Animal Caretakers Salary - BLS OEWS Wage Benchmarks
SOC 39-2021 · National · May 2025 OEWS Data
Is this a competitive Animal Caretakers salary in 2026?
Based on BLS OEWS wage percentiles, JOLTS June 2026 demand signals, and ECI Q2 2026 wage growth.
How Animal Caretakers pay is moving in 2026
Trend, demand, and spread context from BLS OEWS, JOLTS, and ECI
Median pay for this role rose 5.7% between the May 2024 and May 2025 BLS surveys, outpacing the 3.4% wage growth of Retail Trade (BLS ECI).
Retail Trade is running a 4.8% job-openings rate with quits at 3.0% (BLS JOLTS). Demand has tightened for 2 straight months (4.2% up to 4.8%).
Top earners (P90) make about 1.8 times what entry-level (P10) workers make in this role. That spread is narrower than typical, so pay is fairly standardized; small differences move a candidate across the market.
- Aug 4, 2026JOLTS June 2026: sector openings climbed to 4.8% and quits returned to 3.0%. Frontline churn pressure is building again.
- Jul 31, 2026ECI Q2 2026: sector wages growing 3.4% per year, up from 3.1%, one of the few sectors accelerating.
Commentary is generated from published BLS figures (OEWS May 2025 vs May 2024, JOLTS June 2026, ECI Q2 2026) and refreshed each release. It is interpretation, not a BLS product.
The national median salary for Animal Caretakers is $35,360 per year ($17.00/hr) according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, May 2025. The middle 50% of earners make between $29,827 and $40,061 annually. Top earners at the 90th percentile reach $50,066 per year. There are approximately 266,910 animal caretakers employed in the United States.
About This Role
Feed, water, groom, bathe, exercise, or otherwise provide care to promote and maintain the well-being of pets and other animals that are not raised for consumption, such as dogs, cats, race horses, ornamental fish or birds, zoo animals, and mice. Work in settings such as kennels, animal shelters, zoos, circuses, and aquariums. May keep records of feedings, treatments, and animals received or discharged. May clean, disinfect, and repair cages, pens, or fish tanks.
Career Outlook
About This Data
Wage figures on this page come from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, May 2025 release. OEWS surveys roughly 1.1 million establishments annually. It is the most comprehensive employer-reported wage dataset in the United States.
P10 through P90 percentiles represent the wage distribution across all surveyed employers (not self-reported by workers). Geographic adjustments use BLS-derived cost multipliers calibrated from regional wage variation.
Wages are estimates. Individual compensation depends on experience, education, employer size, industry, and negotiation. Use this as benchmark context, not absolute ground truth.
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