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Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics

Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2020

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)
142,220 3.0 % $ 16.65 $ 34,630 0.8 %

Percentile wage estimates for Butchers and Meat Cutters:

Percentile 10% 25% 50%
(Median)
75% 90%
Hourly Wage $ 10.68 $ 12.96 $ 15.82 $ 19.68 $ 24.25
Annual Wage (2) $ 22,210 $ 26,950 $ 32,900 $ 40,930 $ 50,440


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 Stores (4451 and 4452 only) 116,060 3.99 $ 16.47 $ 34,250
Animal Slaughtering and Processing 8,960 1.68 $ 16.06 $ 33,400
General Merchandise Stores 8,170 0.27 $ 18.91 $ 39,330
Merchant Wholesalers, Nondurable Goods (4244 and 4248 only) 4,770 0.50 $ 17.24 $ 35,860
Restaurants and Other Eating Places 1,560 0.02 $ 14.99 $ 31,170

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 Stores (4451 and 4452 only) 116,060 3.99 $ 16.47 $ 34,250
Animal Slaughtering and Processing 8,960 1.68 $ 16.06 $ 33,400
Merchant Wholesalers, Nondurable Goods (4244 and 4248 only) 4,770 0.50 $ 17.24 $ 35,860
General Merchandise Stores 8,170 0.27 $ 18.91 $ 39,330
Other Food Manufacturing 190 0.08 $ 14.31 $ 29,750

Top paying industries for Butchers and Meat Cutters:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Federal Executive Branch (OEWS Designation) 1,160 0.06 $ 23.73 $ 49,360
Traveler Accommodation 130 0.01 $ 20.41 $ 42,450
General Merchandise Stores 8,170 0.27 $ 18.91 $ 39,330
Direct Selling Establishments 40 0.03 $ 18.65 $ 38,780
Local Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OEWS Designation) 50 (7) $ 18.36 $ 38,180


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.





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 25,900 1.58 1.54 $ 17.38 $ 36,140
Texas 14,270 1.18 1.15 $ 14.02 $ 29,150
New York 10,650 1.22 1.20 $ 16.76 $ 34,850
Florida 8,500 1.01 0.99 $ 16.99 $ 35,340
Illinois 6,660 1.18 1.16 $ 16.20 $ 33,700




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 2,630 1.79 1.75 $ 13.85 $ 28,800
California 25,900 1.58 1.54 $ 17.38 $ 36,140
Montana 710 1.57 1.53 $ 16.41 $ 34,120
Maine 790 1.37 1.34 $ 17.86 $ 37,150
New York 10,650 1.22 1.20 $ 16.76 $ 34,850




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)
Alaska 150 0.52 0.51 $ 23.78 $ 49,460
Massachusetts 2,040 0.61 0.60 $ 23.06 $ 47,950
District of Columbia 190 0.28 0.27 $ 22.82 $ 47,470
New Jersey 2,980 0.79 0.77 $ 22.48 $ 46,750
Connecticut 960 0.63 0.61 $ 21.57 $ 44,880





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)
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA 11,840 2.03 1.99 $ 16.63 $ 34,600
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA 10,150 1.15 1.12 $ 17.35 $ 36,080
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI 5,120 1.17 1.15 $ 16.69 $ 34,710
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX 3,970 1.11 1.08 $ 12.84 $ 26,710
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX 3,060 1.03 1.01 $ 13.50 $ 28,090
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA 3,000 1.14 1.12 $ 13.96 $ 29,030
San Diego-Carlsbad, CA 2,580 1.84 1.80 $ 16.48 $ 34,280
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL 2,270 0.91 0.89 $ 16.28 $ 33,860
Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI 2,170 1.22 1.19 $ 15.82 $ 32,910
San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA 2,130 0.91 0.89 $ 19.80 $ 41,170




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)
Corpus Christi, TX 490 2.72 2.66 $ 13.66 $ 28,420
Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA 760 2.55 2.49 $ 16.78 $ 34,910
Sioux City, IA-NE-SD 190 2.39 2.33 $ 12.74 $ 26,500
Hattiesburg, MS 140 2.31 2.26 $ 12.96 $ 26,960
Merced, CA 160 2.22 2.17 $ 16.81 $ 34,970
Jackson, MI 100 2.20 2.16 $ 13.82 $ 28,740
Hanford-Corcoran, CA 90 2.20 2.15 $ 16.39 $ 34,100
Monroe, LA 150 2.14 2.09 $ 12.90 $ 26,830
Niles-Benton Harbor, MI 120 2.11 2.06 $ 17.20 $ 35,770
Danville, IL 50 2.10 2.05 $ 16.22 $ 33,740




