Meat Cutting/Meat Cutter Degrees (2026 stats)
TL;DR
Meat Cutting/Meat Cutter maps to BLS occupations averaging about $46,105, with roughly 579,560 workers nationwide in those roles. Median in-state published tuition is about $4,322; common paths include Slaughterers and Meat Packers and Meat, Poultry, and Fish Cutters and Trimmers.
Key Statistics
Meat Cutting/Meat Cutter: what the data shows
Common questions about meat cutting/meat cutter degrees, answered from IPEDS, College Scorecard, BLS OEWS, and O*NET in this repository—not program marketing copy.
What is a meat cutting/meat cutter degree?
A Meat Cutting/Meat Cutter program is classified under NCES CIP 12.0506 in the Culinary Arts and Related Services field family (12.05).
A program that prepares individuals to receive, cut, and package animal meat products in commercial establishments and to function as licensed meat cutters/butchers. Includes instruction in product recognition for beef, veal, lamb, pork, poultry, and fancy and smoked meats; retail and wholesale cutting and specialty cuts; packaging and counter display; shop safety; meat sanitation, storage and rotation; quality control; meat handling laws and regulations; and customer service
Types of meat cutting/meat cutter degrees and related programs
Other NCES program codes in the 12.05 family with pages on EDsmart Data:
- Baking and Pastry Arts/Baker/Pastry Chef (CIP 12.0501)
- Bartending/Bartender (CIP 12.0502)
- Culinary Arts & Related Services (CIP 12.0500)
- Culinary Arts/Chef Training (CIP 12.0503)
- Culinary Science/Culinology (CIP 12.0509)
- Food Preparation/Professional Cooking/Kitchen Assistant (CIP 12.0505)
- Food Service, Waiter/Waitress, and Dining Room Management/Manager (CIP 12.0507)
- Institutional Food Workers (CIP 12.0508)
- Reserved (CIP 12.0580)
- Restaurant, Culinary, and Catering Management/Manager (CIP 12.0504)
- Wine Steward/Sommelier (CIP 12.0510)
How long does it take to get a meat cutting/meat cutter degree?
Award levels reported to IPEDS for CIP 12.0506 in our file:
- 5 Associate (100.0% of IPEDS total)—about two years of full-time study
Time to completion depends on enrollment intensity and transfer credits; figures above describe credential type, not calendar time for every student.
What degree do you need?
For Slaughterers and Meat Packers (top mapped occupation), O*NET incumbent surveys in our career profile report these education credentials most often: Some college (29%), High School or Equivalent (27%), Bachelors Degree (22%).
O*NET education distributions describe incumbent workers, not minimum legal or employer requirements.
What jobs can you get with a meat cutting/meat cutter degree?
Our degree→occupation mapping links Meat Cutting/Meat Cutter to the BLS roles below. Employment is U.S. OEWS; median wage is national May 2024 where published in our extract.
| Occupation | U.S. employment | Median annual wage |
|---|---|---|
| Slaughterers and Meat Packers | 67,500 | $39,790 |
| Meat, Poultry, and Fish Cutters and Trimmers | 141,090 | $37,700 |
| Cutting, Punching, and Press Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic | 174,430 | $45,590 |
| Textile Cutting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders | 8,960 | $37,940 |
| Butchers and Meat Cutters | 140,040 | $38,960 |
| Cutting and Slicing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders | 47,540 | $45,700 |
See Careers & Jobs for mean wages and industry context.
Is a meat cutting/meat cutter degree worth it?
College Scorecard national medians for the Culinary Arts and Related Services bachelor's program family: median debt $47,936, median earnings $47,668 four years after enrollment. Debt-to-earnings proxy: 1.62.
About 2.1% of graduates in this field family were not working and not enrolled one year after completion in Scorecard's national program medians.
Among schools reporting in our Scorecard extract, median published in-state tuition is $4,322 and median net price is $8,562.
We do not score "worth" on opinion—compare debt, earnings, wages for mapped occupations, and completion data above against your cost and career target.
Institutions
Information about the types of higher education institutions that grant degrees in Meat Cutting/Meat Cutter and the types of students that study this field.
Tuition Costs for Common Institutions
$4,322 Median In-State Public
$17,036 Median Out of State Private
Tuition costs for Meat Cutting/Meat Cutter majors are, on average, $4,322 for in-state public colleges, and $17,036 for out of state private colleges.
Tuition costs comparison for Meat Cutting/Meat Cutter programs.
