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Meat, Poultry, and Fish Cutters and Trimmers Salary in Santa Cruz, CA

In the 2025 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS dataset, Meat, Poultry, and Fish Cutters and Trimmers in Santa Cruz, CA have a median annual salary of $37,550, with 40 recorded jobs in this area. Recorded earnings range from $35,670 at the 10th percentile to $57,760 at the 90th percentile.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS · Data year: 2025 · Last updated: 2026-09-22

Salary overview

Median annual salary

$37,550

Data year: 2025

Hourly median

$18.05

Employment

40

Source

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS

Salary distribution

$35,670
10th
$36,040
25th
$37,550
Median
$38,150
75th
$57,760
90th

Local compared with national

Santa Cruz, CA

$37,550

Median annual · 2025

United States

$38,300

Median annual · 2025

The Santa Cruz, CA median is 2.0% below the national median in the available dataset (a difference of $750).

Top skills

  1. 1.Active ListeningImportance 3.1
  2. 2.SpeakingImportance 3.0
  3. 3.Critical ThinkingImportance 3.0
  4. 4.MonitoringImportance 3.0
  5. 5.Judgment and Decision MakingImportance 3.0
  6. 6.Social PerceptivenessImportance 2.9
  7. 7.CoordinationImportance 2.9
  8. 8.Time ManagementImportance 2.9
  9. 9.Service OrientationImportance 2.8
  10. 10.InstructingImportance 2.6
  11. 11.Management of Personnel ResourcesImportance 2.6
  12. 12.Operations MonitoringImportance 2.5

Career information

Education and experience

Typical education
Less than a High School Diploma
Experience
Over 6 months, up to and including 1 year
Job zone
2

Technology used

  • Meat inventory software
  • Microsoft Excel
  • Sales software
  • Web browser software

Common 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.
  • Remove parts, such as skin, feathers, scales or bones, from carcass.
  • Obtain and distribute specified meat or carcass.

Related careers

Occupations recorded as related in the dataset. A relationship does not imply a guaranteed transition.

Meat, Poultry, and Fish Cutters and Trimmers salary in other locations

Other occupations in Santa Cruz, CA