• Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics

Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2023

51-3021 Butchers and Meat Cutters

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

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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)
136,330	1.3 %	$ 19.08	$ 39,680	0.4 %

Percentile wage estimates for Butchers and Meat Cutters:

Percentile	10%	25%	50% (Median)	75%	90%
Hourly Wage	$ 13.22	$ 15.50	$ 18.10	$ 22.12	$ 26.25
Annual Wage (2)	$ 27,500	$ 32,240	$ 37,650	$ 46,020	$ 54,600

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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)	100,880	3.32	$ 18.55	$ 38,580
General Merchandise Retailers	13,950	0.43	$ 22.08	$ 45,930
Animal Slaughtering and Processing	11,770	2.17	$ 19.43	$ 40,420
Merchant Wholesalers, Nondurable Goods (4244 and 4248 only)	4,550	0.45	$ 19.40	$ 40,360
Restaurants and Other Eating Places	2,570	0.02	$ 17.92	$ 37,280

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)	100,880	3.32	$ 18.55	$ 38,580
Animal Slaughtering and Processing	11,770	2.17	$ 19.43	$ 40,420
Merchant Wholesalers, Nondurable Goods (4244 and 4248 only)	4,550	0.45	$ 19.40	$ 40,360
General Merchandise Retailers	13,950	0.43	$ 22.08	$ 45,930
Animal Food Manufacturing	110	0.15	$ 17.75	$ 36,930

Top paying industries for Butchers and Meat Cutters:

Industry	Employment (1)	Percent of industry employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Federal, State, and Local Government, excluding State and Local Government Schools and Hospitals and the U.S. Postal Service (OEWS Designation)	1,110	0.05	$ 26.17	$ 54,430
Traveler Accommodation	230	0.01	$ 25.74	$ 53,530
Management of Companies and Enterprises	130	(7)	$ 24.29	$ 50,530
General Merchandise Retailers	13,950	0.43	$ 22.08	$ 45,930
Warehousing and Storage	160	0.01	$ 20.55	$ 42,740

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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.

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	19,990	1.11	1.24	$ 20.65	$ 42,940
Texas	10,780	0.80	0.89	$ 17.66	$ 36,740
Florida	10,440	1.09	1.22	$ 18.85	$ 39,210
Illinois	9,110	1.52	1.69	$ 18.58	$ 38,650
New York	5,730	0.61	0.68	$ 22.09	$ 45,940

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	3,560	2.30	2.56	$ 16.56	$ 34,440
Montana	840	1.67	1.86	$ 18.97	$ 39,460
Illinois	9,110	1.52	1.69	$ 18.58	$ 38,650
Vermont	420	1.39	1.55	$ 20.19	$ 42,000
Nevada	1,930	1.30	1.45	$ 18.02	$ 37,480

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	390	0.64	0.71	$ 24.46	$ 50,880
New Jersey	3,780	0.90	1.00	$ 23.91	$ 49,730
Massachusetts	1,700	0.47	0.52	$ 23.90	$ 49,710
Washington	2,500	0.72	0.80	$ 23.58	$ 49,050
Delaware	150	0.32	0.36	$ 23.25	$ 48,350

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)
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI	7,350	1.63	1.82	$ 18.78	$ 39,070
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA	6,770	1.09	1.22	$ 20.09	$ 41,780
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA	6,470	0.68	0.76	$ 23.87	$ 49,660
San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA	3,030	1.25	1.40	$ 21.80	$ 45,330
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL	2,970	1.09	1.22	$ 18.24	$ 37,940
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX	2,720	0.69	0.76	$ 17.32	$ 36,020
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX	2,640	0.83	0.92	$ 18.19	$ 37,830
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD	2,210	0.78	0.87	$ 20.16	$ 41,940
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA	1,870	0.66	0.74	$ 17.91	$ 37,240
Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA	1,840	1.11	1.24	$ 19.75	$ 41,070

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)
Hanford-Corcoran, CA	220	4.78	5.33	$ 19.47	$ 40,500
Sheboygan, WI	200	3.39	3.78	$ 18.26	$ 37,980
Sioux City, IA-NE-SD	270	3.09	3.44	$ 16.72	$ 34,770
Logan, UT-ID	200	3.04	3.39	$ 21.37	$ 44,460
Twin Falls, ID	140	2.93	3.27	$ 17.25	$ 35,890
Grants Pass, OR	80	2.79	3.10	$ 18.09	$ 37,620
Ames, IA	130	2.70	3.01	$ 16.57	$ 34,470
Merced, CA	200	2.62	2.92	$ 19.18	$ 39,890
St. Joseph, MO-KS	130	2.47	2.75	$ 20.38	$ 42,390
Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA	190	2.25	2.51	$ 16.73	$ 34,800