This work presents a statistical analysis of wage indicators of agricultural enterprises for the period from 2012 to 2023, an analysis of data for different categories of personnel based on one-time sample surveys of Rosstat. The objective of the study is to analyze wages as the basis for material motivation of agricultural employees in Russia. The authors revealed a trend of decreasing overdue wage arrears in the industry, a positive impact of the state policy on agricultural development, including wage growth. It is worth noting that the agricultural sector requires not only an increase in the level of employee wages to improve the efficiency of human resources, but also comprehensive proposals to improve living conditions in villages, form new values and develop non-material incentives to increase labor motivation. Scientific novelty lies in identifying patterns of changes in the level of wages of agricultural employees by various criteria. A number of economic initiatives are proposed that will have a positive impact on increasing the motivation of agricultural employees.