Meat, Poultry, and Fish Cutters and Trimmers Career, Salary and Skills

Meat, Poultry, and Fish Cutters and Trimmers have a BLS-reported national median annual wage of $38,300 based on the 2025 OEWS dataset, with reported national employment of 145,700. Wage data is published for 185 locations.

Occupation description

Use hands or hand tools to perform routine cutting and trimming of meat, poultry, and seafood.

O*NET code

51-3022.00

Job zone

2

Typical education

Less than a High School Diploma

Experience

Over 6 months, up to and including 1 year

National salary and employment

Median annual

$38,300

Hourly median

$18.41

Employment

145,700

Data year

2025

National salary distribution

$29,980
10th
$35,350
25th
$38,300
Median
$44,170
75th
$48,150
90th

Top skills

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Typical tasks

  • Use knives, cleavers, meat saws, bandsaws, or other equipment to perform meat cutting and trimming.
  • Weigh meats and tag containers for weight and contents.
  • Inspect meat products for defects, bruises or blemishes and remove them along with any excess fat.
  • Cut and trim meat to prepare for packing.
  • Separate meats and byproducts into specified containers and seal containers.
  • Process primal parts into cuts that are ready for retail use.
  • Prepare ready-to-heat foods by filleting meat or fish or cutting it into bite-sized pieces, preparing and adding vegetables or applying sauces or breading.
  • Clean, trim, slice, and section carcasses for future processing.
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Technology

  • Meat inventory software
  • Microsoft Excel
  • Sales software
  • Web browser software
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Meat, Poultry, and Fish Cutters and Trimmers salary by location

Areas with the highest reported employment for this occupation.

All 185 locations →

Related careers

Career and skills data: O*NET 31.0 (onetcenter.org). Salary and employment data: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS, 2025 (bls.gov/oes). Figures are published survey estimates, not real-time market data.