Salary by Metro

SOC 39-2021 · Personal Care and Service Occupations

Animal Caretakers wages by metro

National median annual wage

$35,360

10th percentile
$27,250
25th percentile
$29,820
Median
$35,360
75th percentile
$40,050
90th percentile
$50,060
Mean
$37,300

Annual wage from the May 2025 OEWS estimates.

National employment in May 2025: 266,910.

That median is 30.6% lower than the all-occupations national median of $50,980.

The metro and state figures below are the same May 2025 release. A blank wage means BLS did not publish it. See when a wage is not published.

A U.S. Air Force firefighter standing beside a fire truck
Senior Airman Stephen Czech, a firefighter at Spangdahlem Air Base, in 2021. Photograph by Staff Sgt. Susan Roberts, U.S. Air Force. Wikimedia Commons · Public domain

Highest published medians

Metros with the highest published annual medians for Animal Caretakers.
OccupationEmployment10thMedian90th
Kahului-Wailuku, HI90$31,820$46,270$64,900
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA1,090$39,670$44,070$61,740
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA3,950$37,040$44,060$66,560
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA3,440$38,570$43,640$60,840
Barnstable Town, MA250$36,100$43,540$61,910
Burlington-South Burlington, VT170$34,900$41,330$49,860
El Centro, CA40$34,900$40,880$49,420
Amherst Town-Northampton, MA150$34,840$39,870$58,310
Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA200$36,100$39,870$53,160
Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH5,590$31,210$39,850$66,560
Vallejo, CA230$36,200$39,520$61,380
Bremerton-Silverdale-Port Orchard, WA260$36,800$39,100$60,500
Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ4,480$34,650$39,030$77,080
Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA600$35,990$38,840$53,620
Napa, CA100$36,740$38,750$59,490
Ames, IA190$25,160$38,700$56,010
Portland-South Portland, ME850$35,230$38,580$50,160
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA9,000$35,590$38,520$51,630
Mount Vernon-Anacortes, WA110$37,050$38,410$58,570
Kennewick-Richland, WA190$35,870$38,340$59,310

Where employment is largest

Metros with the most Animal Caretakers jobs in the May 2025 tables.
OccupationEmployment10thMedian90th
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ11,430$34,230$37,900$51,790
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA9,000$35,590$38,520$51,630
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN8,510$31,200$36,110$55,770
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV6,590$30,160$37,710$55,020
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX6,110$27,040$34,310$50,180
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA6,010$21,160$30,090$47,260
Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH5,590$31,210$39,850$66,560
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD5,480$28,670$34,970$49,380
Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX4,650$22,810$30,930$47,990
Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ4,480$34,650$39,030$77,080
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA3,950$37,040$44,060$66,560
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL3,820$29,520$35,160$59,400
Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO3,560$35,580$37,640$55,300
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA3,440$38,570$43,640$60,840
St. Louis, MO-IL3,100$28,600$31,530$46,730
San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA3,030$35,990$37,870$58,940
Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL3,020$29,020$34,830$50,590
Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN2,810$23,080$30,440$43,820
Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI2,800$28,850$31,040$46,500
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI2,760$30,850$36,780$47,180

States and territories

State estimates for Animal Caretakers, May 2025.
OccupationEmployment10thMedian90th
District of Columbia460$37,840$44,210$64,300
Washington6,620$36,100$40,570$64,580
Hawaii570$31,100$40,130$66,200
Massachusetts6,900$32,910$39,650$64,060
California25,710$35,640$38,700$56,270
Arizona6,330$33,320$38,180$68,090
New York12,470$33,800$37,840$48,740
Colorado6,290$32,070$37,430$55,300
Connecticut3,000$35,150$37,310$62,540
Maine1,430$31,360$37,230$48,530
Rhode Island1,020$31,510$37,120$63,120
Maryland5,570$31,500$36,780$56,730
Alaska550$27,030$36,640$58,400
Oregon3,470$33,510$36,580$54,510
Minnesota4,250$29,440$36,430$48,050
Vermont430$31,990$36,090$47,360
New Jersey5,890$32,220$35,850$49,620
Illinois11,070$31,200$35,570$50,160
Virgin Islands50$25,340$35,570$46,280
New Hampshire1,810$27,830$34,790$51,040
Utah2,350$26,310$34,750$56,730
Virginia10,070$28,050$34,380$46,180
Montana1,200$26,170$34,210$49,080
Florida17,210$28,950$34,150$50,140
North Dakota770$29,960$34,040$62,170
Delaware1,230$31,200$33,910$42,500
New Mexico1,710$27,980$33,570$44,020
Texas20,450$23,260$32,730$49,660
Idaho1,760$22,000$32,170$46,990
Nebraska2,100$28,080$31,680$52,010
Pennsylvania9,910$23,430$31,360$47,960
South Carolina4,090$22,880$31,280$46,160
Missouri5,820$28,600$31,230$44,930
North Carolina9,730$23,210$30,870$46,120
Kentucky6,140$22,600$30,720$47,290
Tennessee6,110$23,980$30,550$47,020
South Dakota1,110$27,260$30,390$44,960
Michigan6,290$27,770$30,320$45,480
Nevada2,470$27,280$30,320$51,040
Ohio9,350$24,130$30,310$49,450
Arkansas2,040$27,290$30,230$47,990
Wisconsin5,720$23,920$30,160$47,700
Iowa3,480$22,450$30,080$45,610
Indiana6,420$22,440$29,990$43,270
Georgia9,110$21,370$29,860$47,260
Kansas3,000$21,720$29,830$49,450
Wyoming460$21,330$29,080$50,290
Oklahoma3,170$21,320$28,940$43,880
West Virginia1,160$22,050$28,550$44,810
Alabama4,100$21,740$28,330$45,860
Louisiana2,660$21,600$27,910$40,000
Puerto Rico520$21,840$27,600$31,200
Mississippi1,900$21,160$26,970$36,970

Other personal care and service occupations

Questions this page answers

What is the national median wage for Animal Caretakers?

In the May 2025 OEWS estimates, the national median annual wage for Animal Caretakers is $35,360. Employment is 266,910.

How does Animal Caretakers pay compare with all occupations?

The national median for Animal Caretakers is 30.6% lower than the all-occupations median of $50,980.

Which metro has the highest published median for Animal Caretakers?

Among metros with a published annual median in the May 2025 tables, Kahului-Wailuku, HI is highest on this page's list at $46,270.