Careers / Butchers and Meat Cutters
Butchers and Meat Cutters — Career Decision Dashboard
United States
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Report generated from official BLS OEWS and O*NET data — United States.
Median annual wage
$40,140
United States, 2025
Employment
136,430
United States, 2025
Typical education
High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED)
Job Zone 2
Skills identified
35
10 related careers
Career overview
Cut, trim, or prepare consumer-sized portions of meat for use or sale in retail establishments.
- O*NET code
- 51-3021.00
- Job zone
- 2
- Experience required
- Over 2 years, up to and including 4 years
Typical tasks
- 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.
- Estimate requirements and order or requisition meat supplies to maintain inventories.
- Shape, lace, and tie roasts, using boning knife, skewer, and twine.
- Record quantity of meat received and issued to cooks or keep records of meat sales.
Choose a location
Salary analysis — United States
10th percentile
$29,460
25th percentile
$35,510
75th percentile
$48,050
90th percentile
$58,110
Most important skills
- Active Listening3.1
- Monitoring3.0
- Social Perceptiveness3.0
- Speaking3.0
- Time Management3.0
- Critical Thinking3.0
- Service Orientation3.0
- Reading Comprehension3.0
- Judgment and Decision Making2.9
- Coordination2.9
- Complex Problem Solving2.9
- Persuasion2.8
What skills do you need?
Select the skills you already have
Skills listed are those O*NET rates at importance 3.0 or above for this occupation. Set your own level on the same 0–7 O*NET scale.
Skill coverage
0%
0 of 8 identified skills
Matched
0
Missing
8
Your selected skills cover approximately 0% of the skills identified for this occupation in O*NET. This is a coverage measure of listed skills only — it is not a qualification, hiring or interview outcome.
Skills to develop
| Skill | Importance | Required level | Your level | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Active Listening | 3.1 | 3.0 | Not selected | 3.0 |
| Speaking | 3.0 | 3.0 | Not selected | 3.0 |
| Time Management | 3.0 | 3.0 | Not selected | 3.0 |
| Critical Thinking | 3.0 | 3.0 | Not selected | 3.0 |
| Reading Comprehension | 3.0 | 3.0 | Not selected | 3.0 |
| Monitoring | 3.0 | 2.9 | Not selected | 2.9 |
| Social Perceptiveness | 3.0 | 2.9 | Not selected | 2.9 |
| Service Orientation | 3.0 | 2.9 | Not selected | 2.9 |
Ordered by required level gap multiplied by O*NET importance. No prediction or recommendation is implied.
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Compare with Butchers and Meat CuttersHow salary varies by location
| Location | Median | Employment | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seattle, WA | $60,600 | 1,300 | 2025 |
| Bremerton, WA | $57,930 | 100 | 2025 |
| Fairbanks, AK | $57,920 | 30 | 2025 |
| Kahului, HI | $54,980 | 70 | 2025 |
| Longview, WA | $53,550 | 40 | 2025 |
| Anchorage, AK | $52,130 | 110 | 2025 |
| Portland, OR | $51,980 | 840 | 2025 |
| El Centro, CA | $51,960 | 70 | 2025 |
| Bend, OR | $51,690 | 90 | 2025 |
| WA | $51,670 | 2,660 | 2025 |
| Bellingham, WA | $50,970 | 90 | 2025 |
| Mount Vernon, WA | $50,720 | 60 | 2025 |
| AK | $50,450 | 230 | 2025 |
| Barnstable Town, MA | $50,290 | 50 | 2025 |
| HI | $50,080 | 500 | 2025 |
| Urban Honolulu, HI | $49,860 | 330 | 2025 |
| Grants Pass, OR | $49,800 | 40 | 2025 |
| Olympia, WA | $49,790 | 110 | 2025 |
| San Jose, CA | $49,610 | 790 | 2025 |
| OR | $49,360 | 1,540 | 2025 |
Career transition paths
Compare the skills of a career you hold today with Butchers and Meat Cutters to see shared skills, target-only skills and skill overlap.
Build a transition comparisonCareer and skills data: O*NET 31.0.
Salary and employment data: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS, 2025 (May 2025 release).
Figures are periodic published survey snapshots, not real-time market rates.