Butchers and Meat Cutters
Also called: Butcher, Meat Clerk, Meat Cutter, Meat SpecialistCut, trim, or prepare consumer-sized portions of meat for use or sale in retail establishments.
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What the data says: AI could halve the time on 1 of its 11 tasks, and jobs are projected to grow 2.4% by 2035. How to think about this →
About this projection
BLS builds AI into its projections where the research supports it: “BLS generally applies adjustments based on this research conservatively, where there is convincing evidence for a change.”
It also notes a limit: “BLS projection methods are not designed to capture extremely rapid technological change.”
On its AI exposure groups, BLS says exposure “does not imply job loss.”
Recent conditions
- In 2024, 3.9% of people in this work were unemployed, against 3.8% across all occupations Census ACS 2024, all workers in the Census group “Butchers and other meat, poultry, and fish processing workers”
- From Sep 2025 to Aug 2026, 9.1 hires for every 10 job openings in retail trade, which employs about 85% of people in this work, against 7.3 across all industries BLS JOLTS
One box per opening, filled for each hire; hires beyond the openings are added in a lighter shade. Higher can mean openings get filled, or that people leave often; lower, that jobs go unfilled, or hiring is slow.9.1 this industry7.3 all industries
Median pay by state BLS OEWS May 2025, state estimates
Tap a state for its figures.
Median pay in every state
| State | Median | Middle half earn | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | $36,500 | $30,230 to $43,680 | 2,350 |
| Alaska | $50,450 | $41,210 to $57,600 | 230 |
| Arizona | $45,780 | $37,770 to $50,510 | 2,130 |
| Arkansas | $34,380 | $29,050 to $39,560 | 1,290 |
| California | $44,290 | $37,160 to $57,140 | 18,700 |
| Colorado | $47,490 | $38,780 to $53,360 | 2,200 |
| Connecticut | $44,570 | $36,870 to $50,690 | 1,210 |
| Delaware | $47,040 | $40,820 to $53,820 | 250 |
| District of Columbia | $48,760 | $39,450 to $59,030 | 150 |
| Florida | $42,790 | $36,160 to $47,260 | 10,590 |
| Georgia | $38,540 | $33,630 to $46,170 | 4,420 |
| Guam | $29,110 | $28,250 to $51,880 | 40 |
| Hawaii | $50,080 | $41,160 to $59,160 | 500 |
| Idaho | $38,030 | $35,470 to $46,800 | 1,480 |
| Illinois | $39,240 | $36,240 to $47,110 | 7,710 |
| Indiana | $42,440 | $36,400 to $48,810 | 1,850 |
| Iowa | $37,750 | $34,630 to $43,180 | 4,480 |
| Kansas | $37,320 | $31,190 to $45,570 | 1,200 |
| Kentucky | $35,430 | $28,350 to $41,640 | 1,670 |
| Louisiana | $36,790 | $28,600 to $43,600 | 2,240 |
| Maine | $38,250 | $35,240 to $48,400 | 830 |
| Maryland | $44,130 | $35,060 to $49,550 | 1,500 |
| Massachusetts | $48,430 | $41,740 to $53,340 | 1,480 |
| Michigan | $39,350 | $32,540 to $48,370 | 4,230 |
| Minnesota | $43,930 | $36,990 to $50,860 | 1,590 |
| Mississippi | $29,700 | $25,700 to $37,510 | 1,160 |
| Missouri | $37,860 | $30,340 to $48,950 | 2,160 |
| Montana | $41,600 | $36,430 to $47,720 | 740 |
| Nebraska | $37,630 | $31,390 to $47,180 | 1,380 |
| Nevada | $40,290 | $34,320 to $51,850 | 1,560 |
| New Hampshire | $47,740 | $44,610 to $50,970 | 530 |
| New Jersey | $38,540 | $35,540 to $57,360 | 4,610 |
| New Mexico | $36,640 | $33,750 to $47,220 | 810 |
| New York | $47,080 | $37,840 to $58,260 | 4,540 |
| North Carolina | $38,240 | $34,460 to $45,160 | 3,120 |
| North Dakota | $40,080 | $36,130 to $47,330 | 470 |
| Ohio | $37,630 | $28,970 to $47,040 | 5,640 |
| Oklahoma | $35,070 | $29,320 to $37,860 | 1,810 |
| Oregon | $49,360 | $45,310 to $55,500 | 1,540 |
| Pennsylvania | $38,340 | $34,790 to $48,480 | 3,540 |
| Puerto Rico | $22,780 | $22,110 to $27,980 | 2,180 |
| Rhode Island | $45,210 | $35,660 to $53,730 | 260 |
| South Carolina | $39,790 | $36,980 to $45,800 | 2,380 |
| South Dakota | $37,310 | $34,970 to $46,470 | 520 |
