Slaughterers and Meat Packers Salary in the United States
The median annual wage for slaughterers and meat packers in the U.S. is $40,130 ($19.29 per hour), according to the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program, May 2025 estimates.
- Median annual wage
- $40,130
- Mean annual wage
- $41,770
- Median hourly wage
- $19.29
- Employment
- 69,950
69,950 employed
Wage percentiles
| Percentile | Annual wage | Hourly wage |
|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $33,340 | $16.03 |
| 25th percentile | $36,150 | $17.38 |
| Median (50th) | $40,130 | $19.29 |
| 75th percentile | $46,870 | $22.54 |
| 90th percentile | $51,090 | $24.56 |
Highest-paying states for slaughterers and meat packers
| State | Median annual wage | Employment |
|---|---|---|
| Colorado | $50,480 | 1,590 |
| Arizona | $49,020 | 440 |
| Nebraska | $48,910 | 5,480 |
| Kansas | $48,240 | 2,170 |
| Montana | $46,700 | 80 |
| South Carolina | $46,000 | 250 |
| Oregon | $45,980 | 360 |
| Oklahoma | $45,970 | 1,560 |
| Michigan | $45,850 | 2,920 |
| New Jersey | $45,230 | 1,050 |
Lowest-paying states
- Nevada: $30,430 median annual wage
- New Mexico: $30,560 median annual wage
- Delaware: $31,200 median annual wage
- Mississippi: $33,650 median annual wage
- New York: $33,880 median annual wage
About this occupation
Perform nonroutine or precision functions involving the preparation of large portions of meat. Work may include specialized slaughtering tasks, cutting standard or premium cuts of meat for marketing, making sausage, or wrapping meats. Work typically occurs in slaughtering, meat packing, or wholesale establishments.
Typical tasks
- Trim head meat, and sever or remove parts of animals' heads or skulls.
- Saw, split, or scribe carcasses into smaller portions to facilitate handling.
- Stun animals prior to slaughtering.
- Cut, trim, skin, sort, and wash viscera of slaughtered animals to separate edible portions from offal.
- Slit open, eviscerate, and trim carcasses of slaughtered animals.
- Grind meat into hamburger, and into trimmings used to prepare sausages, luncheon meats, and other meat products.
Education of the current workforce — typical entry: No formal educational credential
| Education level | Share of workers |
|---|---|
| Less than high school diploma | 29.0% |
| High school diploma or equivalent | 44.1% |
| Some college, no degree | 16.3% |
| Associate's degree | 5.5% |
| Bachelor's degree | 4.2% |
| Master's degree | 0.5% |
| Doctoral or professional degree | 0.3% |
Occupation profile data from CareerOneStop, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor.
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About this data
- Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics — data period May 2025, retrieved August 13, 2026.
- Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics — data period May 2025, retrieved August 13, 2026.
- CareerOneStop Occupation Profiles — data period 2026-08, retrieved August 14, 2026.
Figures are shown exactly as published by the source or derived by the documented formulas on our methodology page. Where a source suppresses an estimate, we show “—” rather than a substitute value.