparation
BLS Employment Projections, 2025–2035; job zone from O*NET 31.0 Database.
Full BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook entryThe work
What does a Faller do?
Use axes or chainsaws to fell trees using knowledge of tree characteristics and cutting techniques to control direction of fall and minimize tree damage.
Some logging workers harvest trees using handheld equipment or large machinery. Others inspect, grade, or estimate the market value of harvested trees, which provide the raw material for consumer and industrial products.
Day-to-day tasks
- Maintain and repair chainsaws and other equipment, cleaning, oiling, and greasing equipment, and sharpening equipment properly.
- Clear brush from work areas and escape routes, and cut saplings and other trees from direction of falls, using axes, chainsaws, or bulldozers.
- Stop saw engines, pull cutting bars from cuts, and run to safety as tree falls.
- Saw back-cuts, leaving sufficient sound wood to control direction of fall.
- Determine position, direction, and depth of cuts to be made, and placement of wedges or jacks.
- Appraise trees for certain characteristics, such as twist, rot, and heavy limb growth, and gauge amount and direction of lean, to determine how to control the direction of a tree's fall with the least damage.
- Assess logs after cutting to ensure that the quality and length are correct.
- Measure felled trees and cut them into specified log lengths, using chain saws and axes.
O*NET core tasks, ordered by reported importance.
Working conditions and hours
Most logging workers are full time, and some work more than 40 hours per week. Work schedules may vary to include early mornings or extended shifts. Workers sometimes commute long distances between their homes and logging sites. Logging work may be seasonal in some regions of the country.
Where the work happens
Indoors, climate-controlled
NeverEvery dayRarely works in a climate-controlled indoor space.
Outdoors in all weather
NeverEvery dayOutdoors in all weather at least weekly.
Physical demands
Sitting
NeverAlmost all the timeStanding
NeverAlmost all the timeOn their feet more than half the working day.
Bending or twisting
NeverAlmost all the timeRegular bending or twisting.
Working with people
Contact with other people
NoneConstantFace-to-face discussions
NeverEvery dayDealing with the public
Not importantExtremely important
Pressure and stakes
Strict deadlines
NeverEvery dayConflict situations
NeverEvery dayCost of a mistake
Not seriousExtremely serious
Autonomy
Freedom to decide
NoneA lotA lot of freedom to make decisions without checking first.
Schedules: BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2025–2035 edition. Conditions: O*NET Work Context survey. Each item has its own scale, so each dot is read against the two answers that end its own line.
Core skills
O*NET importance, 1 to 5
- Critical Thinking3.0
- Monitoring3.0
- Active Listening2.6
- Speaking2.6
- Mathematics2.3
- Active Learning2.3
- Reading Comprehension2.0
- Writing2.0
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Critical Thinking | 3.0 |
| Monitoring | 3.0 |
| Active Listening | 2.6 |
| Speaking | 2.6 |
| Mathematics | 2.3 |
| Active Learning | 2.3 |
| Reading Comprehension | 2.0 |
| Writing | 2.0 |
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database
Transferable skills
O*NET importance, 1 to 5
- Operations Monitoring3.1
- Operation and Control3.1
- Judgment and Decision Making3.0
- Time Management2.9
- Complex Problem Solving2.8
- Equipment Maintenance2.8
- Troubleshooting2.8
- Repairing2.8
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Operations Monitoring | 3.1 |
| Operation and Control | 3.1 |
| Judgment and Decision Making | 3.0 |
| Time Management | 2.9 |
| Complex Problem Solving | 2.8 |
| Equipment Maintenance | 2.8 |
| Troubleshooting | 2.8 |
| Repairing | 2.8 |
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database
Tools and software
- Electronic mail software · in demand
- Office suite software · in demand
- Presentation software · in demand
- Spreadsheet software · in demand
- Word processing software · in demand
- Accounting software
- Analytical or scientific software
- Data base user interface and query software
- Enterprise resource planning ERP software
- Geographic information system
- Inventory management software
“In demand” marks an O*NET Employer-Based Hot Technology, software named in real job postings for this occupation.
