Slaughterers and Meat Packers
SOC 51-3023 · 2024-2034
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.
How the U.S. Department of Labor describes this work. Published in English only.
What California expects of this job
- Typical pay in California
- $40,319per year
- Projected openings
- 7,550
- Projected change
- +3.2%
- Usually needs
- No formal educational credential
Skills this work uses most
O*NET, the U.S. Department of Labor's occupation database, rates how important each of these is to this work, and they are listed in that order, most important first. The ratings themselves are not shown, because the data carries the number without the scale it was measured on. The names are as published, in English.
- Speaking
- Active Listening
- Critical Thinking
- Social Perceptiveness
- Operations Monitoring
- Monitoring
Pay by region
| Region | Typical pay in California | Projected openings |
|---|---|---|
| Stockton-Lodi MSA (San Joaquin County) | $48,364 | 220 |
| Oakland-Fremont-Berkeley MD (Alameda and Contra Costa Counties) | $45,887 | 150 |
| Merced MSA (Merced County) | $39,664 | 1,410 |
| Fresno MSA (Fresno and Madera Counties) | $38,966 | 3,920 |
| San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad MSA (San Diego County) | Not reported | 160 |
What the pay actually ranges across
- The lowest-paid tenth earn under
- $35,850
- A quarter earn under
- $37,118
- Half earn under
- $40,319
- Three quarters earn under
- $44,687
- The highest-paid tenth earn over
- $50,527
A median is one point. These are the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics' 2026 figures for California, and they say how far apart the people doing this job actually are. Read them as the spread across everyone already in the work — not as a starting wage and not as a promise about where anyone lands.
Similar work
O*NET, the U.S. Department of Labor's occupation database, names these as occupations involving work similar to this one — its own reading of the job, not a grouping by code. They keep O*NET's order, and only those California publishes a projection for are shown.
| Occupation | Typical pay in California | Projected openings | Projected change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Meat, Poultry, and Fish Cutters and Trimmers | $37,404 | 11,860 | +5.3% |
| Butchers and Meat Cutters | $45,301 | 23,600 | +5.3% |
| Farmworkers, Farm, Ranch, and Aquacultural Animals | $39,687 | 26,520 | +0.6% |
| Graders and Sorters, Agricultural Products | $37,314 | 11,300 | -5.7% |
| Food Preparation Workers | $40,347 | 195,850 | +1% |
| Packers and Packagers, Hand | $38,076 | 104,810 | -3.1% |