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Slaughterers and Meat Packers Salary in IA

In the 2025 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS dataset, Slaughterers and Meat Packers in IA have a median annual salary of $43,820, with 4,220 recorded jobs in this area. Recorded earnings range from $33,750 at the 10th percentile to $46,060 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

$43,820

Data year: 2025

Hourly median

$21.07

Employment

4,220

Source

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS

Salary distribution

$33,750
10th
$39,730
25th
$43,820
Median
$44,680
75th
$46,060
90th

Local compared with national

IA

$43,820

Median annual · 2025

United States

$40,130

Median annual · 2025

The IA median is 9.2% above the national median in the available dataset (a difference of $3,690).

Top skills

  1. 1.SpeakingImportance 2.8
  2. 2.Active ListeningImportance 2.6
  3. 3.Critical ThinkingImportance 2.4
  4. 4.Social PerceptivenessImportance 2.4
  5. 5.MonitoringImportance 2.3
  6. 6.Operations MonitoringImportance 2.3
  7. 7.Operation and ControlImportance 2.1
  8. 8.TroubleshootingImportance 2.1
  9. 9.Quality Control AnalysisImportance 2.1
  10. 10.Active LearningImportance 2.0
  11. 11.Learning StrategiesImportance 2.0
  12. 12.CoordinationImportance 2.0

Career information

Education and experience

Typical education
High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED)
Experience
None
Job zone
2

Technology used

  • AccountMate Software AccountMate
  • AgInfoLink Meat Inventory Tracking System MITS
  • Integrated Management Systems Food Connex Cloud
  • Microsoft Excel
  • Microsoft Office software
  • RFID software
  • Second Foundation NaviMeat
  • Traceability software

Common tasks

  • Shave or singe and defeather carcasses, and wash them in preparation for further processing or packaging.
  • Saw, split, or scribe carcasses into smaller portions to facilitate handling.
  • Trim head meat, and sever or remove parts of animals' heads or skulls.
  • Grind meat into hamburger, and into trimmings used to prepare sausages, luncheon meats, and other meat products.
  • Trim, clean, or cure animal hides.
  • Wrap dressed carcasses or meat cuts.
  • Remove bones, and cut meat into standard cuts in preparation for marketing.
  • Sever jugular veins to drain blood and facilitate slaughtering.
  • Tend assembly lines, performing a few of the many cuts needed to process a carcass.
  • Shackle hind legs of animals to raise them for slaughtering or skinning.

Related careers

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

Slaughterers and Meat Packers salary in other locations

Other occupations in IA