Butchers and Meat Cutters Salary - BLS OEWS Wage Benchmarks
SOC 51-3021 · National · May 2025 OEWS Data
Median Annual Salary
$40,144
$19.30/hr
Verified BLS OEWS data · Updated May 18, 2026
Is this a competitive Butchers and Meat Cutters salary in 2026?
Based on BLS OEWS wage percentiles, JOLTS June 2026 demand signals, and ECI Q2 2026 wage growth.
$Competitive · ~P50
P10$29K
P25$36K
P50$40K
P75$48K
P90$58K
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Demand: STABLE. Demand is stable -- manufacturing openings are at 3.7% (JOLTS, June 2026). A standard market: pay near the median, no urgency premium needed.
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Merit budget: Wages in manufacturing are rising about 3.3% a year (BLS ECI, Q2 2026). Budget a 2.9-3.4% merit increase to hold this role at market.
Our read
For a competitive 2026 offer, target $40,144 to $48,048 (market median to the 75th percentile). Anchor on the median.
Figures are market benchmarks from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics; apply professional judgment before making pay decisions.
How Butchers and Meat Cutters pay is moving in 2026
Trend, demand, and spread context from BLS OEWS, JOLTS, and ECI
Pay trend
Median pay for this role rose 3.0% between the May 2024 and May 2025 BLS surveys, roughly in line with the 3.3% wage growth of Manufacturing (BLS ECI).
Hiring demand · STABLE
Manufacturing is running a 3.7% job-openings rate with quits at 1.5% (BLS JOLTS). The openings rate has drifted up from 3.4% to 3.7% over the past quarter.
Pay spread
Top earners (P90) make about 2.0 times what entry-level (P10) workers make in this role. That spread is in the typical range for U.S. occupations; standard 80% to 120% pay bands around the median work well.
What changed recently
Aug 4, 2026JOLTS June 2026: sector openings eased to 3.7%, with nondurable goods driving the pullback. Quits steady at 1.5%.
Commentary is generated from published BLS figures (OEWS May 2025 vs May 2024, JOLTS June 2026, ECI Q2 2026) and refreshed each release. It is interpretation, not a BLS product.
Source: BLS OEWS · Published May 15, 2026
Next refresh: May 2027
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The national median salary for Butchers and Meat Cutters is $40,144 per year ($19.30/hr) according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, May 2025. The middle 50% of earners make between $35,506 and $48,048 annually. Top earners at the 90th percentile reach $58,115 per year. There are approximately 136,430 butchers and meat cutters employed in the United States.
About This Role
BLS Standard Occupational Classification 2018
Cut, trim, or prepare consumer-sized portions of meat for use or sale in retail establishments.
Career Outlook
BLS Employment Projections · 2024-2034
10-year growth
+1.0%
About as fast as average
Annual openings
17K
per year, on avg
Workforce today
143K
as of 2024
Why those openings exist
1% from new growth99% from people leaving the role
Most openings come from replacement, not growth. Retention matters more than recruiting here.
Typical entry requirements
Education
No formal educational credential
Experience
None
On-the-job training
Long-term on-the-job training
Industry Wage Breakdown
Top 5 industries by employment · median annual wage, sector-specific
Industry
Workforce
Median Pay
Food and Beverage Retailers (4451 and 4452 only)
NAICS 4450A1
103K
$38,630
General Merchandise Retailers
NAICS 455000
13K
$47,240
Animal Slaughtering and Processing
NAICS 311600
12K
$41,220
Merchant Wholesalers, Nondurable Goods (4244 and 4248 only)
NAICS 4240A1
4K
$43,170
Restaurants and Other Eating Places
NAICS 722500
2K
$40,830
Wage range across top 5 industries: $38,630 to $47,240 (22% spread)
Wage Percentiles
Hourly & annualized (2,080 hours)
Percentile
Hourly Rate
Annual Salary
P10
$14.17
$29,474
P25
$17.07
$35,506
P50MEDIAN
$19.30
$40,144
P75
$23.10
$48,048
P90
$27.94
$58,115
Market Context Signal
JOLTS · manufacturing sector
Stable
Openings Rate
3.7%
Quits Rate
1.5%
Manufacturing openings eased to 481K (-36K) in June, rate 3.7%, with nondurable goods driving the pullback (-55K). Quits held at 1.5%. The sector remains stable.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the average butchers and meat cutters salary?
The national median salary for Butchers and Meat Cutters is $40,144 per year ($19.30/hr) according to BLS OEWS May 2025 data. The middle 50% earn between $35,506 and $48,048 annually.
How much do top-earning butchers and meat cutters make?
The 90th percentile salary for Butchers and Meat Cutters is $58,115 per year ($27.94/hr). The 75th percentile is $48,048 per year.
What is the entry-level salary for butchers and meat cutters?
Entry-level Butchers and Meat Cutters (10th percentile) earn approximately $29,474 per year ($14.17/hr). The 25th percentile is $35,506 per year.
Wage figures on this page come from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, May 2025 release. OEWS surveys roughly 1.1 million establishments annually. It is the most comprehensive employer-reported wage dataset in the United States.
P10 through P90 percentiles represent the wage distribution across all surveyed employers (not self-reported by workers). Geographic adjustments use BLS-derived cost multipliers calibrated from regional wage variation.
Wages are estimates. Individual compensation depends on experience, education, employer size, industry, and negotiation. Use this as benchmark context, not absolute ground truth.
CompSignal is a free labor market intelligence tool built for HR, compensation, and talent acquisition teams. We make BLS data, the same primary source Mercer and Radford cross-reference in their paid surveys, searchable and actionable without an enterprise subscription.
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