Historically, we have bought 1/2 cows but haven't in some time. I hadn't even looked into it because I assumed the costs would be very high.
Local to me, it's actually the same exact price to buy a 1/2 cow as it was ~5 years ago, including butchering/packing fees.
But yeah, you need the space.
I think it’s usually a bigger family that goes in on it and spreads it out across their kids/nephews/nieces, etc.
I know I’m happy that someone coordinates it and just asks how much I want and here’s the price.
Most of the cow becomes ground beef.
My grandparents were part of what they called the meat circle. It was a bunch of farmers that took turns slaughtering a cow of their own to share with the group so they didn't have too much meat to deal with at home.
Note that you get all the various types of meat, not just one type.