Butchers and Meat Cutters in Virginia
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$32,609
after federal, FICA and Virginia tax
Tax takes
$7,161
18.0% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$32,367
Virginia costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Virginia — 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
$39,770
Kept after tax
$32,609
Worth in national money
$32,367
State rank
28
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Virginia is 28 of 51 states for butchers and meat cutters, with a middle wage of $39,770. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Within Virginia this is lower-paid work. Of 489 occupations the state publishes figures for, butchers and meat cutters ranks 414. That is the bottom quarter locally, whatever the national comparison says.
- No great distortion either way. Virginia costs about what the country costs, so from $39,770, take-home of $32,609 is worth roughly $32,367 in national money. The average comes to $41,650, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Virginia ranks 28 of 51 for butchers and meat cutters at $39,770. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Against every occupation Virginia reports, butchers and meat cutters ranks 414 of 489, in the lowest quartile of the state's distribution. That position is set by the local labor market and is independent of how the state compares nationally for this work.
- Price parity in Virginia is near the national base, so for butchers and meat cutters, whose median is $39,770, the adjusted figure of $32,367 differs little from $32,609 retained after tax. The state's position for this occupation is therefore set by wage and tax rather than by living costs. At $41,650 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
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Pay band: Butchers and Meat Cutters
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $31,290 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $39,770 |
| Top tenth earn over | $55,810 |
| This salary | $39,770 |
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 Virginia | $32,609 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $34,135 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$2,761 |
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 | $37,871 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$3,339 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 101 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Virginia earn less than $39,770. The published range is $31,290 up to $55,810, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- That $32,609 take-home in Virginia comes from $39,770. It is the no-frills case: single filer, standard deduction, nothing set aside before tax. Real circumstances almost always reduce the tax. City and school-district taxes are not counted at all. Locally the work ranks 414 of 489.
- One number stands for prices across all of Virginia, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $32,367, the adjusted value of that $39,770 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 414 of 489 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for butchers and meat cutters in Virginia the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $31,290 to $55,810. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Retained pay of $32,609, from $39,770, assumes a single Virginia filer with the standard deduction and no elective deferrals. Pre-tax retirement or HSA contributions, dependants and itemized deductions all reduce it further; local income taxes, excluded here, would increase it in the states that levy them. This occupation ranks 414 of 489 locally, and the state ranks 28 of 51 for it.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Virginia, so $32,367 — the adjusted value of that $39,770 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 414 of 489 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 $41,650, 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?
The range here is narrow. From $31,290 at the bottom tenth to $55,810 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
Not on its own. Prices in Virginia run above the national level, so the same dollars buy less here. Adjusted for that, this pay is worth $32,367 — the wage did not change, only what it covers.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Three of them are federal and one is not. After income tax, Social Security, Medicare and Virginia's own levy, $32,609 remains.
Can I compare this job across every state?
Yes for this one. Pay is published in all 51 jurisdictions, so a state-to-state comparison here rests on the same survey everywhere rather than on a patchwork.
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 Virginia is $41,650. 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 ($31,290 to $55,810) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Virginia rather than a national figure.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
Virginia's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $32,367 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 $32,609 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Virginia 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.