SOC 39-2021.00Bright outlook

    Animal Caretakers

    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.

    Median pay
    $35,360
    Growth
    +12.1%
    Much faster than average
    Openings a year
    62,800
    Typical education
    High school diploma

    Data verified Nov 2026 · CollegesRef 2026–27 edition

    Source: BLS 2025 wages · 2025–35 projections

    See the pathway

    Annual pay range

    Lowest 10% earn less than
    $27,250
    Median
    $35,360
    Highest 10% earn more than
    $50,060
    National wages for all workers in this occupation. BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025.

    266,910 people work in this occupation.

    In short

    Animal caretakers feed, groom, and care for pets and other non-food animals in settings like shelters, kennels, and zoos. The position pays a median annual salary of $35,360.

    Written with AI from the BLS, O*NET and CareerOneStop data on this page. Every figure is checked against that data before it is published.

    What animal caretakers do

    Job Zone 2: Some preparation

    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.

    Usually a high school diploma; some on-the-job training or experience.

    What the work is like

    Animal caretakers focus on the daily well-being of animals such as dogs, cats, birds, and zoo animals. Their primary tasks include feeding, watering, grooming, bathing, and exercising animals. They also clean, disinfect, and repair cages, pens, or tanks, and keep detailed records of feedings, treatments, and animal intake or discharge.

    This role fits people with strong realistic interests who enjoy physical, hands-on work. Caretakers must gather information, monitor surroundings, handle objects, and make decisions to keep animals safe. Important skills include active listening, coordination, and monitoring. Success in this field requires work styles like dependability, cooperation, attention to detail, and stress tolerance. Caretakers also need basic knowledge of customer service, administration, biology, and public safety.

    How to get there

    Entering this field typically requires a high school diploma. Most workers prepare through some on-the-job training or prior experience. For those pursuing higher education, related college majors include anthrozoology as well as agricultural and domestic animal services.

    While not always required, several professional certifications are available to demonstrate specialized skills. These include the AKC Professional Grooming Credential, Certified Farrier, Certified Manager of Animal Resources, Certified Professional Pet Sitter, Equine Facility Manager Level 1 - Stable Worker, and NACA ACO I. Additionally, some states list a license for this work.

    Pay and outlook explained

    The median annual pay for animal caretakers is $35,360. Earnings can vary based on experience and location, with the lowest 10 percent earning less than $27,250 and the highest 10 percent earning more than $50,060.

    There are 266,910 people employed in this field. Opportunities are expanding rapidly, with employment projected to grow by 12.1 percent from 2025 to 2035, which is much faster than average. This growth is expected to result in 62,800 job openings each year.

    Interest profile

    Realistic (R) · strongest
    86 / 100
    Investigative (I)
    29 / 100
    Artistic (A)
    10 / 100
    Social (S)
    46 / 100
    Enterprising (E)
    9 / 100
    Conventional (C)
    38 / 100
    How strongly each interest area describes the work, from O*NET (scores rescaled to 0–100). The interest code lists the strongest areas in order.

    Interest code RSC. Compare it with yours

    What you'd do

    Getting Information
    85
    Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates
    81
    Performing General Physical Activities
    80
    Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events
    75
    Handling and Moving Objects
    71
    Monitoring Processes, Materials, or Surroundings
    70
    Making Decisions and Solving Problems
    68
    Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work
    65
    Documenting/Recording Information
    65
    Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships
    64
    Work activities rated by importance for this occupation, O*NET (0–100).

    Skills and strengths

    Skills

    • Monitoring
    • Active Listening
    • Coordination
    • Judgment and Decision Making
    • Reading Comprehension
    • Service Orientation
    • Speaking
    • Critical Thinking
    • Social Perceptiveness
    • Writing

    Knowledge

    • Customer and Personal Service
    • Administrative
    • English Language
    • Education and Training
    • Administration and Management
    • Psychology
    • Mathematics
    • Public Safety and Security
    • Chemistry
    • Biology

    Abilities

    • Oral Comprehension
    • Information Ordering
    • Near Vision
    • Oral Expression
    • Problem Sensitivity
    • Static Strength
    • Deductive Reasoning
    • Inductive Reasoning
    • Speech Clarity
    • Speech Recognition

    Work styles

    • Dependability
    • Cooperation
    • Attention to Detail
    • Sincerity
    • Optimism
    • Integrity
    • Perseverance
    • Cautiousness
    • Self-Control
    • Stress Tolerance

    Also called

    Animal Care Attendant · Animal Care Giver (ACG) · Animal Care Service Worker · Animal Care Specialist · Animal Care Taker · Animal Care Technician · Animal Caregiver · Animal Caretaker · Animal Daycare Provider · Animal Feeder

    Career pathway

    From your interests to animal caretakers

    Interests that fit the work, the career, majors that lead there and colleges whose graduates in those majors earn the most. Hover or focus a step to follow one path.