Degrees Awarded Over Time
100,000 Total Degrees Awarded in 2023
This chart shows the number of degrees awarded in Meat Cutting/Meat Cutter from 2015 to 2023.
Historical trend of degrees awarded in Meat Cutting/Meat Cutter.
Top 5 Schools by Enrollment
| # | School | State | Enrollment |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Southern New Hampshire University | NH | 163,164 |
| 2 | Southern New Hampshire University | NH | 163,164 |
| 3 | Southern New Hampshire University | NH | 163,164 |
| 4 | Ivy Tech Community College | IN | 58,267 |
| 5 | Miami Dade College | FL | 46,182 |
Schools with the largest enrollment offering Meat Cutting/Meat Cutter programs.
Top 5 Most Affordable Tuition
| # | School | State | Tuition |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tohono O'odham Community College | AZ | $932 |
| 2 | Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute | NM | $1,095 |
| 3 | Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute | NM | $1,095 |
| 4 | Woodland Community College | CA | $1,124 |
| 5 | Woodland Community College | CA | $1,124 |
Schools with the lowest tuition costs for Meat Cutting/Meat Cutter programs.
Top 5 Lowest Net Price
| # | School | State | Net Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | College of the Sequoias | CA | $480 |
| 2 | College of the Sequoias | CA | $480 |
| 3 | Wiregrass Georgia Technical College | GA | $614 |
| 4 | Wiregrass Georgia Technical College | GA | $614 |
| 5 | Henry Ford College | MI | $660 |
Schools with the lowest average net price for Meat Cutting/Meat Cutter programs.
Graduation Rates
Graduation rate data is not available for this degree program.
Graduation/completion rates for Meat Cutting/Meat Cutter programs across institutions.
Related specializations
Other NCES program codes in the 12.05 CIP family with dedicated pages on EDsmart Data.
- Baking and Pastry Arts/Baker/Pastry Chef CIP 12.0501
- Bartending/Bartender CIP 12.0502
- Culinary Arts & Related Services CIP 12.0500
- Culinary Arts/Chef Training CIP 12.0503
- Culinary Science/Culinology CIP 12.0509
- Food Preparation/Professional Cooking/Kitchen Assistant CIP 12.0505
- Food Service, Waiter/Waitress, and Dining Room Management/Manager CIP 12.0507
- Institutional Food Workers CIP 12.0508
- Reserved CIP 12.0580
- Restaurant, Culinary, and Catering Management/Manager CIP 12.0504
- Wine Steward/Sommelier CIP 12.0510
Degree Levels (IPEDS)
Completions reported to IPEDS for CIP 12.0506 in the survey year used in our extract (5 total across levels below).
- 5 Associate (100.0% of IPEDS total)
Source: IPEDS Completions (c2024_a), summed by award level for this CIP.
Careers & Jobs
Occupations linked to this major in our degree→career mapping, with wages and employment from processed BLS career profiles in this repo.
Across these BLS occupations, employment-weighted mean pay is about $46,105. Figures are national OEWS estimates for the occupation—not earnings of Meat Cutting/Meat Cutter graduates alone.
Related occupations (BLS OEWS)
| Occupation | Mean annual wage | U.S. employment |
|---|---|---|
| Slaughterers and Meat Packers | $42,660 | 67,500 |
| Meat, Poultry, and Fish Cutters and Trimmers | $40,618 | 141,090 |
| Cutting, Punching, and Press Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic | $50,960 | 174,430 |
| Textile Cutting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders | $42,537 | 8,960 |
| Butchers and Meat Cutters | $47,051 | 140,040 |
| Cutting and Slicing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders | $47,349 | 47,540 |
Open each occupation for full career profile charts and industry breakdowns on EDsmart Data.
Program outcomes (College Scorecard)
National medians across bachelor's programs in the Culinary Arts and Related Services CIP family (3 programs reporting debt). Not specific to every Meat Cutting/Meat Cutter graduate.
- $47,936 median federal loan debt among completers
- $47,668 median earnings four years after enrollment (national program median)
- 1.62 debt-to-earnings ratio (Scorecard proxy)
- 2.1% of graduates not working and not enrolled one year out (program cohort)
Source: College Scorecard program-level outcomes aggregated by 4-digit CIP family.
Employment
Wages and industry mix below use BLS OEWS data for occupations linked to this major in our mapping—not a graduate earnings survey.