Top paying metropolitan areas for Butchers and Meat Cutters:

Metropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Fairbanks, AK 30 1.02 0.99 $ 23.75 $ 49,400
East Stroudsburg, PA 50 1.05 1.02 $ 23.69 $ 49,280
Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH 1,570 0.60 0.59 $ 23.25 $ 48,350
Vineland-Bridgeton, NJ (8) (8) (8) $ 22.84 $ 47,520
Urban Honolulu, HI 280 0.67 0.66 $ 22.83 $ 47,480
Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT 170 0.46 0.45 $ 22.79 $ 47,400
Anchorage, AK 90 0.54 0.53 $ 22.78 $ 47,370
Bremerton-Silverdale, WA (8) (8) (8) $ 22.56 $ 46,930
Springfield, MA-CT (8) (8) (8) $ 22.45 $ 46,700
New Haven, CT (8) (8) (8) $ 22.36 $ 46,510

Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest employment in Butchers and Meat Cutters:

Nonmetropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Kansas nonmetropolitan area 420 1.12 1.09 $ 13.88 $ 28,870
West Central Illinois nonmetropolitan area 380 2.30 2.25 $ 13.08 $ 27,200
Southeast Minnesota nonmetropolitan area 340 2.26 2.21 $ 13.47 $ 28,020
North Valley-Northern Mountains Region of California nonmetropolitan area 320 3.34 3.27 $ 15.85 $ 32,960
Southwest Maine nonmetropolitan area 320 1.76 1.72 $ 16.69 $ 34,720

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

Nonmetropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
North Valley-Northern Mountains Region of California nonmetropolitan area 320 3.34 3.27 $ 15.85 $ 32,960
West Montana nonmetropolitan area 240 3.22 3.15 $ 16.74 $ 34,820
Southwest Iowa nonmetropolitan area 240 3.01 2.95 $ 13.78 $ 28,660
North Florida nonmetropolitan area 320 2.69 2.63 $ 13.88 $ 28,860
Southwest Louisiana nonmetropolitan area 180 2.68 2.63 $ 11.40 $ 23,700

Top paying nonmetropolitan areas for Butchers and Meat Cutters:

Nonmetropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Alaska nonmetropolitan area 30 0.32 0.32 $ 26.58 $ 55,280
South Florida nonmetropolitan area 50 0.64 0.62 $ 22.41 $ 46,610
Central East New York nonmetropolitan area 110 0.72 0.71 $ 20.97 $ 43,610
Eastern Wyoming nonmetropolitan area 40 0.46 0.45 $ 20.33 $ 42,290
Nevada nonmetropolitan area 60 0.70 0.69 $ 20.00 $ 41,590


About May 2020 National, State, Metropolitan, and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

These estimates are calculated with data collected from employers in all industry sectors, all metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas, and all states and the District of Columbia. The top employment and wage figures are provided above. The complete list is available in the downloadable XLS files.

The percentile wage estimate is the value of a wage below which a certain percent of workers fall. The median wage is the 50th percentile wage estimate—50 percent of workers earn less than the median and 50 percent of workers earn more than the median. More about percentile wages.


(1) Estimates for detailed occupations do not sum to the totals because the totals include occupations not shown separately. Estimates do not include self-employed workers.

(2) Annual wages have been calculated by multiplying the hourly mean wage by a "year-round, full-time" hours figure of 2,080 hours; for those occupations where there is not an hourly wage published, the annual wage has been directly calculated from the reported survey data.

(3) The relative standard error (RSE) is a measure of the reliability of a survey statistic. The smaller the relative standard error, the more precise the estimate.

(7) The value is less than .005 percent of industry employment.

(8) Estimate not released.

(9) The location quotient is the ratio of the area concentration of occupational employment to the national average concentration. A location quotient greater than one indicates the occupation has a higher share of employment than average, and a location quotient less than one indicates the occupation is less prevalent in the area than average.


Other OEWS estimates and related information:

May 2020 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2020 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2020 Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2020 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2020 Occupation Profiles

Technical Notes

 

Last Modified Date: March 31, 2021