Slaughterers and Meat Packers in Virginia
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$30,863
after federal, FICA and Virginia tax
Tax takes
$6,567
17.5% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$30,634
Virginia costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Virginia — 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
$37,430
Kept after tax
$30,863
Worth in national money
$30,634
State rank
35
of 47 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Virginia is among the lower-paying states for slaughterers and meat packers. The middle earner takes $37,430, ranking 35 of 47 states — about 6.73% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Measured against other jobs in Virginia, this one sits low: 439 of 489 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Prices here sit close to the national average, so the adjustment changes little. From $37,430 the take-home is $30,863, which is worth about $30,634 in comparable money. Tax does most of the work here, not cost of living. The average is lower, $36,570, so pay clusters nearer the top than usual.
- Virginia ranks 35 of 47 for slaughterers and meat packers, with a median of $37,430 — about 6.73% 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.
- Slaughterers and meat packers occupies position 439 of 489 in Virginia'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.
- Virginia's price level is near the national average, so price deflation is close to neutral for slaughterers and meat packers on its $37,430 median: $30,863 retained after tax becomes $30,634 in national-average terms. Where the price adjustment is small, the tax stack is the dominant determinant of the real outcome. The mean of $36,570 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 | $29,350 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $37,430 |
| Top tenth earn over | $37,690 |
| This salary | $37,430 |
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 Virginia | $30,863 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $32,255 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$2,559 |
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 | $35,698 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$3,095 |
| 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 Virginia earn less than $37,430. The published range is $29,350 up to $37,690, 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 Virginia's $30,863, worked from $37,430. 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 439 of 489.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $30,634 uses one figure for the whole of Virginia. 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 439.
- Reported values are medians; for slaughterers and meat packers in Virginia the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $29,350 to $37,690. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The Virginia take-home of $30,863, on $37,430 for work ranking 439 of 489 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 439 of 489 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $30,634, worked from $37,430, 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 Virginia address, on work sitting at 439 of 489 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $29,350 at the bottom tenth to $37,690 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
The number and the value are different things. Virginia costs more than the national average, so this take-home stretches like $30,634 rather than its face figure.
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 Virginia adds its own income tax on top — which is why $30,863 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.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($29,350 to $37,690) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Virginia rather than a national figure.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
Virginia's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $30,634 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 $30,863 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Virginia 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.