CCollegeMatcher

Butchers and Meat Cutters

US occupation · SOC 51-3021

Job titles people report: Butcher, Meat Clerk, Meat Cutter, Meat Specialist, Meat Wrapper

Pay and outlook

Median annual wage, May 2025
$40,140
Half earn more, half earn less
Middle half earn
$35,510 – $48,050
25th to 75th percentile
People employed, May 2025
136,430
Wage and salary jobs (OEWS)
Projected change, 2025–35
+2.4%
Growing slower than all jobs (0% to under 3.5%)
Openings a year (projected)
15,100
New jobs plus replacing people who leave
Typical education to enter
No formal educational credential
BLS
  • All figures are for the United States as a whole. Pay varies a lot by state and city.
  • Wages are for everyone working in the occupation in May 2025, at every career stage. They are not starting salaries or figures for new graduates.
  • Growth and openings are BLS projections for 2025–35. They are estimates, not promises. Openings include jobs that open up when people retire or change occupation, not just new jobs.

What the work involves

Cut, trim, or prepare consumer-sized portions of meat for use or sale in retail establishments.

Main 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.

Description and tasks from the O*NET® 31.0 Database.

Getting in

Typical education to enter (BLS)
No formal educational credential
Training once hired: moderate-term on-the-job training
O*NET Job Zone 1–2
Little to some preparation
Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not.

Interests it suits

The strongest of the six O*NET interest types for this occupation, highest first. The short glosses are ours.

  • Realistic: hands-on work with tools, machines, plants or animals
  • Conventional: organising information, records and procedures
  • Enterprising: leading, persuading and making business decisions

Fields of study that lead here

From the federal CIP–SOC crosswalk, which links 1 programme to this occupation. A link means the programme prepares people for this kind of work. It doesn't mean the programme is required, or that it's the only route.

Fields

Our college matcher doesn't offer this field as a major, so we can't suggest colleges for it here.

Culinary, Entertainment, and Personal Services

  • Meat Cutting/Meat Cutter

Related careers

Related occupations from the O*NET database, in its order.

← All careers

Sources

This page includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. CollegeMatcher has modified all or some of this information. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. O*NET 31.0 Database · CC BY 4.0

Changes: we show the core tasks in the O*NET database with the highest importance ratings (up to eight, in that order), the top three O*NET interest types by score, and shortened Job Zone names. Titles, descriptions and task text are unchanged.

Wages: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. Projections, typical entry education and training: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025–35. Fields of study: NCES and BLS CIP 2020–SOC 2018 Crosswalk. All public domain. OEWS · Employment Projections · CIP–SOC crosswalk