Production
Butchers and meat cutters
Cut, trim, or prepare consumer-sized portions of meat for use or sale in retail establishments.
Median pay
$40,140
Growth to 2035
+2%
about as fast as average
Openings a year
15,100
Time to qualify*
6 months
* From a bachelor's degree in an unrelated field.
Pay
Butchers and meat cutters
$40,14010% earn under $29,460 · middle half $35,510–$48,050 · top 10% over $58,110
Getting in
- Typical entry education
- No formal educational credential
- On-the-job training
- Moderate-term on-the-job training
- Prior experience
- None
What the work is like
Butchers and meat cutters
Dealing with the public
Rarely
Constantly
Unpleasant or angry people
Rarely
Constantly
Time pressure
Rarely
Constantly
Cost of a mistake
Minor
Severe
Freedom to make decisions
Little
A lot
Repeating the same tasks
Rarely
Constantly
Time standing
Rarely
Constantly
Butchers and meat cutters: 11% usually work over 40 hours a week
Core 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.
Also called: Butcher · Meat Clerk · Meat Cutter · Meat Specialist · Meat Wrapper
Outlook and AI
Butchers and meat cutters held 138,400 jobs in 2025. BLS projects 141,700 by 2035 (+2%, about as fast as average; all jobs: +3.5%).
Compare with
- Butchers and meat cutters vs. Meat, poultry, and fish cutters and trimmers
- Butchers and meat cutters vs. Slaughterers and meat packers
- Butchers and meat cutters vs. Cooks, restaurant
- Butchers and meat cutters vs. Food preparation worker
- Butchers and meat cutters vs. Baker
- Butchers and meat cutters vs. Cooks, short order
- Butchers and meat cutters vs. Chefs and head cooks
- Butchers and meat cutters vs. Cooks, institution and cafeteria
- Butchers and meat cutters vs. Food cooking machine operators and tenders
- Butchers and meat cutters vs. Food batchmaker