Meat, Poultry 2025 Salary Survey Puts Satisfaction Alongside Pay

Meat and poultry employers can now benchmark compensation and worker attitudes through the 2025 Salary & Job Satisfaction Survey, published this year by trade outlet meatpoultry.com under the headline "More than a paycheck."

That title does real work. It signals the survey measures compensation alongside how workers actually feel about their jobs — and refuses to treat pay as the only variable that matters.

The U.S. meat and poultry industry runs hundreds of processing plants and employs a large hourly workforce across rural and Midwest counties. Wages, shift premiums (extra pay for non-day shifts), and benefits have long sat at the center of recruitment fights. The 2025 survey layers satisfaction data on top of that pay picture.

What does the survey actually cover?

Two modules. Salary, broken down by role — line worker, supervisor, sanitation lead, plant manager — and likely by region. And job satisfaction, gauging engagement, perceived safety, and intention to stay.

For workers, the practical question is whether a raise closes the retention gap — or whether something else drives them to walk. The survey's design suggests both halves get equal weight.

For HR and plant managers, the takeaway is plain: a market-rate bump (an increase that brings pay in line with competitors) no longer settles the retention argument on its own. Hourly workers in meat and poultry have alternatives in food manufacturing, warehousing, and logistics. They now compare employers on more than dollars.

Why does "more than a paycheck" matter now?

Labor markets in food manufacturing have tightened since 2022. Wage growth has slowed but not stopped. Workers who moved during the post-pandemic reshuffle have stayed put longer, and turnover data across the sector has trended downward in patches.

That shift puts satisfaction in sharper focus. Pay is necessary. It is no longer sufficient.

The full 2025 Salary & Job Satisfaction Survey, including regional pay cuts and satisfaction breakdowns, runs on meatpoultry.com. Hiring teams and workers should both read the role-level detail before the next compensation cycle closes — because the next raise will be judged against more than the number on the check.