What Is the Income of an Animal Caretaker?
Animal caretakers face a number of decisions when planning their careers, including whether to specialize in one type of animal, what areas of care to study and the industry in which they seek employment. Choice of industry may have a major impact on an animal caretaker’s income, as does the section of the country in which the caretaker resides.
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National Totals
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Approximately 135,070 animal caretakers were involved in saving the nine lives, wagging tails, gills, fins and scales of animals across the nation, as of May 2010, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In the bureau's study of employment and wages, animal caretaker salaries ranged from $16,050 in the 10th percentile to $31,880 in the 90th percentile, with a median wage for members of this profession coming in at $19,550.
Animal Attraction
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Animal caretakers in the District of Columbia earned the highest wages in the country, with an annual mean wage of $32,700, which beat the country’s 90th percentile wage. Hawaii’s animal caretakers came close to topping the 90th percentile, with the second-highest salary of $30,050. Employers in Alaska paid the third-highest animal caretaker salary, at $29,150, followed by those in Maryland at $25,070. Connecticut’s caretakers received the fifth-highest salary at $24,790.
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Caretaker Clusters
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California was home to the largest caretaker contingent in the country and also paid an above-average annual mean wage of $23,850. Texas had the second-highest level of caretaker employment in the country, paying just over the median wage at $20,770. New York’s caretakers, in the state with the third-highest employment level, earned a higher-than-average $24,010. Florida and Illinois, with the fourth- and fifth-highest employment levels, paid above-average wages of $21,940 and $22,340, respectively.
Private Sector vs. Government
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Animal caretaker salaries divided along the lines of employment industries. Although the “Personal Services” category employed more animal caretakers than any other industry, the salary of $22,200 for workers in this industry didn’t make the bureau's top five. The next-largest employer of animal caretakers, the "Scientific and Technical Services" category, also paid an above-median wage of $20,720, but it didn’t make the top five, either. Animal caretakers employed by the federal executive branch of the government earned the highest salary at $39,010, followed by those in state government, who took home $33,950. Local government paid its animal caretakers $28,950 in annual mean wages.
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References
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