Best Cities for Butchers and Meat Cutterss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where butchers and meat cutterss get the most value from their salary after accounting for cost of living. A score above 1.00 means better than national average.

How we calculate this: City Score = (Local Salary ÷ National Median) ÷ (Local Cost ÷ National Avg Cost). A score of 1.20 means 20% better purchasing power than average.

#	Location	Score	Raw Salary	Adjusted Salary	Rent/Income
1	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.32	$60,600	$53,018	44%
2	WisconsinState	1.24	$45,980	$49,816	28%
3	AlaskaState	1.21	$50,450	$48,370	32%
4	WashingtonState	1.20	$51,670	$48,155	44%
5	WyomingState	1.20	$44,820	$48,194	26%
6	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.20	$51,980	$48,219	41%
7	OregonState	1.19	$49,360	$47,922	39%
8	IndianaState	1.17	$42,440	$46,895	30%
9	DelawareState	1.16	$47,040	$46,574	35%
10	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	1.16	$42,960	$46,696	36%
11	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.14	$45,420	$45,648	39%
12	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	1.14	$44,010	$45,748	42%
13	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	1.14	$45,220	$45,909	46%
14	ArizonaState	1.13	$45,780	$45,372	39%
15	HawaiiState	1.13	$50,080	$45,527	57%
16	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.13	$42,030	$45,291	37%
17	ColoradoState	1.12	$47,490	$45,057	47%
18	MinnesotaState	1.12	$43,930	$44,827	35%
19	New HampshireState	1.12	$47,740	$45,038	40%
20	Rhode IslandState	1.12	$45,210	$44,985	40%
21	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.12	$41,720	$45,103	34%
22	MassachusettsState	1.11	$48,430	$44,636	56%
23	VermontState	1.11	$45,580	$44,468	38%
24	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	1.10	$46,670	$44,112	43%
25	TennesseeState	1.09	$39,960	$43,672	38%
26	MontanaState	1.08	$41,600	$43,154	33%
27	North DakotaState	1.08	$40,080	$43,283	29%
28	South CarolinaState	1.08	$39,790	$43,250	38%
29	UtahState	1.08	$43,440	$43,353	41%
30	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.08	$39,590	$43,410	37%
31	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.07	$48,910	$43,093	63%
32	District of ColumbiaState	1.06	$48,760	$42,660	52%
33	MichiganState	1.06	$39,350	$42,633	34%
34	MissouriState	1.06	$37,860	$42,731	33%
35	FloridaState	1.05	$42,790	$42,158	48%
36	IowaState	1.05	$37,750	$42,321	30%
37	AlabamaState	1.04	$36,500	$41,906	31%
38	New YorkState	1.04	$47,080	$41,849	47%
39	OhioState	1.04	$37,630	$41,626	33%
40	ConnecticutState	1.03	$44,570	$41,422	42%
41	GeorgiaState	1.03	$38,540	$41,263	44%
42	KansasState	1.03	$37,320	$41,467	33%
43	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.03	$39,680	$41,420	45%
44	Columbus, OHMetro	1.03	$38,790	$41,487	40%
45	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.03	$49,610	$41,273	76%
46	LouisianaState	1.02	$36,790	$40,832	34%
47	NebraskaState	1.02	$37,630	$41,126	33%
48	South DakotaState	1.02	$37,310	$41,090	31%
49	MarylandState	1.01	$44,130	$40,412	46%
50	North CarolinaState	1.01	$38,240	$40,508	41%
51	CaliforniaState	1.00	$44,290	$40,009	61%
52	IllinoisState	1.00	$39,240	$40,287	40%
53	KentuckyState	1.00	$35,430	$40,034	32%
54	NevadaState	1.00	$40,290	$40,210	43%
55	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.00	$38,910	$40,196	50%
56	ArkansasState	0.99	$34,380	$39,838	31%
57	New MexicoState	0.99	$36,640	$39,826	34%
58	OklahomaState	0.99	$35,070	$39,627	33%
59	West VirginiaState	0.99	$33,570	$39,869	30%
60	IdahoState	0.98	$38,030	$39,409	38%
61	PennsylvaniaState	0.98	$38,340	$39,526	41%
62	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	0.98	$40,810	$39,430	47%
63	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.98	$44,160	$39,149	54%
64	TexasState	0.97	$37,400	$39,121	44%
65	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.97	$38,040	$39,136	50%
66	VirginiaState	0.96	$39,770	$38,425	48%
67	MaineState	0.95	$38,250	$38,327	41%
68	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.91	$42,400	$36,395	64%
69	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.90	$39,140	$36,074	63%
70	New JerseyState	0.88	$38,540	$35,423	56%
71	MississippiState	0.87	$29,700	$35,024	36%

Data Sources: Salary: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS). Cost of Living: BEA Regional Price Parities (2024). Rent: HUD Fair Market Rents (FY2025).