Occupational Employment and Wages, May 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)
122,490 3.3 % $9.94 $20,680 0.9 %

Percentile wage estimates for this occupation:

Percentile 10% 25% 50%
(Median)
75% 90%
Hourly Wage $7.37 $8.48 $9.82 $11.14 $13.07
Annual Wage (2) $15,330 $17,630 $20,420 $23,180 $27,180

Industry profile for this occupation: Top

Industries with the highest levels of employment in this occupation:

Industry Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Employment rank Wage rank
Animal slaughtering and processing 118,460 $9.94 $20,680 1 5
Grocery and Related Product Wholesalers 880 $10.25 $21,320 2 3
Seafood product preparation and packaging 860 $7.67 $15,950 3 9
Employment services 480 $8.04 $16,720 4 8
Specialty food stores 380 $8.23 $17,130 5 7

Top paying industries for this occupation:

Industry Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Employment rank Wage rank
Animal food manufacturing 160 $12.37 $25,720 8 1
Warehousing and storage 100 $10.96 $22,790 9 2
Grocery and Related Product Wholesalers 880 $10.25 $21,320 2 3
Grocery stores 350 $9.96 $20,720 6 4
Animal slaughtering and processing 118,460 $9.94 $20,680 1 5

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 Wage rank within State
Nebraska 8,170 $10.65 $22,140 0.931% 505
Iowa 11,500 $11.09 $23,060 0.813% 524
Kansas 9,240 $10.67 $22,190 0.712% 539
North Carolina 12,390 $8.95 $18,620 0.334% 662
Wisconsin 6,680 $10.23 $21,270 0.248% 640

Top paying States for this occupation:

State Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of State employment Wage rank within State
Oregon 200 $11.57 $24,050 0.013% 527
Pennsylvania 2,330 $11.14 $23,170 0.042% 626
Iowa 11,500 $11.09 $23,060 0.813% 524
Ohio 2,170 $11.03 $22,940 0.041% 638
California 4,370 $10.79 $22,440 0.030% 668

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 3,160 $10.76 $22,380 0.771%
Boise City, ID MSA 870 $10.70 $22,250 0.381%
Grand Rapids-Muskegon-Holland, MI MSA 1,410 $10.78 $22,420 0.260%
Scranton—Wilkes-Barre—Hazleton, PA MSA 260 $10.37 $21,580 0.095%
Harrisburg-Lebanon-Carlisle, PA MSA 310 $11.02 $22,920 0.087%

Top paying Metropolitan areas for this occupation:

MSA Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of MSA employment
Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, WA PMSA 100 $13.44 $27,960 0.008%
Lancaster, PA MSA (6) $12.90 $26,820 (6)
Provo-Orem, UT MSA 40 $12.87 $26,780 0.028%
Dayton-Springfield, OH MSA (6) $12.20 $25,380 (6)
Bergen-Passaic, NJ PMSA 40 $11.96 $24,870 0.006%

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

To see profiles of other occupations, select from the major groups below:

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.

(6) Estimates not released.

All Production Occupations

2003 May National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

2003 May State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

2003 May Metropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

2003 May National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

List of Occupations in SOC Code Number Order

List of Occupations in Alphabetical Order

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

Technical notes

 

Last Modified Date: May 7, 2004