Yearly Income for Common Jobs
$46,105 Average Wage in Workforce
The average salary for Meat Cutting/Meat Cutter majors is $46,105.
Average annual salaries of the most common occupations for Meat Cutting/Meat Cutter majors.
Occupations by Share
579,560 2023 Workforce
The number of Meat Cutting/Meat Cutter graduates in the workforce has been growing.
Various jobs filled by those with a major in Meat Cutting/Meat Cutter by share of the total number of graduates.
Diversity
Demographic information for those who earn a degree in Meat Cutting/Meat Cutter in the United States.
Workforce Age
N/A Average Age in 2023
This chart shows distribution of ages for employees with a degree in Meat Cutting/Meat Cutter.
Age distribution for Meat Cutting/Meat Cutter degree holders in the workforce.
Gender Distribution
60 Total Degrees Awarded
47 Male (78.33%)
13 Female (21.67%)
Gender distribution of Meat Cutting/Meat Cutter degree recipients.
Race and Ethnicity Distribution
50 White (83.33%)
3 Two or More Races (5.00%)
2 Hispanic or Latino (3.33%)
2 Black or African American (3.33%)
1 Asian (1.67%)
Racial and ethnic distribution of Meat Cutting/Meat Cutter degree recipients.
Degrees Awarded
The most common degree types awarded to students graduating in Meat Cutting/Meat Cutter are Bachelors Degree, Masters Degree, and Associates Degree.
Distribution of degree types awarded in Meat Cutting/Meat Cutter.
Skills
Data on the critical and distinctive skills necessary for those working in the Meat Cutting/Meat Cutter field from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Required Skills
Meat Cutting/Meat Cutter majors need many skills, but most especially Critical Thinking, Active Listening, and Reading Comprehension.
Rating of how necessary various skills are for Meat Cutting/Meat Cutter majors.
Skills Bar Chart
This bar chart shows the same information as the radar chart, displaying the importance of each skill.
Skill importance ratings for Meat Cutting/Meat Cutter majors.
About
A program that prepares individuals to receive, cut, and package animal meat products in commercial establishments and to function as licensed meat cutters/butchers. Includes instruction in product recognition for beef, veal, lamb, pork, poultry, and fancy and smoked meats; retail and wholesale cutting and specialty cuts; packaging and counter display; shop safety; meat sanitation, storage and rotation; quality control; meat handling laws and regulations; and customer service
In 2023, 100,000 degrees were awarded across all undergraduate and graduate programs in Meat Cutting/Meat Cutter.
CIP Code
12.0506 - Meat Cutting/Meat Cutter
What the data shows
At the program-family level, College Scorecard reports median debt of $47,936 for bachelor's completers and median earnings near $47,668, a debt-to-earnings ratio of 1.62. Those figures describe national program cohorts in this CIP family—not every individual Meat Cutting/Meat Cutter graduate.
Men earned 21.7% of 60 Meat Cutting/Meat Cutter completions in the IPEDS file used here.
Mapped BLS occupations show employment-weighted mean pay of about $46,105. The largest mapped role by headcount is Slaughterers and Meat Packers (67,500 U.S. jobs in OEWS).
Published tuition medians in College Scorecard land at $4,322 in-state at public colleges and $17,036 at private institutions for programs in this field.
Data Sources
This page uses data from the following sources:
- College Scorecard - U.S. Department of Education
- Institutional characteristics, costs, completion rates, and earnings data
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: collegescorecard.ed.gov
- Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS)
- Employment and wage data by occupation
- Latest data: May 2024
- Source: bls.gov/oes
- O*NET Online - U.S. Department of Labor
- Occupational skills, knowledge, abilities, and work activities
- Database version: 28.0 (August 2023)
- Source: onetcenter.org
- IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) - National Center for Education Statistics
- Institutional data, completions, enrollment, and financial aid
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: nces.ed.gov/ipeds
- Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS)
- Demographic and workforce data
- Latest data: 2023 ACS 5-Year Estimates
- Source: census.gov/acs
Data Processing: All data has been processed, cleaned, and aggregated for presentation. Where specific data points are unavailable, estimates are based on available data and clearly marked.
Last Updated: Data reflects the most recent available information as of January 2025.
Methodology
Data for this profile is sourced from the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard dataset, IPEDS completion data, and Bureau of Labor Statistics employment data.
All financial figures are adjusted for inflation and represent the most recent available data. Employment and wage data are from the most recent Census Bureau ACS PUMS estimates.