Meat, Poultry, and Fish Cutters and Trimmers in Maryland
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$27,454
after federal, FICA and Maryland tax
Tax takes
$5,496
16.7% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$26,407
Maryland costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Maryland — 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
$32,950
Kept after tax
$27,454
Worth in national money
$26,407
State rank
46
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Maryland is among the lower-paying states for this job. The middle earner takes $32,950, ranking 46 of 50 states — about 13.97% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Measured against other jobs in Maryland, this one sits low: 489 of 489 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- The wage here flatters the reality. From $32,950 the take-home is $27,454. But Maryland costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $26,407 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is higher, $35,770, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Maryland ranks 46 of 50 for meat, poultry, and fish cutters and trimmers, with a median of $32,950 — about 13.97% 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.
- Meat, poultry, and fish cutters and trimmers occupies position 489 of 489 in Maryland'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 Maryland income tax is $27,454 for meat, poultry, and fish cutters and trimmers, from $32,950. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $26,407. ⚠️ 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 $35,770 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Meat, Poultry, and Fish Cutters and Trimmers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $31,200 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $32,950 |
| Top tenth earn over | $45,870 |
| This salary | $32,950 |
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 Maryland | $27,454 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $28,655 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$3,082 |
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 | $31,455 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$3,727 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 104 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $32,950 as a midpoint for Maryland, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $31,200 and the ninetieth is $45,870 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- In Maryland the take-home figure of $27,454, from $32,950, 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 489 of 489 occupations here.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $26,407 uses one figure for the whole of Maryland. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 489 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 489.
- The Maryland median of $32,950 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $31,200 to $45,870. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Take-home for Maryland is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $27,454 from $32,950. 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 489 of 489 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $26,407, worked from $32,950, 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 Maryland address, on work sitting at 489 of 489 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
Half earn more than this and half earn less. The average sits at $35,770 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $31,200 and the top tenth $45,870, so most people doing this work in Maryland sit within a fairly tight band.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
Not on its own. Prices in Maryland run above the national level, so the same dollars buy less here. Adjusted for that, this pay is worth $26,407 — the wage did not change, only what it covers.
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 Maryland adds its own income tax on top — which is why $27,454 of this wage survives to your account.
Why is this job missing from some states?
Because the survey suppresses a figure when too few employers report it. This occupation has published pay in 50 states — the rest are withheld to protect confidentiality, which is not the same as nobody doing the work there.
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 Maryland is $35,770. 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 ($31,200 to $45,870) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Maryland rather than a national figure.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
Maryland's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $26,407 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 $27,454 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Maryland 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.
Why does this occupation lack published estimates in every state?
BLS suppresses estimates failing disclosure or reliability criteria. This occupation has published state-level estimates in 50 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.