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The differences between meat clerks and butchers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a meat clerk and a butcher. Additionally, a butcher has an average salary of $32,047, which is higher than the $31,494 average annual salary of a meat clerk.
The top three skills for a meat clerk include grinders, basic math and math. The most important skills for a butcher are food safety, culinary, and safety standards.
| Meat Clerk | Butcher | |
| Yearly salary | $31,494 | $32,047 |
| Hourly rate | $15.14 | $15.41 |
| Growth rate | -3% | -3% |
| Number of jobs | 73,741 | 6,871 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 4 |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 48% | High School Diploma, 42% |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
A meat clerk's role is to provide conveniently cut and packed meat to consumers in a retail store or similar setting. One of their primary responsibilities is to greet customers, respond to their requests and inquiries, manage the display by removing expired meat products, label goods according to their prices and specifications, manage storage, and follow all health standards and protocols. Furthermore, a meat clerk must maintain the store's sanitation, ensuring to abide by all safety policies.
A butcher is someone responsible for turning whole or large pieces of meat into ready-to-cook or retail-ready portions that can be purchased by customers or restaurants. Butchers know how to cut meat, poultry, and fish properly, so they deal mostly with sharp instruments like knives, grinders, and other cutting equipment. Butchers are knowledgeable in the science of temperature and aging to ensure they are of great quality at all times and adhere to health regulations. They are commonly seen in wet markets, supermarkets, grocery stores, butcher shops, and slaughterhouses, but some are self-employed or have their own meat shop.
Meat clerks and butchers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Meat Clerk | Butcher | |
| Average salary | $31,494 | $32,047 |
| Salary range | Between $24,000 And $39,000 | Between $25,000 And $40,000 |
| Highest paying City | Danvers, MA | Boston, MA |
| Highest paying state | Washington | Massachusetts |
| Best paying company | Conagra Brands | Omaha Steaks |
| Best paying industry | Retail | Finance |
There are a few differences between a meat clerk and a butcher in terms of educational background:
| Meat Clerk | Butcher | |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 48% | High School Diploma, 42% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between meat clerks' and butchers' demographics:
| Meat Clerk | Butcher | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 81.4% Female, 18.6% | Male, 88.0% Female, 12.0% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 7.2% Unknown, 3.7% Hispanic or Latino, 18.6% Asian, 6.4% White, 63.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1% | Black or African American, 7.6% Unknown, 3.8% Hispanic or Latino, 19.5% Asian, 6.6% White, 61.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 3% | 3% |