What is the typical salary range for a Butchers and Meat Cutters?

Pay typically falls between $36,500 and $50,000 per year depending on experience, location, industry, and organization size.

Butchers and Meat Cutters Salary: $44,000 Average

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Average base salary

$44,000 / year

≈ $3,650 per month · $21.15 per hour

LocationOr metro area

25th percentile
$36,500Average
$44,00075th percentile
$50,000

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, aged to 2026 using compounded market movement. State selections show BLS state-level figures where published. Actual pay varies with experience, industry, and organization size.

Butchers and Meat Cutters salary by state

Alabama$38,500

Alaska$53,500

Arizona$47,000

Arkansas$36,000

California$48,500

Colorado$48,500

Connecticut$47,500

Delaware$49,500

District of Columbia$51,000

Florida$43,000

Georgia$40,500

Hawaii$52,500

Idaho$42,000

Illinois$43,500

Indiana$44,500

Iowa$40,000

Kansas$40,500

Kentucky$36,500

Louisiana$38,000

Maine$44,000

Maryland$45,500

Massachusetts$51,000

Michigan$42,500

Minnesota$46,500

Mississippi$34,000

Missouri$42,000

Montana$44,000

Nebraska$41,500

Nevada$44,000

New Hampshire$50,000

New Jersey$47,000

New Mexico$41,500

New York$51,000

North Carolina$41,000

North Dakota$42,500

Ohio$40,000

Oklahoma$36,500

Oregon$51,500

Pennsylvania$43,000

Rhode Island$48,000

South Carolina$42,000

South Dakota$42,500

Tennessee$41,000

Texas$39,500

Utah$44,000

Vermont$46,500

Virginia$43,000

Washington$54,500

West Virginia$34,500

Wisconsin$46,000

Wyoming$46,500

About this role

Butchers and Meat Cutters is a professional role within the function in the Production job family.

Pay for this title reflects both its level and its scope; see our Title Level and Organization Responsibility guides for how WePayFairly defines them.

What Butchers and Meat Cutterss do

Typical education: High School Diploma

Prepare and place meat cuts and products in display counter to appear attractive and catch the shopper's eye.
Wrap, weigh, label, and price cuts of meat.
Cut, trim, bone, tie, and grind meats, such as beef, pork, poultry, and fish, to prepare in cooking form.
Prepare special cuts of meat ordered by customers.
Receive, inspect, and store meat upon delivery to ensure meat quality.

Top skills: Active Listening Time Management Speaking Social Perceptiveness Service Orientation Reading Comprehension

Includes information from O*NET OnLine by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (CC BY 4.0).

Butchers and Meat Cutters pay by experience level

Entry level$30,500

Typical starting pay (about the 10th percentile)

Early career$37,000

A few years in (about the 25th percentile)

Experienced$41,500

Mid-career median pay

Senior$49,500

Seasoned professionals (about the 75th percentile)

Top earners$60,000

Highest earners (about the 90th percentile)

Experience tiers are derived from the BLS wage percentile distribution for this occupation, aged to 2026. Actual pay varies by employer, location, and specialization.

Job outlook

+1%

projected change in jobs, 2024–2034

16,900

projected openings per year

Growing slower than average

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections program (2024–2034). Openings include growth and replacement needs.

Butchers and Meat Cutters salary by industry

Food and Beverage Retailers

103,440 workers

$42,500

Food and Beverage Retailers (4451 and 4452 only)

103,420 workers

$42,500

General Merchandise Retailers

12,650 workers

$52,500

Food Manufacturing

12,620 workers

$44,000

Animal Slaughtering and Processing

12,070 workers

$44,000

Merchant Wholesalers, Nondurable Goods

3,840 workers

$46,000

Merchant Wholesalers, Nondurable Goods (4244 and 4248 only)

3,810 workers

$46,000

Food Services and Drinking Places

2,150 workers

$42,500

Restaurants and Other Eating Places

2,110 workers

$42,500

Federal, State, and Local Government, excluding State and Local Schools and Hospitals and USPS

1,080 workers

$62,000

National sector-level figures, BLS OEWS May 2025, aged to 2026.

How this role compares

Butchers and Meat Cutters pays 21% below the average across 112 roles in the Production job family (family average $56,000).

Similar-paying roles in Production

Food Cooking Machine Operators and Tenders$44,000

Slaughterers and Meat Packers$43,500

Ophthalmic Laboratory Technician$44,500

Sawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Wood$45,000

Cutters and Trimmers, Hand$42,500

Food Batchmaker$45,500

Textile Knitting and Weaving Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders$42,000

Production Workers, All Other$46,000

Food Processing Workers, All Other$41,500

Cooling and Freezing Equipment Operators and Tenders$46,500

Careers related to Butchers and Meat Cutters

Meat, Poultry, and Fish Cutters and Trimmers$40,500

Cooks, Restaurant$40,000

Food Preparation Worker$36,500

Slaughterers and Meat Packers$43,500

Cooks, Short Order$37,500

Baker$40,000

Related occupations from O*NET OnLine, U.S. Department of Labor.

Frequently asked questions

How much does a Butchers and Meat Cutters make?

The average base salary for a Butchers and Meat Cutters in the United States is $44,000 per year, or about $21.15 per hour.

What is the typical salary range?

Pay typically falls between $36,500 and $50,000 per year (25th to 75th percentile) depending on experience, location, industry, and organization size.

How does this compare with other Production roles?

The Production job family averages $56,000 across 112 roles tracked by WePayFairly.

Need a defensible market price for this role?
WePayFairly data is compiled from published survey sources and maintained by compensation professionals.

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