Butchers and Meat Cutters in California
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$36,860
after federal, FICA and California tax
Tax takes
$7,430
16.8% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$32,741
California costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in California — 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
$44,290
Kept after tax
$36,860
Worth in national money
$32,741
State rank
17
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- This is a good state for the work. California pays butchers and meat cutters a middle wage of $44,290, ranking 17 of 51 states and sitting about 10.34% above the national middle.
- Measured against other jobs in California, this one sits low: 439 of 492 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- The wage here flatters the reality. From $44,290 the take-home is $36,860. But California costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $32,741 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is higher, $46,820, because the best-paid pull it up.
- California's median for butchers and meat cutters is $44,290, about 10.34% above the national figure and 17 of 51 states reporting. Whether that premium reaches the worker depends on the two adjustments below, which is the part a wage table cannot tell you.
- Butchers and meat cutters occupies position 439 of 492 in California'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.
- Retained pay after federal, FICA and California income tax is $36,860 for butchers and meat cutters, from $44,290. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $32,741. ⚠️ This is purchasing power and not a wage; cross-state offer comparisons that stop at the nominal figure systematically overvalue high-cost states. The mean of $46,820 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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 | $35,470 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $44,290 |
| Top tenth earn over | $61,010 |
| This salary | $44,290 |
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 California | $36,860 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $37,767 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$6,124 |
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 | $43,161 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$7,407 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 113 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in California earn less than $44,290. The published range is $35,470 up to $61,010, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In California the take-home figure of $36,860, from $44,290, assumes one filer, no dependants, and nothing paid into a pension before tax. Each of those lowers the bill, so treat it as the plain case. City and school-district income taxes are not included either, and in a few states those are real money. It ranks 439 of 492 occupations here.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $32,741 uses one figure for the whole of California. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 492 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 439.
- Reported values are medians; for butchers and meat cutters in California the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $35,470 to $61,010. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Take-home for California is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $36,860 from $44,290. Each omitted item reduces taxable income, so the figure is a lower bound on retained pay for this household shape. Municipal and school-district income taxes are excluded, which understates the burden materially in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Maryland. The occupation ranks 439 of 492 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $32,741, worked from $44,290, deflates by a statewide parity that conceals substantial intra-state variation, concentrated in housing — so it supports comparison between states rather than the pricing of a move to a particular California address, on work sitting at 439 of 492 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
No — it is the middle. Half of these workers earn more and half earn less. The average is $46,820, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $35,470 and the top tenth $61,010, so most people doing this work in California sit within a fairly tight band.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
The number and the value are different things. California costs more than the national average, so this take-home stretches like $32,741 rather than its face figure.
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 California adds its own income tax on top — which is why $36,860 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.
How does the published median differ from the mean for this occupation?
The median is the midpoint of the distribution; the mean for this occupation in California is $46,820. Wage distributions are right-skewed, so the mean exceeds the median wherever a minority earn substantially more. BLS publishes both because substituting one for the other misstates a typical worker's pay.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($35,470 to $61,010) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to California rather than a national figure.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
California's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $32,741 in national-average terms. ⚠️ RPPs are an all-items index; housing parities vary far more widely than the headline figure.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $36,860 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and California 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.