Meat, Poultry, and Fish Cutters and Trimmers in Michigan
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$36,242
after federal, FICA and Michigan tax
Tax takes
$8,188
18.4% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$38,480
Michigan costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Michigan — 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
$44,430
Kept after tax
$36,242
Worth in national money
$38,480
State rank
7
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- This is a good state for the work. Michigan pays this job a middle wage of $44,430, ranking 7 of 50 states and sitting about 16.01% above the national middle.
- Measured against other jobs in Michigan, this one sits low: 377 of 493 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $44,430 you keep $36,242 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $38,480 at national prices. Here the average runs under the middle, at $42,610.
- Michigan's median for meat, poultry, and fish cutters and trimmers is $44,430, about 16.01% above the national figure and 7 of 50 states reporting. Whether that premium reaches the worker depends on the two adjustments below, which is the part a wage table cannot tell you.
- Meat, poultry, and fish cutters and trimmers occupies position 377 of 493 in Michigan'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 in Michigan is $36,242 after the full tax stack, from $44,430. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $38,480 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $42,610 sits under the median, so the lower tail is the longer one.
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Pay band: Meat, Poultry, and Fish Cutters and Trimmers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $37,940 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $44,430 |
| Top tenth earn over | $46,630 |
| This salary | $44,430 |
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 Michigan | $36,242 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $37,880 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$501 |
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 | $42,392 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$606 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 94 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Michigan earn less than $44,430. The published range is $37,940 up to $46,630, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In Michigan the take-home figure of $36,242, from $44,430, 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 377 of 493 occupations here.
- One number stands for prices across all of Michigan, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $38,480, the adjusted value of that $44,430 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 377 of 493 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for meat, poultry, and fish cutters and trimmers in Michigan the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $37,940 to $46,630. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Take-home for Michigan is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $36,242 from $44,430. 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 377 of 493 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Michigan, so $38,480 — the adjusted value of that $44,430 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 377 of 493 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 $42,610 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $37,940 at the bottom tenth to $46,630 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
A smaller wage in a cheaper place is not automatically less. Adjusted for local prices, this is worth $38,480.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Four deductions, stacked. The federal layer and the two payroll taxes apply wherever you work; Michigan then takes its own share, leaving $36,242.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 50 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
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 Michigan is $42,610. 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 ($37,940 to $46,630) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Michigan rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Michigan'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 $38,480 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 $36,242 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Michigan 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.