What Is the Salary for a Pet Sitter?
While it's important to choose something you like when starting a business, it's equally important to choose something that will help pay the bills. If you have a heart for animals, a pet sitting business may be right for you. There's no single answer to the question of how much money a pet sitter makes. Various factors will determine how much you can charge customers for your service.
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Average
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On average, a pet sitter makes $32,000 a year, according to the Simply Hired job listing site. To calculate this average, Simply Hired compiled the salary for every job listed on its site that included the term "pet sitter." This means that the figure may be inaccurate---since job listings for "dog sitter," for example, may be excluded---but it is likely a safe estimate.
Location
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Pet sitters in large cities around the United States make average salaries in the low $20,000 range, according to research by SalaryExpert. The 10 cities in the sample span the continental United States but exclude the northwest, Alaska and Hawaii. Dallas-based pet sitters make the least of the surveyed cities, averaging just over $18,900 a year. Pet sitters in Boston make the most, averaging more than $25,200. The median salary for all pet sitters in the nation is $22,050, according to the data.
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Large Operations
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While most pet sitters make salaries in the tens of thousands, those who run larger operations can make thousands more. More than 11 percent of members of Pet Sitters International, a worldwide association of pet-sitting professionals, own businesses that earn more than $75,000. Some, such as Tammy Roussin, owner of St. Louis-based Absolutely Pampered Pets Sitting & Walking Services, even make as much as $100,000. Factors such as business size, location and client base all influence these figures. For example, a pet-sitting service based in an affluent neighborhood near several dog parks stands to have more customers than one based near an apartment complex where pets are forbidden.
Frequency of Services
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The frequency of services can determine a pet sitter's salary as much as anything else. If, for example, you plan to run your pet-sitting business alongside another job, you'll have less time to make money doing it. In this case you might charge more for your service to maintain a salary in line with those of other pet sitters, but you also risk losing customers, unless you change your client base to accommodate more affluent customers.
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