Slaughterers and Meat Packers in Idaho
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$33,331
after federal, FICA and Idaho tax
Tax takes
$7,039
17.4% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$36,457
Idaho costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Idaho — 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
$40,370
Kept after tax
$33,331
Worth in national money
$36,457
State rank
21
of 47 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Idaho sits in the middle of the pack for slaughterers and meat packers. The median is $40,370, ranking 21 of 47 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Measured against other jobs in Idaho, this one sits low: 380 of 476 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $40,370 you keep $33,331 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $36,457 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $42,550, since top earners drag the number up.
- Idaho occupies the middle band for slaughterers and meat packers: a median of $40,370, ranking 21 of 47. Where nominal pay is close to the national figure, the tax and price adjustments below carry proportionally more weight in determining the real outcome.
- Slaughterers and meat packers occupies position 380 of 476 in Idaho'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 Idaho is $33,331 after the full tax stack, from $40,370. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $36,457 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $42,550 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
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Pay band: Slaughterers and Meat Packers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $37,720 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $40,370 |
| Top tenth earn over | $47,680 |
| This salary | $40,370 |
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 Idaho | $33,331 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $34,617 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$834 |
The raise and the real gain point in opposite directions here.
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 | $38,769 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,008 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 91 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- A median is the middle, not an offer. Half of slaughterers and meat packers in Idaho earn under $40,370 and half over. The published range runs $37,720 at the tenth percentile to $47,680 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $33,331 take-home in Idaho comes from $40,370. 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 380 of 476.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $36,457 uses one figure for the whole of Idaho. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 476 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 380.
- Figures are distribution medians for slaughterers and meat packers in Idaho, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $37,720 to $47,680; within-state dispersion of that width routinely exceeds the dispersion between states, so tenure, employer and metropolitan area predict an individual's pay better than geography does.
- Retained pay of $33,331, from $40,370, assumes a single Idaho 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 380 of 476 locally, and the state ranks 21 of 47 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $36,457, worked from $40,370, 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 Idaho address, on work sitting at 380 of 476 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 $42,550, 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?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $37,720 at the tenth percentile, $47,680 at the ninetieth.
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 $36,457.
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; Idaho then takes its own share, leaving $33,331.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 47 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 Idaho is $42,550. 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 ($37,720 to $47,680) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Idaho rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Idaho'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 $36,457 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 $33,331 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Idaho 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 47 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.