| Tennessee | $39,960 | $35,070 to $45,560 | 2,650 |
| Texas | $37,400 | $28,530 to $46,450 | 11,260 |
| Utah | $43,440 | $36,360 to $45,460 | 1,500 |
| Vermont | $45,580 | $36,670 to $48,600 | 370 |
| Virgin Islands | $29,120 | $27,050 to $38,250 | 100 |
| Virginia | $39,770 | $36,180 to $45,540 | 2,630 |
| Washington | $51,670 | $45,230 to $60,920 | 2,660 |
| West Virginia | $33,570 | $28,760 to $36,880 | 600 |
| Wisconsin | $45,980 | $37,300 to $49,130 | 3,510 |
| Wyoming | $44,820 | $38,130 to $49,860 | 210 |
Nationally: $40,140. Shades run from the lowest state median to the highest; a territory below that range takes the lightest. How to read this
How AI touches the work
What AI could speed up, task by task, and where people already use it.
AI could halve the time on 1 of its 11 tasks
| AI rating | Its main tasks | Share of Claude conversations May 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Not much | Prepare and place meat cuts and products in display counter to appear attractive and catch the shopper's eye. | Not published |
| Not much | Cut, trim, bone, tie, and grind meats, such as beef, pork, poultry, and fish, to prepare in cooking form. | Not published |
| Not much | Wrap, weigh, label, and price cuts of meat. | Not published |
| Not much | Prepare special cuts of meat ordered by customers. | Not published |
| Not much | Receive, inspect, and store meat upon delivery to ensure meat quality. | Not published |
| Not much | Estimate requirements and order or requisition meat supplies to maintain inventories. | Not published |
See all 11 tasks
| Not much | Shape, lace, and tie roasts, using boning knife, skewer, and twine. | Not published |
| Not much | Supervise other butchers or meat cutters. | Not published |
| AI + software | Record quantity of meat received and issued to cooks or keep records of meat sales. | Not published |
| Not much | Cure, smoke, tenderize, and preserve meat. | Not published |
| Not much | Negotiate with representatives from supply companies to determine order details. | Not published |
Ordered by how important O*NET's respondents rate each task (1 to 5) times the share who say it is part of their job. The ordering is ours. 0 of the 11 have a published share of Claude conversations; “not published” means too few conversations for Anthropic to publish a figure.
Where people already use AI
The tasks above say what AI could speed up. This shows what people are using it for. Its 11 tasks fall under 10 work activities that many occupations share, and Microsoft counted how often each one came up in 200,000 conversations with its Copilot assistant in 2024.
- #36 Purchase goods or services
| Work activity | This occupation's tasks under it | People asked AI for help in 10,000 conversations |
AI did it for them in 10,000 conversations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prepare foods or beverages | |||
| Purchase goods or services | |||
| Confer with clients to determine needs or order specifications | |||
| Determine resource needs of projects or operations | |||
| Measure physical characteristics of materials, products, or equipment | |||
| Inspect completed work or finished products | |||
| Mark materials or objects for identification | |||
| Maintain operational records |
Show all 10 activities
| Direct organizational operations, activities, or procedures | |||
| Load products, materials, or equipment for transportation or further processing |
How to read this
Work activities come from O*NET, which links every task to the broader activities it involves. Microsoft's figures are for the activity across everyone who used Copilot, not for butchers and meat cutters specifically. Copilot is a general chat assistant; dedicated coding tools are not included, so programming help is under-counted here. Activities are listed by how many of this occupation's tasks fall under them.
