Butchers and Meat Cutters

What butchers and meat cutters do

Typical 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.
• Record quantity of meat received and issued to cooks or keep records of meat sales.
• Supervise other butchers or meat cutters.
• Cure, smoke, tenderize, and preserve meat.
• Negotiate with representatives from supply companies to determine order details.

Butchers and Meat Cutters salary

The median annual wage for butchers and meat cutters is $40,140 (BLS OEWS May 2025; BLS Employment Projections 2025–35, national). The lowest 10 percent earn less than $29,460 and the highest 10 percent earn more than $58,110. The mean annual wage is $42,380.

The mean hourly wage of $20.00 is 2.8× the federal minimum wage of $7.25. State minimums are higher in most large states. Minimum wage by state →

Pay by percentile

Annual wage percentiles from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS). Percentiles are a good proxy for pay by experience.

How median, percentiles and the pay range are defined →

Projected pay for Butchers and Meat Cutters (3, 5 and 10 years)est.

Today $40,140 → in 3 years $43,900 → in 5 years $46,600 → in 10 years $54,200 (10-year range $46,600–$62,900). The model assumes pay growth of +3.0% per year.

What drives the annual growth rate

Projected pay = current pay × (1 + annual growth)^years. The annual growth rate starts from a base wage-growth rate and adds or subtracts labor demand (BLS projected employment growth), wage momentum and AI replacement risk for each occupation. Projections are not guarantees. How it is calculated →

Outlook score for Butchers and Meat Cutters

Each component is a percentile rank among all occupations in the same country (0–100). Weights: labor demand 25, wage momentum / openings 15, pay level 15, AI resistance 25, aging workforce 10 (Japan only), entry barrier 10.

Will AI replace Butchers and Meat Cutters? AI replacement risk

How AI is changing this job

A written analysis for this occupation is being prepared.

AI replacement risk compares the parts of a job that are easy to hand to AI or software (processing information, documentation, repetitive computer work) with the parts that are hard to automate (physical work, working closely with people, judgment in unpredictable settings), using O*NET work activities, work context, skills and knowledge. The result is a relative position among all occupations in the country, scaled to 0–100%. Methodology →

Labor demand for Butchers and Meat Cutters

Employment projections are from the BLS Employment Projections program (2025–35). Annual openings include both new jobs and replacement of workers who leave the occupation.

Skills, education and requirements for Butchers and Meat Cutters

What the work involves

Important abilities

Job Zone 2 — some preparation needed (O*NET)

Difficulty of entry: ★★☆☆☆ Fairly easy (from education, training, experience and Job Zone)

How to become butchers and meat cutters

A step-by-step guide for this occupation is being prepared. The education, training and experience data above show the typical path.

Career path and how to earn more as butchers and meat cutters

Career-path guidance is being prepared. Pay by percentile is shown in the Pay section.

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