Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2022

51-3021 Butchers and Meat Cutters

Cut, trim, or prepare consumer-sized portions of meat for use or sale in retail establishments.

National estimates for Butchers and Meat Cutters
Industry profile for Butchers and Meat Cutters
Geographic profile for Butchers and Meat Cutters

National estimates for Butchers and Meat Cutters:

Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for Butchers and Meat Cutters:

Employment (1)	Employment RSE (3)	Mean hourly wage	Mean annual wage (2)	Wage RSE (3)
129,400	1.5 %	$ 18.36	$ 38,200	0.4 %

Percentile wage estimates for Butchers and Meat Cutters:

Percentile	10%	25%	50% (Median)	75%	90%
Hourly Wage	$ 12.52	$ 14.53	$ 17.76	$ 21.71	$ 24.61
Annual Wage (2)	$ 26,030	$ 30,210	$ 36,930	$ 45,150	$ 51,180

Industry profile for Butchers and Meat Cutters:

Industries with the highest published employment and wages for Butchers and Meat Cutters are provided. For a list of all industries with employment in Butchers and Meat Cutters, see the Create Customized Tables function.

Industries with the highest levels of employment in Butchers and Meat Cutters:

Industry	Employment (1)	Percent of industry employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Food and Beverage Retailers (4451 and 4452 only)	100,200	3.36	$ 17.75	$ 36,910
General Merchandise Retailers	11,910	0.37	$ 21.91	$ 45,570
Animal Slaughtering and Processing	9,040	1.74	$ 18.89	$ 39,290
Merchant Wholesalers, Nondurable Goods (4244 and 4248 only)	3,510	0.36	$ 19.55	$ 40,660
Restaurants and Other Eating Places	1,870	0.02	$ 20.28	$ 42,180

Industries with the highest concentration of employment in Butchers and Meat Cutters:

Industry	Employment (1)	Percent of industry employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Food and Beverage Retailers (4451 and 4452 only)	100,200	3.36	$ 17.75	$ 36,910
Animal Slaughtering and Processing	9,040	1.74	$ 18.89	$ 39,290
General Merchandise Retailers	11,910	0.37	$ 21.91	$ 45,570
Merchant Wholesalers, Nondurable Goods (4244 and 4248 only)	3,510	0.36	$ 19.55	$ 40,660
Other Food Manufacturing	120	0.05	$ 17.34	$ 36,070

Top paying industries for Butchers and Meat Cutters:

Industry	Employment (1)	Percent of industry employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Management of Companies and Enterprises	90	(7)	$ 26.18	$ 54,460
Federal Executive Branch (OEWS Designation)	1,090	0.05	$ 25.12	$ 52,240
Traveler Accommodation	170	0.01	$ 23.80	$ 49,500
General Merchandise Retailers	11,910	0.37	$ 21.91	$ 45,570
Restaurants and Other Eating Places	1,870	0.02	$ 20.28	$ 42,180

Geographic profile for Butchers and Meat Cutters:

States and areas with the highest published employment, location quotients, and wages for Butchers and Meat Cutters are provided. For a list of all areas with employment in Butchers and Meat Cutters, see the Create Customized Tables function.

Map of employment of butchers and meat cutters by state, May 2022

States with the highest employment level in Butchers and Meat Cutters:

State	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
California	19,360	1.10	1.25	$ 19.94	$ 41,480
Illinois	8,950	1.52	1.74	$ 17.99	$ 37,420
Texas	8,860	0.68	0.78	$ 17.28	$ 35,940
Florida	8,620	0.94	1.07	$ 18.91	$ 39,320
New York	6,890	0.76	0.86	$ 20.29	$ 42,190

Map of location quotient of butchers and meat cutters by state, May 2022

States with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Butchers and Meat Cutters:

State	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Iowa	3,140	2.07	2.36	$ 15.18	$ 31,570
South Dakota	700	1.60	1.83	$ 16.24	$ 33,780
Illinois	8,950	1.52	1.74	$ 17.99	$ 37,420
Montana	740	1.51	1.73	$ 18.56	$ 38,600
Rhode Island	680	1.42	1.62	$ 17.64	$ 36,680

Map of annual mean wages of butchers and meat cutters by state, May 2022

Top paying states for Butchers and Meat Cutters:

State	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Hawaii	380	0.63	0.72	$ 23.54	$ 48,960
Alaska	200	0.66	0.75	$ 23.17	$ 48,190
Massachusetts	1,850	0.52	0.59	$ 23.06	$ 47,970
Delaware	140	0.32	0.36	$ 22.90	$ 47,620
Washington	2,830	0.83	0.95	$ 22.23	$ 46,250

Map of employment of butchers and meat cutters by area, May 2022

Metropolitan areas with the highest employment level in Butchers and Meat Cutters:

Metropolitan area	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA	7,430	0.81	0.93	$ 21.98	$ 45,710
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA	7,070	1.16	1.33	$ 18.75	$ 39,010
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI	6,960	1.58	1.80	$ 18.19	$ 37,840
San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA	2,540	1.06	1.21	$ 22.65	$ 47,110
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX	2,330	0.76	0.87	$ 17.65	$ 36,710
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA	2,260	0.83	0.95	$ 16.57	$ 34,470
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL	2,190	0.83	0.95	$ 19.12	$ 39,770
Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA	2,100	1.28	1.47	$ 18.55	$ 38,580
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD	1,860	0.67	0.77	$ 19.98	$ 41,560
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX	1,820	0.48	0.55	$ 17.03	$ 35,420

Map of location quotient of butchers and meat cutters by area, May 2022

Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Butchers and Meat Cutters:

Metropolitan area	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Logan, UT-ID	220	3.30	3.77	$ 19.57	$ 40,710
Grants Pass, OR	90	3.16	3.61	$ 17.03	$ 35,410
Merced, CA	220	2.86	3.27	$ 19.67	$ 40,910
Harrisonburg, VA	160	2.55	2.92	$ 16.27	$ 33,840
St. Joseph, MO-KS	130	2.47	2.82	$ 19.19	$ 39,920
Ocean City, NJ	90	2.34	2.67	$ 19.55	$ 40,660
Sheboygan, WI	130	2.29	2.62	$ 18.20	$ 37,860
Twin Falls, ID	110	2.27	2.60	$ 17.27	$ 35,930
St. Cloud, MN	220	2.21	2.53	$ 19.79	$ 41,150
Hanford-Corcoran, CA	90	2.13	2.44	$ 21.07	$ 43,820