Occupational Employment and Wages, November 2003

51-3023 Slaughterers and Meat Packers

Work in slaughtering, meat packing, or wholesale establishments performing precision functions involving the preparation of meat. Work may include specialized slaughtering tasks, cutting standard or premium cuts of meat for marketing, making sausage, or wrapping meats. Exclude "Meat, Poultry, and Fish Cutters and Trimmers" (51-3022) who perform routine, lower-skilled meat cutting.

National estimates for this occupation
Industry profile for this occupation
State profile for this occupation
Metropolitan area profile for this occupation

National estimates for this occupation: Top

Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for this occupation:

Employment (1) Employment
RSE (3)
Mean hourly
wage
Mean annual
wage (2)
Wage RSE (3)
130,880 4.4 % $10.10 $21,000 0.9 %

Percentile wage estimates for this occupation:

Percentile 10% 25% 50%
(Median)
75% 90%
Hourly Wage $7.40 $8.62 $9.95 $11.33 $13.28
Annual Wage (2) $15,390 $17,930 $20,700 $23,580 $27,630

Industry profile for this occupation: Top

Industries with the highest levels of employment in this occupation:

Industry Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage
Animal slaughtering and processing 126,100 $10.10 $21,010
Fruit and vegetable preserving and specialty 780 $9.41 $19,580
Seafood product preparation and packaging 710 $7.52 $15,640
Grocery and Related Product Wholesalers 650 $9.92 $20,640
Employment services 450 $8.46 $17,600

Top paying industries for this occupation:

Industry Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage
Animal food manufacturing 200 $12.28 $25,530
Management of companies and enterprises (7) $10.86 $22,580
Grocery stores 410 $10.56 $21,960
Warehousing and storage 110 $10.11 $21,020
Animal slaughtering and processing 126,100 $10.10 $21,010

State profile for this occupation: Top

States with the highest concentration of workers in this occupation:

State Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of State employment
Nebraska 13,110 $11.21 $23,320 1.491%
Iowa 12,450 $11.28 $23,470 0.881%
Kansas 9,800 $10.77 $22,410 0.758%
North Carolina 12,360 $9.28 $19,300 0.334%
Georgia 8,100 $9.19 $19,120 0.215%

Top paying States for this occupation:

State Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of State employment
Oregon 160 $11.45 $23,810 0.010%
Ohio 2,590 $11.37 $23,650 0.049%
Iowa 12,450 $11.28 $23,470 0.881%
Indiana 4,440 $11.25 $23,410 0.156%
Nebraska 13,110 $11.21 $23,320 1.491%

Metropolitan area profile for this occupation: Top

Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of workers in this occupation:

MSA Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of MSA employment
Omaha, NE-IA MSA 2,590 $10.31 $21,450 0.638%
Grand Rapids-Muskegon-Holland, MI MSA 1,210 $11.46 $23,840 0.227%
Canton-Massillon, OH MSA 380 $10.98 $22,830 0.220%
Scranton—Wilkes-Barre—Hazleton, PA MSA 300 $10.48 $21,790 0.109%
San Antonio, TX 370 $11.20 $23,300 0.052%

Top paying Metropolitan areas for this occupation:

MSA Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of MSA employment
Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, WA PMSA 80 $15.68 $32,610 0.006%
Orange County, CA PMSA 190 $14.53 $30,210 0.013%
Colorado Springs, CO MSA 50 $14.08 $29,280 0.022%
Dayton-Springfield, OH MSA 130 $12.61 $26,230 0.029%
Bergen-Passaic, NJ PMSA (7) $12.37 $25,730 (7)

About November 2003 National, State, and Metropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

These estimates are calculated with data collected from employers in all industry sectors in metropolitan and non-metropolitan areas in every State and the District of Columbia. The top five employment and wage figures are provided above. The complete list is available in the downloadable Excel files(XLS).

Percentile wage estimates show the percentage of workers in an occupation that earn less than a given wage and the percentage that earn more. The median wage is the 50th percentile wage estimate—50 percent of workers earn less than the median and 50 percent of workers earn more than the median. More about percentile wages.


(1) Estimates for detailed occupations do not sum to the totals because the totals include occupations not shown separately. Estimates do not include self-employed workers.

(2) Annual wages have been calculated by multiplying the hourly mean wage by a "year-round, full-time" hours figure of 2,080 hours; for those occupations where there is not an hourly mean wage published, the annual wage has been directly calculated from the reported survey data.

(3) The relative standard error (RSE) is a measure of the reliability of a survey statistic. The smaller the relative standard error, the more precise the estimate.

(7) Estimates not released.

All Production Occupations

November 2003 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

November 2003 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

November 2003 Metropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

November 2003 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

List of Occupations in SOC Code Number Order

List of Occupations in Alphabetical Order

Download November 2003 Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates in Zipped Excel files

Technical notes

 

Last Modified Date: April 19, 2005