Slaughterers and Meat Packers in Missouri
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$36,774
after federal, FICA and Missouri tax
Tax takes
$7,716
17.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$40,075
Missouri costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Missouri — 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
$44,490
Kept after tax
$36,774
Worth in national money
$40,075
State rank
13
of 47 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Missouri is one of the better-paying states for slaughterers and meat packers. The middle earner takes $44,490, which ranks 13 of 47 states with published figures. That is about 10.86% above the national middle.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 488 occupations Missouri reports figures for, this is number 358.
- Here is where Missouri does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $44,490 you keep $36,774, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $40,075 would elsewhere. The average is lower, $42,780, so pay clusters nearer the top than usual.
- Missouri ranks 13 of 47 states publishing a median for slaughterers and meat packers, at $44,490 — about 10.86% above the national median. A state's position on nominal pay is the figure wage tables report and the least informative of the three on this page, because it survives neither the tax adjustment nor the price adjustment intact for most occupations.
- In Missouri's occupational distribution, slaughterers and meat packers sits at 358 of 488 — neither quartile. This local position is what a resident compares against, and it is determined by the state's own labor market rather than by national patterns for this occupation.
- After federal, FICA and Missouri income tax, retained pay for slaughterers and meat packers on $44,490 is $36,774. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $40,075 in national-average terms. ⚠️ That figure is purchasing power, not a wage, and nobody is paid it; it is what the take-home buys. The mean of $42,780 falls below the median, a left skew that is uncommon in wage data.
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Pay band: Slaughterers and Meat Packers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $34,020 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $44,490 |
| Top tenth earn over | $49,460 |
| This salary | $44,490 |
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 Missouri | $36,774 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $37,928 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,045 |
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 | $43,054 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,264 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 92 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Missouri earn less than $44,490. The published range is $34,020 up to $49,460, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In Missouri the take-home figure of $36,774, from $44,490, 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 358 of 488 occupations here.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $40,075 uses one figure for the whole of Missouri. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 488 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 358.
- Reported values are medians; for slaughterers and meat packers in Missouri the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $34,020 to $49,460. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Take-home for Missouri is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $36,774 from $44,490. 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 358 of 488 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $40,075, worked from $44,490, 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 Missouri address, on work sitting at 358 of 488 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $42,780, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $34,020 at the tenth percentile, $49,460 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 $40,075.
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 Missouri adds its own income tax on top — which is why $36,774 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 47 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 Missouri is $42,780. 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 ($34,020 to $49,460) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Missouri rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Missouri'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 $40,075 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 $36,774 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Missouri 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.