Personality fit
What personality type suits a Faller?
O*NET Occupational Interests (RIASEC), scored 1 to 7
| Axis | Faller |
|---|---|
| Realistic | 7 |
| Investigative | 2 |
| Artistic | 1 |
| Social | 2 |
| Enterprising | 2 |
| Conventional | 3 |
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database
What the work is built around
Day to day this is work built around hands-on, practical work with tools, machines or the outdoors, combined with organising, following procedures and working precisely with data.
- Realistic7.0
- Conventional3.3
- Investigative2.5
- Social1.9
- Enterprising1.6
- Artistic1.1
Closest MBTI types
NueCareer fit scores: cosine similarity between each MBTI type's interest vector and this occupation's O*NET interest profile. Not a BLS or O*NET figure; the method is documented on our methodology page.
Explore further
Careers related to Faller
O*NET related occupations
- Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance
- Farming, Fishing, and Forestry
- Farming, Fishing, and Forestry
- Farming, Fishing, and Forestry
- Production
Sawing Machine Setter, Operator, and Tender, Wood
$42,770median a year
Most earn $31K to $58K
−1.0%High school - Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance
Landscaping and Groundskeeping Worker
$39,150median a year
Most earn $31K to $57K
+4.7%No formal credential
More farming, fishing, and forestry careers
Median annual pay, with fallers highlighted
- First-Line Supervisor of Farming, Fishing, and Forestry Workers$59,320
- Cannabis Cultivation Director$59,320
- Faller$52,100
- Animal Breeder$51,130
- Agricultural Inspector$49,940
- Logging Equipment Operator$49,740
- Log Grader and Scaler$46,330
- Agricultural Equipment Operator$41,730
- Farmworker and Laborer, Crop, Nursery, and Greenhouse$35,660
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| First-Line Supervisor of Farming, Fishing, and Forestry Workers | $59,320 |
| Cannabis Cultivation Director | $59,320 |
| Faller | $52,100 |
| Animal Breeder | $51,130 |
| Agricultural Inspector | $49,940 |
| Logging Equipment Operator | $49,740 |
| Log Grader and Scaler | $46,330 |
| Agricultural Equipment Operator | $41,730 |
| Farmworker and Laborer, Crop, Nursery, and Greenhouse | $35,660 |
Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025
Lists Faller appears on
Questions
Faller: frequently asked questions
How much do Fallers make?
Fallers earn a median of $52,100 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025), close to the $50,980 median for all US occupations. That works out at $25.05/hr. The middle half earn between $41,360 and $63,390. The top 10% earn $82,360 or more.
Do you need a degree to become a Faller?
No. A bachelor's degree is not the norm: BLS reports a high school diploma or equivalent as the typical entry-level education for Fallers. BLS also lists moderate-term on-the-job training as typical on-the-job training.
Is Faller a growing career?
No. BLS projects employment to fall 9.9% over 2025–2035, a loss of 400 jobs (BLS EP, 2025–2035). BLS still projects about 500 openings a year, mostly from workers retiring or moving to other work.
What does a Faller do?
Some logging workers harvest trees using handheld equipment or large machinery. A core O*NET task: maintain and repair chainsaws and other equipment, cleaning, oiling, and greasing equipment, and sharpening equipment properly. Employers most often ask for Electronic mail software, Office suite software, Presentation software.
Which states pay Fallers the most?
The highest state medians for Fallers are Oregon ($84,490), Idaho ($78,330), Washington ($77,340) (BLS OEWS, May 2025). Adjusted for local prices using BEA Regional Price Parities, Idaho moves to the top at $82,026.
What personality type suits a Faller?
O*NET scores Fallers highest on the Realistic and Conventional interest areas, so the work mixes hands-on, practical work with tools, machines or the outdoors with organising, following procedures and working precisely with data. On NueCareer's MBTI-to-interest mapping that lines up most closely with ISTJ personalities. Personality is a fit signal, not a gate. The free NueCareer quiz scores your own profile against all 1,731 careers in the bank.