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Slaughterers and Meat Packers in California

Want to work as a Slaughterers and Meat Packers in California? Here’s what you need to know. Perform nonroutine or precision functions involving the preparation of large portions of meat. Work may include specialized slaughtering tasks, cutting standard or premium cuts of meat for marketing, making sausage, or wrapping meats. Work typically occurs in slaughtering, meat packing, or wholesale establishments. Excludes “Meat, Poultry, and Fish Cutters and Trimmers” (51-3022) who perform routine meat cutting.

What do Slaughterers and Meat Packers Make in California?

The slaughterers and meat packers working in California, the typical annual salary is $38,660 per year (or about $18.59/hour).Earnings range from $36,840 at the 10th percentile to $47,960 at the 90th percentile.

Wage Statistic	Annual	Hourly
10th percentile	$36,840	$17.71
25th percentile	$37,980	$18.26
Median (50th)	$38,660	$18.59
75th percentile	$44,980	$21.63
90th percentile	$47,960	$23.06

Location quotient — how concentrated this career is in California compared to the national average — is 0.86, indicating fewer slaughterers and meat packers per worker than the national average.

National Wage Comparison

Nationally, slaughterers and meat packers earn a median of $47,691 per year ($22.93/hour), below the California median.

Employment Outlook

National employment for 216,412 slaughterers and meat packers nationwide. In California alone, approximately 6,830 people work in this role. That’s more than the typical state, which employs around 740 slaughterers and meat packers.

Top California Metros for Slaughterers and Meat Packers

The metro areas below employ the most slaughterers and meat packers in California.

Metro Area	Number Employed	Annual Median Salary
Fresno, CA	3,170	$37,980
Merced, CA	1,060	$38,660
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA	810	$37,540
Stockton-Lodi, CA	170	$47,140
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA	150	$44,830

Top States for Slaughterers and Meat Packers Employment

The table below shows the states where the most slaughterers and meat packers work.

State	Number Employed
California	6,830
North Carolina	5,750
Nebraska	5,140
Texas	4,430
Iowa	4,040
Georgia	4,000
Illinois	3,730
Pennsylvania	3,700
Minnesota	3,190
Kansas	2,430
Wisconsin	2,400
Mississippi	2,320
Michigan	1,740
Ohio	1,730
Missouri	1,630
Indiana	1,490
Oklahoma	1,430
Arkansas	1,130
Washington	1,000
New Jersey	830

Highest-Paying States for Slaughterers and Meat Packers

The highest-paying states for slaughterers and meat packers.

State	Annual Median Salary
Nebraska	$48,080
Arizona	$47,470
Kansas	$47,310
Washington	$46,460
Montana	$46,180
Missouri	$44,730
Oklahoma	$44,530
Iowa	$44,400
Massachusetts	$44,140
South Dakota	$43,020

Skills

Key slaughterers and meat packers skills, rated on an importance scale of 0 to 5:

Knowledge Areas

Important knowledge areas for this occupation, rated on an importance scale of 0 to 5:

Abilities

Top abilities for slaughterers and meat packers, rated on an importance scale of 0 to 5:

Daily Tasks

Common tasks 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.
• Slit open, eviscerate, and trim carcasses of slaughtered animals.
• Stun animals prior to slaughtering.
• Skin sections of animals or whole animals.
• Cut, trim, skin, sort, and wash viscera of slaughtered animals to separate edible portions from offal.
• Shave or singe and defeather carcasses, and wash them in preparation for further processing or packaging.
• Saw, split, or scribe carcasses into smaller portions to facilitate handling.
• Trim head meat, and sever or remove parts of animals' heads or skulls.
• Grind meat into hamburger, and into trimmings used to prepare sausages, luncheon meats, and other meat products.

Work Activities

• Handling and Moving Objects
• Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Materials
• Performing General Physical Activities
• Monitoring Processes, Materials, or Surroundings
• Getting Information
• Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events
• Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates
• Controlling Machines and Processes
• Making Decisions and Solving Problems
• Training and Teaching Others
• Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards
• Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work

Tools & Technology

Common tools and software used in this occupation include: Hot technologies: Microsoft Excel

What Major Will Prepare You For This Career?

Programs that train for this career include:

• Culinary Arts

Related Careers

Related occupations to slaughterers and meat packers include:

• Animal Scientists
• Food Scientists and Technologists
• Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria
• Cooks, Restaurant
• Cooks, Short Order
• Food Preparation Workers

Also Known As

Animal Killer, Animal Sticker, Animal Stunner, Beef Killer, Beef Splitter, Bitter, Boning Room Worker, Brainer, Butcher, Cattle Killer, Cold Storage Worker, Deboner, Halal Meat Packer, Hog Killer, Hog Slaughterer.

References

• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics — https://www.bls.gov/oes/
• O*NET Online — https://www.onetonline.org/
• BLS Employment Projections — https://www.bls.gov/emp/
• O*NET-SOC code: 51-3023.00