Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2017

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 this occupation
Industry profile for this occupation
Geographic profile for this occupation

National estimates for this occupation: Top

Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for this occupation:

Employment (1) Employment
RSE (3)
Mean hourly
wage
Mean annual
wage (2)
Wage RSE (3)
131,530 1.8 % $15.66 $32,570 0.5 %

Percentile wage estimates for this occupation:

Percentile 10% 25% 50%
(Median)
75% 90%
Hourly Wage $9.80 $11.51 $14.85 $18.90 $23.34
Annual Wage (2) $20,370 $23,940 $30,890 $39,300 $48,550


Industry profile for this occupation: Top

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

Industries with the highest levels of employment in this occupation:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Food and Beverage Stores (4451 and 4452 only) 105,310 3.60 $15.45 $32,130
Animal Slaughtering and Processing 9,080 1.80 $15.19 $31,590
General Merchandise Stores 7,830 0.24 $18.50 $38,480
Merchant Wholesalers, Nondurable Goods (4244 and 4248 only) 5,080 0.54 $15.45 $32,130
Restaurants and Other Eating Places 1,950 0.02 $14.38 $29,910

Industries with the highest concentration of employment in this occupation:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Food and Beverage Stores (4451 and 4452 only) 105,310 3.60 $15.45 $32,130
Animal Slaughtering and Processing 9,080 1.80 $15.19 $31,590
Merchant Wholesalers, Nondurable Goods (4244 and 4248 only) 5,080 0.54 $15.45 $32,130
General Merchandise Stores 7,830 0.24 $18.50 $38,480
Federal Executive Branch (OES Designation) 1,290 0.06 $21.98 $45,710

Top paying industries for this occupation:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Federal Executive Branch (OES Designation) 1,290 0.06 $21.98 $45,710
Traveler Accommodation 180 0.01 $18.96 $39,430
General Merchandise Stores 7,830 0.24 $18.50 $38,480
Local Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OES Designation) 50 (7) $16.32 $33,950
Management of Companies and Enterprises 70 (7) $15.86 $33,000


Geographic profile for this occupation: Top

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





States with the highest employment level in this occupation:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
California 19,280 1.15 1.25 $15.58 $32,410
Texas 9,980 0.84 0.91 $13.50 $28,070
Florida 9,600 1.14 1.24 $14.63 $30,430
Illinois 8,100 1.37 1.48 $15.21 $31,640
New York 6,050 0.66 0.71 $17.86 $37,150




States with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in this occupation:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Iowa 3,190 2.08 2.25 $12.44 $25,860
South Dakota 700 1.66 1.80 $14.61 $30,380
Idaho 1,120 1.63 1.76 $15.27 $31,770
Montana 680 1.48 1.60 $15.18 $31,560
Illinois 8,100 1.37 1.48 $15.21 $31,640




Top paying States for this occupation:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Alaska 280 0.90 0.97 $21.65 $45,030
Connecticut 680 0.41 0.44 $21.45 $44,620
North Dakota 510 1.23 1.33 $21.42 $44,560
District of Columbia (8) (8) (8) $21.40 $44,520
Hawaii 590 0.94 1.02 $19.90 $41,390



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Metropolitan areas with the highest employment level in this occupation:

Metropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Chicago-Naperville-Arlington Heights, IL Metropolitan Division 5,720 1.56 1.69 $15.43 $32,090
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, CA Metropolitan Division 5,600 1.26 1.37 $14.40 $29,940
New York-Jersey City-White Plains, NY-NJ Metropolitan Division 4,320 0.65 0.70 $18.79 $39,090
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX 2,920 1.00 1.08 $13.31 $27,690
Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA 2,030 1.41 1.53 $16.71 $34,760
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA 1,980 0.76 0.82 $14.84 $30,880
Oakland-Hayward-Berkeley, CA Metropolitan Division 1,620 1.42 1.54 $16.06 $33,400
Miami-Miami Beach-Kendall, FL Metropolitan Division 1,510 1.33 1.44 $13.54 $28,170
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metropolitan Division 1,490 0.59 0.64 $19.05 $39,620
San Diego-Carlsbad, CA 1,460 1.02 1.10 $14.37 $29,900


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Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in this occupation:

Metropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
The Villages, FL 100 3.96 4.29 $13.73 $28,550
St. Joseph, MO-KS 160 3.08 3.34 $14.34 $29,830
Longview, WA 110 2.86 3.10 $19.09 $39,710
Dothan, AL 150 2.72 2.95 $16.16 $33,610
Merced, CA 180 2.54 2.76 $14.13 $29,390
Yuma, AZ 150 2.53 2.75 $15.11 $31,440
El Centro, CA 150 2.49 2.70 $12.98 $27,000
Lebanon, PA 120 2.46 2.67 $15.68 $32,610
Santa Rosa, CA 500 2.45 2.66 $15.02 $31,250
Yakima, WA 210 2.33 2.52 $18.50 $38,470


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Top paying metropolitan areas for this occupation:

Metropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
New Bedford, MA 30 0.49 0.53 $25.36 $52,760
Sheboygan, WI 70 1.29 1.40 $25.12 $52,240
Taunton-Middleborough-Norton, MA NECTA Division (8) (8) (8) $24.82 $51,630
Lowell-Billerica-Chelmsford, MA-NH NECTA Division 50 0.31 0.34 $23.97 $49,860
Norwich-New London-Westerly, CT-RI 60 0.50 0.54 $23.48 $48,840
Anchorage, AK 160 0.90 0.97 $22.88 $47,590
Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT 160 0.39 0.42 $22.61 $47,030
Hanford-Corcoran, CA 50 1.15 1.25 $22.37 $46,520
Kingston, NY 60 0.93 1.01 $22.04 $45,850
Racine, WI 50 0.65 0.71 $21.90 $45,550

Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest employment in this occupation:

Nonmetropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Southeast Coastal North Carolina nonmetropolitan area 540 2.16 2.34 $12.83 $26,690
Balance of Lower Peninsula of Michigan nonmetropolitan area 470 1.67 1.81 $13.64 $28,380
Southeast Iowa nonmetropolitan area 420 1.86 2.02 $11.79 $24,520
South Georgia nonmetropolitan area 370 2.03 2.20 $11.44 $23,790
Northwest Iowa nonmetropolitan area 370 2.73 2.96 $12.59 $26,180

Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in this occupation:

Nonmetropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Southwest Iowa nonmetropolitan area 280 3.30 3.58 $11.80 $24,550
Northeast Iowa nonmetropolitan area 320 3.19 3.46 $12.45 $25,900
South Arkansas nonmetropolitan area 290 3.01 3.26 $11.88 $24,710
Southwest Louisiana nonmetropolitan area 170 2.97 3.21 $15.94 $33,150
West South Dakota nonmetropolitan area 170 2.79 3.02 $14.35 $29,850

Top paying nonmetropolitan areas for this occupation:

Nonmetropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Connecticut nonmetropolitan area 40 1.24 1.35 $24.78 $51,530
Northeast Minnesota nonmetropolitan area (8) (8) (8) $21.80 $45,350
Far West North Dakota nonmetropolitan area 60 0.97 1.05 $20.84 $43,350
Balance of Alaska nonmetropolitan area 50 0.69 0.75 $20.01 $41,620
Hawaii / Kauai nonmetropolitan area 140 1.38 1.49 $19.90 $41,380


About May 2017 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 OES estimates and related information:

May 2017 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2017 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2017 Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2017 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2017 Occupation Profiles

Technical Notes

 

Last Modified Date: March 30, 2018