Meat, Poultry, and Fish Cutters and Trimmers in Rhode Island
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$31,509
after federal, FICA and Rhode Island tax
Tax takes
$6,231
16.5% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$31,070
Rhode Island costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Rhode Island — 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
$37,740
Kept after tax
$31,509
Worth in national money
$31,070
State rank
27
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Rhode Island is 27 of 50 states for this job, with a middle wage of $37,740. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Within Rhode Island this is lower-paid work. Of 452 occupations the state publishes figures for, this job ranks 403. That is the bottom quarter locally, whatever the national comparison says.
- No great distortion either way. Rhode Island costs about what the country costs, so from $37,740, take-home of $31,509 is worth roughly $31,070 in national money. The average comes to $39,610, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Rhode Island ranks 27 of 50 for meat, poultry, and fish cutters and trimmers at $37,740. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Against every occupation Rhode Island reports, meat, poultry, and fish cutters and trimmers ranks 403 of 452, 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 Rhode Island is near the national base, so for meat, poultry, and fish cutters and trimmers, whose median is $37,740, the adjusted figure of $31,070 differs little from $31,509 retained after tax. The state's position for this occupation is therefore set by wage and tax rather than by living costs. At $39,610 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
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Pay band: Meat, Poultry, and Fish Cutters and Trimmers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $33,280 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $37,740 |
| Top tenth earn over | $50,300 |
| This salary | $37,740 |
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 Rhode Island | $31,509 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $32,504 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$2,379 |
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 | $36,501 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$2,877 |
| 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 Rhode Island earn less than $37,740. The published range is $33,280 up to $50,300, 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 Rhode Island's $31,509, worked from $37,740. 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 403 of 452.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $31,070 uses one figure for the whole of Rhode Island. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 452 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 403.
- Reported values are medians; for meat, poultry, and fish cutters and trimmers in Rhode Island the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $33,280 to $50,300. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The Rhode Island take-home of $31,509, on $37,740 for work ranking 403 of 452 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 403 of 452 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $31,070, worked from $37,740, 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 Rhode Island address, on work sitting at 403 of 452 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $39,610, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $33,280 at the bottom tenth to $50,300 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
A larger wage in a dearer place is not automatically more. Adjusted for local prices, this pay behaves like $31,070 of national purchasing power.
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 Rhode Island's own levy, $31,509 remains.
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 Rhode Island is $39,610. 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 ($33,280 to $50,300) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Rhode Island rather than a national figure.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
Rhode Island's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $31,070 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 $31,509 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Rhode Island 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.