Production Occupations
BLS May 2025 wages Peer-group outlier SOC 51-3023

Slaughterers and Meat Packers

Median pay sits 46% below the mid peer in Production Occupations (neighbors include Gas Plant Operators, Fabric and Apparel Patternmakers, Tool and Die Makers, Stationary Engineers and Boiler Operators).

Full salary details → About this data

Same-major-group titles next to Slaughterers and Meat Packers: Gas Plant Operators ($88K) , Fabric and Apparel Patternmakers ($63K) , Tool and Die Makers ($64K) , Stationary Engineers and Boiler Operators ($79K) . Hash-ordered per card so residual SOC siblings do not share an identical peer sentence.

What Slaughterers and Meat Packers publish as work

O*NET task statements for SOC 51-3023 - occupation-level descriptions, not every employer's posting. Sibling cards diverge here because the task set is entity-keyed.

  1. 1. Remove bones, and cut meat into standard cuts in preparation for marketing
  2. 2. Sever jugular veins to drain blood and facilitate slaughtering
  3. 3. Tend assembly lines, performing a few of the many cuts needed to process a carcass
  4. 4. Shackle hind legs of animals to raise them for slaughtering or skinning
  5. 5. Slit open, eviscerate, and trim carcasses of slaughtered animals
  6. 6. Stun animals prior to slaughtering
  7. 7. Skin sections of animals or whole animals
  8. 8. Cut, trim, skin, sort, and wash viscera of slaughtered animals to separate edible portions from offal
  9. 9. Shave or singe and defeather carcasses, and wash them in preparation for further processing or packaging
  10. 10. Saw, split, or scribe carcasses into smaller portions to facilitate handling
  11. 11. Trim head meat, and sever or remove parts of animals' heads or skulls
  12. 12. Grind meat into hamburger, and into trimmings used to prepare sausages, luncheon meats, and other meat products

Slaughterers and Meat Packers: O*NET ranks Speaking first

Importance-ranked O*NET profile for SOC 51-3023 - lead skill Speaking at 2.8 ; lead knowledge Customer and Personal Service. Sibling cards diverge here even when peer titles overlap.

Top skills

  1. 1. Speaking 2.8
  2. 2. Active Listening 2.6
  3. 3. Critical Thinking 2.4
  4. 4. Social Perceptiveness 2.4
  5. 5. Monitoring 2.3
  6. 6. Operations Monitoring 2.3
  7. 7. Operation and Control 2.1
  8. 8. Troubleshooting 2.1

Knowledge areas

  1. 1. Customer and Personal Service 3.6
  2. 2. Food Production 3.4
  3. 3. Production and Processing 3.3
  4. 4. English Language 3.1
  5. 5. Law and Government 2.8
  6. 6. Mathematics 2.7
Pay vs Production Occupations peers
-46%
vs mid peer median $74,450
This role $40,130/yr
$40K
National median
↑ +2%
Growth 2024-2034
8,400
Annual openings
69,950
Estimated US jobs
Gas Plant Operators
Highest-pay peer · $88K

Typical Entry and Preparation Assignments

Entry education No formal educational credential

Top Paying States for Slaughterers and Meat Packers

1. Nebraska $48,910
2. New Jersey $45,230
3. Montana $46,700
4. Kansas $48,240
5. Arizona $49,020
6. Oklahoma $45,970
7. Oregon $45,980
8. South Carolina $46,000
9. Michigan $45,850
10. Colorado $50,480

Other Production Occupations titles

  1. 1. Tool and Die Makers $64,050
  2. 2. Stationary Engineers and Boiler Operators $78,620
  3. 3. Model Makers, Metal and Plastic $63,340
  4. 4. Layout Workers, Metal and Plastic $63,870
  5. 5. Gas Plant Operators $87,820
  6. 6. Fabric and Apparel Patternmakers $62,750

Among Production Occupations peers on this card, Slaughterers and Meat Packers sits 46% below the mid peer median ($74,450). Its own median is $40,130.

Employment Projections expect +2% change between 2024 and 2034 (about as fast as average vs baseline 3.1%). About 8,400 annual openings are projected. BLS assigns No formal educational credential as typical education needed for entry. These are occupation-level assignments, not universal requirements. BLS does not publish a separate occupation-specific safety rate for this role; its broad SOC-group rate is excluded from this career card's grade.

Highest published state median in this ranking: Nebraska at $48,910. The table records differences without proving causes. Highest-pay peer shown here: Gas Plant Operators at $87,820. Compare the same statistic in the relevant local wage area before treating the national median as a personal benchmark; OEWS excludes employer benefits.