The task ratings say whether AI could halve the time a task takes: on its own (“AI alone”), or with software built on it (“AI + software”). They were made by people in 2023 (Eloundou et al.). Claude's share is the task's share of all Claude.ai conversations in May 2026; Anthropic doesn't publish a task with too few conversations. None of these add up to the BLS exposure group, which combines five research measures.
More in the Guide: task ratings · task order · work activities · Copilot figures · Claude
High exposure doesn't mean fewer jobs
BLS projects most occupations in its two most exposed groups to grow: 141 of 206 rated Very high and 165 of 206 rated High. Each dot is one of the 831 occupations BLS rates.
Career moves into and out of this occupation
From moves between occupations found in online resumes, 2002–2016. Career changes only: a first job after school isn't a move.
Where people moved next
of 11,926 moves out
- 1 First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers High -3.7% 6%
- 2 Cashiers High -6.5% 4%
- 3 Managers, All Other (2010 group) an older group BLS has since split; no exposure group today 4%
- 4 Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers Moderate +3.8% 4%
- 5 Food Service Managers Moderate +5.8% 4%
Where people moved in from
of 9,920 moves in
- 1 Cashiers High -6.5% 8%
- 2 First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers High -3.7% 5%
- 3 Retail Salespersons Very high -0.3% 5%
- 4 Stockers and Order Fillers Moderate +8.9% 5%
- 5 Food Service Managers Moderate +5.8% 5%
Resumes over-represent younger, white-collar job-seekers and moves into management. Schubert, Stansbury and Taska (resume data).
Education and training for the occupation
O*NET survey of workers in this occupation
- 20% less than high school
- 70% high school
- 2% postsecondary certificate
- 7% some college
O*NET 31.0 survey of workers in this occupation · 27 people answered.
Census survey (American Community Survey)
- 28% less than high school
- 45% high school
- 16% some college
- 5% associate's
- 4% bachelor's
Census ACS 2024, all workers in the Census group “Butchers and other meat, poultry, and fish processing workers” · 2,230 people surveyed.
Why the two can differ
O*NET asks about 20 people in each occupation, which makes its shares uncertain, but it reports the exact occupation and counts certificates. The Census survey reaches thousands, but it groups some occupations together and counts degrees only. More in the Guide
Median pay by highest degree full-time, year-round · Census ACS 2024, all workers in the Census group “Butchers and other meat, poultry, and fish processing workers”
1 program: Meat Cutting/Meat Cutter.
Jobs that require a credential BLS Occupational Requirements Survey 2023
35.8% this occupation
45.3% all occupations
| By kind | This occupation | All occupations |
|---|---|---|
| a license | 6.9% | 19.1% |
| a certification | 11.2% | 5.8% |
| an educational certificate | <0.5% | 2.8% |
Share of jobs whose employer requires it. BLS doesn't say which credential. How to read this
Look up certifications, training and licenses U.S. Department of Labor
- Certification Finder ↗ certifications CareerOneStop lists for this occupation
- Training Finder ↗ schools and programs, nationwide; narrow the place there
- License Finder ↗ licenses by state
- Apprenticeship Finder ↗ DOL lists 2 registered apprenticeships in this occupation (Butcher, Meat (Hotel & Restaurant); MEAT CUTTER). Apprenticeship.gov can't be linked to one occupation, so search for “Butchers and Meat Cutters” there.
These open in a new tab and send only the occupation's public code. More in the Guide
BLS AI exposure categories (Aug 2026) · BLS Employment Projections 2025–35 · O*NET 31.0 · Task ratings: Eloundou et al., Science (2024) · Microsoft "Working with AI" v1.1 · Anthropic Economic Index (2026-06-26) · Schubert, Stansbury and Taska · NCES CIP–SOC · Census ACS 2024 · BLS JOLTS
See it online, and explore any career: https://www.pathmosaic.com/card/51-3021.00