SOC 51-3022 · May 2025 · BLS OEWS
Meat, Poultry, and Fish Cutters and Trimmers — Topeka
Topeka, KS
In Topeka, KS the median wage for Meat, Poultry, and Fish Cutters and Trimmers reaches $52,050 a year.
Wage distribution · annual
Shaded band holds the middle 50% of earners
How pay has moved
The next ten years
Projected to grow faster than average
- Change in jobs, 2024 to 2034
- +5.5%
- Openings per year
- 18,400
- Typical entry-level education
- No formal educational credential
- On-the-job training
- Short-term on-the-job training
Includes jobs opened by workers leaving the occupation, not only new positions.
Projections are published nationally only. This is the outlook for the occupation across the United States, not a measurement for Topeka, KS.
Projections are based on 2024 employment and run to 2034. The wages above are from the May 2025 survey, a separate BLS programme on a different release cycle, so the two are not two views of one dataset.
Salary overview
In Topeka, KS the median wage for Meat, Poultry, and Fish Cutters and Trimmers reaches $52,050 a year. That is 35.9% more than the national median of $38,300. Pay ranges from under $35,650 at the tenth percentile to more than $59,250 at the ninetieth, with the interquartile range running from $49,940 to $52,050.
The area has 120 jobs in this occupation, giving a location quotient of 1.14 — a measure of how concentrated the occupation is here relative to the country as a whole. Of the 333 occupations with published wages in this area, it sits 186th.
Percentile breakdown
| Percentile | Annual | vs US median |
|---|---|---|
| 10th | $35,650 | −6.9% |
| 25th | $49,940 | +30.4% |
| Median (50th) | $52,050 | +35.9% |
| 75th | $52,050 | +35.9% |
| 90th | $59,250 | +54.7% |
| Mean | $49,920 | +30.3% |
What the pay is worth locally
Prices in Topeka run 11.2% below the national average, so the median of $52,050 goes as far as $58,615 would elsewhere in the country. Measured that way it compares to the national median at 53.0% above the national median in real terms.
Published median
$52,050as reported by BLSLocal price level
88.8US average = 100 · BEA 2024Adjusted for local prices
$58,615US average = 100 · BEA 2024Why the state that pays most is usually not where pay goes furthest
Key takeaways
- Median pay is $52,050 a year, 35.9% above the national median.
- Published pay spans $35,650 to $59,250 between the tenth and ninetieth percentiles.
- The area has 120 jobs in this occupation.
Frequently asked questions
What is the median wage for Meat, Poultry, and Fish Cutters and Trimmers in Topeka, KS?
The median annual wage is $52,050, or $25.03 per hour, as of May 2025. Half of the workers in this occupation earn more than that and half earn less.
Is that higher than the national average?
The national median for this occupation is $38,300, so pay in Topeka, KS is 35.9% higher. These figures are medians, not averages: half of workers fall on each side.
What do the top earners make?
The top tenth of this occupation in Topeka, KS earns more than $59,250 per year. The ninetieth percentile is the highest figure the survey publishes.
What is the starting range?
The tenth percentile wage is $35,650 per year. The survey measures wages actually paid rather than experience level, so this reflects the lowest-paid tenth rather than entry-level pay specifically.
How many jobs are there in this occupation here?
The survey estimates 120 jobs in this occupation in Topeka, KS. Self-employed workers are not included.
Source and methodology
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 Wages are for wage-and-salary workers; self-employed workers are not included. Salary Explorer is an independent project. It is not affiliated with, or endorsed by, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics or any government agency. Full methodology.
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