Slaughterers and Meat Packers · SOC 51-3023

Highest-Paying Metro Areas for Slaughterers and Meat Packerss

Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025U.S. metropolitan areas

Metro areas ranked by published median annual wage for slaughterers and meat packers. Areas where BLS suppressed the median are not ranked (1 such areas are excluded here). Higher medians often track higher living costs — this is a pay comparison, not a ranking of where the job is “best”.

Top 25 of 61 metro areas

Slaughterers and Meat Packers: metro areas with the highest published median annual wages, May 2025
#	Metro area	Median annual	Employment	Per 1,000 jobs
1	Trenton-Princeton, NJ	$52,180	40	0.2
2	Sioux City, IA-NE-SD	$49,600	1,120	14.9
3	Corpus Christi, TX	$49,460	50	0.2
4	Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL	$48,120	430	2.4
5	Dayton-Kettering-Beavercreek, OH	$48,030	110	0.3
6	Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO	$46,990	210	0.1
7	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI	$46,670	100	0.1
8	Omaha, NE-IA	$46,390	1,330	2.7
9	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA	$46,380	200	0.2
10	Columbia, SC	$46,170	150	0.4
11	San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA	$45,300	140	0.1
12	Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX	$45,220	60	0.0
13	Mount Vernon-Anacortes, WA	$45,090	50	0.9
14	Madison, WI	$44,920	90	0.2
15	Stockton-Lodi, CA	$44,490	210	0.7
16	Salt Lake City-Murray, UT	$44,040	260	0.3
17	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA	$44,040	240	0.1
18	Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood, MI	$43,680	610	1.0
19	Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI	$43,060	420	0.5
20	Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY	$42,080	110	0.2
21	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX	$42,070	260	0.1
22	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD	$41,950	1,720	0.6
23	Tyler, TX	$39,620	40	0.3
24	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA	$39,510	730	0.3
25	Fresno, CA	$39,420	2,690	5.6

Full state and metro tables, the national distribution, and the pay map are on the Slaughterers and Meat Packers overview.

About this data. Estimates are from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program, May 2025 release, retrieved from bls.gov/oes/tables.htm on July 24, 2026. OEWS estimates describe metropolitan/nonmetropolitan areas and states — not city limits — and are not designed for year-over-year comparisons. See BLS methodology, our plain-English methodology, and sources. CitySalaryData is independent and not affiliated with BLS.