Butchers and Meat Cutters in Alabama
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$29,958
after federal, FICA and Alabama tax
Tax takes
$6,542
17.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$33,297
Alabama costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Alabama — roughly, since only five points along the band are published.
One filer, standard deduction, no dependants and nothing paid in before tax — the same household the rest of this page uses, so the comparison holds. City and school-district income taxes are not included.
Median here
$36,500
Kept after tax
$29,958
Worth in national money
$33,297
State rank
46
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Alabama is among the lower-paying states for butchers and meat cutters. The middle earner takes $36,500, ranking 46 of 51 states — about 9.07% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Measured against other jobs in Alabama, this one sits low: 400 of 482 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Alabama is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $36,500 the take-home is $29,958; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $33,297 would nationally. The average comes to $37,130, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Alabama ranks 46 of 51 for butchers and meat cutters, with a median of $36,500 — about 9.07% below the national figure. A nominal shortfall is not by itself a real one: lower-paying states frequently carry lower tax and lower price levels, and the adjusted figures below are where that is settled rather than assumed.
- Butchers and meat cutters occupies position 400 of 482 in Alabama's occupational wage distribution, in the bottom quartile. National ranking and local ranking answer different questions and frequently disagree; this is the one a resident experiences.
- Post-tax income for butchers and meat cutters in Alabama, on $36,500, is $29,958 — equivalent to $33,297 once regional price parity is applied. ⚠️ The adjustment uses a statewide index that describes no particular address; within-state price variation, concentrated in housing, routinely exceeds the difference between two states. At $37,130 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Butchers and Meat Cutters
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $26,430 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $36,500 |
| Top tenth earn over | $47,960 |
| This salary | $36,500 |
Positions between the published tenth, quarter, half, three-quarter and ninetieth points are estimated by straight line.
The same pay, somewhere else
The state median for this job
| Take-home in Alabama | $29,958 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $31,508 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$874 |
The raise and the real gain point in opposite directions here.
State income tax and state price levels only. No city income tax, and no housing market.
What you would need there
The state median for this job
| To match take-home only | $34,571 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,057 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Alabama earn less than $36,500. The published range is $26,430 up to $47,960, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Alabama's $29,958, worked from $36,500. That is on purpose. It lets states be compared with each other, not with each other's family circumstances. Local city taxes are left out. Locally this work ranks 400 of 482.
- One number stands for prices across all of Alabama, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $33,297, the adjusted value of that $36,500 median, as a way to compare states fairly, not as a quote for any particular place. The two datasets are also from different years. This job sits at 400 of 482 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for butchers and meat cutters in Alabama the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $26,430 to $47,960. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The Alabama take-home of $29,958, on $36,500 for work ranking 400 of 482 locally, models the simplest household deliberately: holding it constant is what makes the interstate comparison meaningful. It also means the absolute figure overstates liability for most real filers, and municipal income taxes are outside the model entirely. The occupation ranks 400 of 482 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Alabama, so $33,297 — the adjusted value of that $36,500 median — establishes comparability between states rather than accuracy within one. The wage and parity series are dated independently, each following its own publication cycle, and neither is projected forward. This occupation sits at 400 of 482 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $26,430 and the top tenth $47,960, so most people doing this work in Alabama sit within a fairly tight band.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. Alabama is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $33,297 in national terms.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Into four separate taxes, not one. Federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare apply everywhere, and Alabama adds its own income tax on top — which is why $29,958 of this wage survives to your account.
Can I compare this job across every state?
This occupation is published everywhere — all 51 of them — so comparing states measures real differences rather than gaps in the data.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($26,430 to $47,960) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Alabama rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Alabama's regional price parity is at or below the national average, so nominal wages understate purchasing power. Take-home deflated by the state price level is $33,297 in national-average terms. The adjustment uses an all-items index and does not isolate housing.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $29,958 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Alabama income tax for a single filer with no adjustments. The state layer is levied in addition to the federal one; only its rate and base differ between states.
Is this occupation's state coverage complete?
State-level estimates are published for all 51 jurisdictions for this occupation, so cross-state comparison is not confounded by suppression. ⚠️ Estimates remain survey-based and carry sampling error; small differences between adjacent states should not be over-read.