Animal Caretakers · SOC 39-2021

Highest-Paying Metro Areas for Animal Caretakerss

Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025U.S. metropolitan areas

Metro areas ranked by published median annual wage for animal caretakers. Areas where BLS suppressed the median are not ranked. Higher medians often track higher living costs — this is a pay comparison, not a ranking of where the job is “best”.

Top 25 of 385 metro areas

Animal Caretakers: metro areas with the highest published median annual wages, May 2025
#	Metro area	Median annual	Employment	Per 1,000 jobs
1	Kahului-Wailuku, HI	$46,270	90	1.3
2	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA	$44,070	1,090	1.0
3	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA	$44,060	3,950	1.9
4	San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA	$43,640	3,440	1.5
5	Barnstable Town, MA	$43,540	250	2.6
6	Burlington-South Burlington, VT	$41,330	170	1.4
7	El Centro, CA	$40,880	40	0.6
8	Amherst Town-Northampton, MA	$39,870	150	2.3
9	Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA	$39,870	200	2.0
10	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH	$39,850	5,590	2.1
11	Vallejo, CA	$39,520	230	1.6
12	Bremerton-Silverdale-Port Orchard, WA	$39,100	260	2.8
13	Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ	$39,030	4,480	1.9
14	Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA	$38,840	600	2.9
15	Napa, CA	$38,750	100	1.3
16	Ames, IA	$38,700	190	3.5
17	Portland-South Portland, ME	$38,580	850	3.0
18	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA	$38,520	9,000	1.4
19	Mount Vernon-Anacortes, WA	$38,410	110	2.1
20	Kennewick-Richland, WA	$38,340	190	1.5
21	Modesto, CA	$38,320	280	1.4
22	San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, CA	$38,280	270	2.2
23	Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT	$38,180	920	2.3
24	Flagstaff, AZ	$38,180	150	2.2
25	Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA	$37,970	380	1.9

Full state and metro tables, the national distribution, and the pay map are on the Animal Caretakers overview.

About this data. Estimates are from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program, May 2025 release, retrieved from bls.gov/oes/tables.htm on July 24, 2026. OEWS estimates describe metropolitan/nonmetropolitan areas and states — not city limits — and are not designed for year-over-year comparisons. See BLS methodology, our plain-English methodology, and sources. CitySalaryData is independent and not affiliated with BLS.