    1. Interests

    2. This career

      • Animal Caretakers$35,360 median pay

    3. Majors

    4. Colleges

    College Scorecard program outcomes

    Colleges with strong outcomes

    Programs that lead to this career, ranked by what their graduates earn four years after finishing. Earnings are for graduates who received federal aid.

    1. 1Johnson & Wales University-Providence logo
      Johnson & Wales University-Providence

      Providence, RI · Agricultural and Domestic Animal Services · Bachelor's

      1 yr after
      Not reported
      4 yrs after
      $47,871
      Median debt
      Not reported
    2. 2The University of Findlay logo
      The University of Findlay

      Findlay, OH · Agricultural and Domestic Animal Services · Bachelor's

      1 yr after
      $31,521
      4 yrs after
      $46,301
      Median debt
      $26,777
    3. 3
      Midway University

      Midway, KY · Agricultural and Domestic Animal Services · Bachelor's

      1 yr after
      Not reported
      4 yrs after
      $45,192
      Median debt
      $22,500
    4. 4
      Centenary University

      Hackettstown, NJ · Agricultural and Domestic Animal Services · Bachelor's

      1 yr after
      $31,067
      4 yrs after
      $40,047
      Median debt
      Not reported
    5. 5
      Colorado State University-Fort Collins

      Fort Collins, CO · Agricultural and Domestic Animal Services · Bachelor's

      1 yr after
      $37,077
      4 yrs after
      $39,595
      Median debt
      $13,000
    6. 6West Texas A & M University logo
      West Texas A & M University

      Canyon, TX · Agricultural and Domestic Animal Services · Bachelor's

      1 yr after
      $24,185
      4 yrs after
      $37,996
      Median debt
      Not reported
    7. 7William Woods University logo
      William Woods University

      Fulton, MO · Agricultural and Domestic Animal Services · Bachelor's

      1 yr after
      Not reported
      4 yrs after
      $33,757
      Median debt
      $25,000

    Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard field-of-study data, 2025. Programs with few graduates are not listed.

    NCES CIP–SOC crosswalk

    Majors that lead here

    Related programs by four-digit CIP code. They are common routes in, not the only ones.

    CareerOneStop

    Certifications, licenses and pay by state

    What animal caretakers may need beyond a degree, where a license is required, and what the work pays in each state.

    Certifications

    Core certifications employers recognise for this work.

    Search all certifications on CareerOneStop

    Training

    Programs of study that prepare people for this work.

    • Anthrozoology
    • Dog/Pet/Animal Grooming
    • Farrier Science

    Find training near you on CareerOneStop

    Licenses by state

    20 states list a license for this work. Open your state for the license and the agency that issues it.

    Check license requirements on CareerOneStop

    Data from CareerOneStop, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor (Employment and Training Administration, with the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development). Retrieved November 9, 2026.

    Your plan

    Build my pathway plan

    Courses, majors, colleges, scholarships and a timeline for this career, built from your profile.

    Related careers

    Careers with similar work, interests or skills.

    All careers

    Questions about animal caretakers

    Written with AI from the BLS, O*NET and CareerOneStop data on this page. Every figure is checked against that data before it is published.

    What are some alternative job titles for this career?

    People in this field are also called animal care attendants, animal care specialists, animal caregivers, animal daycare providers, and animal feeders.

    Where do animal caretakers typically work?

    They work in a variety of environments where non-food animals are kept. Common settings include kennels, animal shelters, zoos, circuses, and aquariums.

    What are some related careers in animal care?

    Related career paths include veterinary assistants and laboratory animal caretakers, animal trainers, animal breeders, veterinary technologists and technicians, animal control workers, and farmworkers.

    Sources and attribution

    Every figure on this page comes from these public datasets. Missing values are shown as not reported, never estimated.

    O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. CollegesRef has modified all or some of this information.

    Data from CareerOneStop, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor (Employment and Training Administration, with the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development). Retrieved November 9, 2026.

    Page data updated November 5, 2026.