Slaughterers and Meat Packers pay-rank #87 in Production Occupations

On the Production Occupations median table (105 detailed occupations with OEWS medians), Slaughterers and Meat Packers lands at #87, in the lower third. That rank is a table position, not a statement about individual workers.

Other lower-third titles · closest medians

Full Salary Details Compare this role

Data from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025. Projections from BLS Employment Projections program, 2024-2034.

SOC 51-3023 · national median $40,130 · lower third of Production Occupations (#87/105). Open the full OEWS map or a named state before treating the card median as a local ask.

Slaughterers and Meat Packers salary map

State, metro, and percentile for SOC 51-3023

Nebraska · top state for Slaughterers and Meat Packers

$49K published median

New Jersey · #2 state pay

$45K · behind Nebraska

Gas Plant Operators

Highest-pay peer vs Slaughterers and Meat Packers · $88K

Fabric and Apparel Patternmakers

Lower-pay peer beside Slaughterers and Meat Packers · $63K

Compare Slaughterers and Meat Packers

Head-to-head OEWS medians with another SOC
Compare Slaughterers and Meat Packers with another occupation →

Peer-comparison next reads

Compare Slaughterers and Meat Packers

Against another occupation

Gas Plant Operators card

Top peer in this major group

Frequently Asked Questions

Where does Slaughterers and Meat Packers land on the Production Occupations median table? ▼
Slaughterers and Meat Packers is pay-rank #87 of 105 in this major group, lower third of the median table. Closest lower-third titles: Butchers and Meat Cutters ($40K), Production Workers, All Other ($40K), Food Processing Workers, All Other ($40K), Photographic Process Workers and Processing Machine Operators ($41K). That position is a table rank, not a worker percentile.
What do slaughterers and meat packers do day to day? ▼
O*NET lists published task statements for Slaughterers and Meat Packers. Leading ones include: 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. These are occupation-level task descriptions, not every employer's job description.
Which O*NET skills rank highest for slaughterers and meat packers? ▼
For SOC 51-3023, O*NET importance scores lead with Speaking (2.8), Active Listening (2.6), Critical Thinking (2.4), Social Perceptiveness (2.4). Knowledge areas emphasize Customer and Personal Service, Food Production, Production and Processing. These are occupation-level profiles, not a hiring checklist for every employer.
What is the OEWS national median for Slaughterers and Meat Packers? ▼
May 2025 OEWS reports $40,130 as the national median for Slaughterers and Meat Packers. The published 10th-90th range is $33,340 to $51,090. Beside Gas Plant Operators ($87,820), this is the occupation-level national figure, not a local offer.
What employment change does BLS publish for Slaughterers and Meat Packers? ▼
The 2024-2034 projection for Slaughterers and Meat Packers is +2%. Projected annual openings: about 8,400. Relative to the current all-occupations baseline of 3.1%: about as fast as average.
What typical entry education does BLS assign to Slaughterers and Meat Packers? ▼
BLS assigns No formal educational credential as the typical-education-needed-for-entry category for Slaughterers and Meat Packers. These are occupation-level labels, not every employer's hiring rule.
Which three states show the highest OEWS medians for Slaughterers and Meat Packers? ▼
Nebraska ($48,910), New Jersey ($45,230), Montana ($46,700) lead this ranking. The table does not identify why those state estimates differ.

Source data and WageDex calculations are identified in context on this page. Wage and state figures use BLS OEWS May 2025; growth and education use BLS Employment Projections for 2024-2034; safety fields cite BLS CFOI/SOII; task statements cite O*NET where shown. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.

Disclaimer: Wage and outlook figures on this page are provided for informational purposes only and do not constitute career, financial, or salary-negotiation advice. Actual pay varies by employer, experience, and local conditions; consult a career counselor or the hiring employer for guidance specific to your situation.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OES Occupational wage estimates by area and industry · 2025

Federal sources on this Slaughterers and Meat Packers card
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS / OES) - national median and percentiles for SOC 51-3023. bls.gov/oes
  • O*NET OnLine - task and skill statements for Slaughterers and Meat Packers. onetcenter.org
  • BLS Employment Projections - 2024-2034 change and openings for this occupation. bls.gov/emp
  • U.S. Census Bureau ACS - demographic and labor-force context for state and metro geography. census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
  • IRS Statistics of Income (SOI) - payroll-tax aggregate context for wage comparisons. irs.gov/statistics