Animal Keeper Average Salary in United States 2026

How much money does a person working as Animal Keeper make in United States?

Animal Keeper Pay Scale and Salaries in United States

Median Salary, maximum and minimum salary, minimum wage, starting salary, and the salary range

• Salary Range, Minimum Wage, and Starting Salary

  Salaries for the position Animal Keeper in United States range from 30,600 USD (starting salary) to 106,000 USD (maximum salary). It should be noted that the given figure is not the legally mandated minimum wage; rather, it represents the lowest figure reported in a salary survey that included thousands of participants and professionals from all regions of the country.

• Median Salary

  With a median salary of 63,600 USD, half of the professionals who work as Animal Keeper in United States earn less than this amount, and the other half earn more. The median salary denotes the middle value of salaries. Ideally, you would want to belong to the group earning more than the median salary, located on the right side of the salary distribution graph.

• Percentiles and Salary Scale

  The median is closely associated with two other values known as the 25th and 75th percentiles. By examining the salary distribution chart, it can be determined that 25% of professionals employed as Animal Keeper in United States earn less than 51,300 USD, while 75% earn more. Similarly, the chart shows that 75% earn less than 73,300 USD while 25% earn more.

• Pay Scale Structure

  To provide a better understanding of expected salaries, we categorized the frequently occurring salaries into different ranges. This approach provides a more precise representation of salary distribution for the job title Animal Keeper in United States compared to simply calculating the average. The majority of reported salaries, approximately 65%, fall within the range of 38,100 USD to 55,300 USD. About 20% of salaries are below the 38,100 USD mark, while 10% fall within the range of 55,300 USD to 63,100 USD. Only 5% of individuals have salaries exceeding 63,100 USD.

Salary Comparison by Years of Experience / Animal Keeper / United States

How do experience and age affect pay?

The experience level is the most important factor in determining the salary. Naturally, the more years of experience the higher the wage. We broke down salaries by experience level for people working as Animal Keeper and this is what we found.

Employees with less than two years of experience earn approximately 34,800 USD.

While someone with an experience level between two and five years is expected to earn 46,400 USD, 34% more than someone with less than two year's experience.

Moving forward, an experience level between five and ten years lands a salary of 68,600 USD, 48% more than someone with two to five years of experience.

Additionally, professionals whose expertise span anywhere between ten and fifteen years get a salary equivalent to 83,600 USD, 22% more than someone with five to ten years of experience.

If the experience level is between fifteen and twenty years, then the expected wage is 91,200 USD, 9% more than someone with ten to fifteen years of experience.

Lastly, employees with more than twenty years of professional experience get a salary of 98,700 USD, 8% more than people with fifteen to twenty years of experience.

Typical Salary Progress for Most Careers

Salary Comparison By Education / Animal Keeper / United States

How do education levels affect salaries?

Displayed below is the average salary variance between different education levels of professionals working as Animal Keeper.

We all know that higher education equals a bigger salary, but how much more money can a degree add to your income? We broke down salaries by education level for the position Animal Keeper in order to make a comparison.

Level 1: High School

Employees at this education level have an average salary of 39,600 USD.

Level 2: Certificate or Diploma

At this level, the average salary becomes 62,200 USD, 57% more than the previous level.

Level 3: Bachelor's Degree

At this level, the average salary becomes 104,000 USD, 68% more than the previous level.

Typical Salary Difference by Education for Most Careers

Salary and Compensation Comparison By Gender / Animal Keeper / United States

Though gender should not have an effect on pay, in reality, it does. So who gets paid more: men or women? For the people who work as Animal Keeper in United States, the average difference between the salary of male and female employees is 6%.

Average Annual Salary Increment Percentage / Animal Keeper / United States

How much are annual salary increments in United States for individuals working as Animal Keeper? How often do employees get salary raises?

Individuals working as Animal Keeper in United States are likely to observe a salary increase of approximately 10% every 17 months. The national average annual increment for all professions combined is 8% granted to employees every 16 months.

The term Annual Salary Increase usually refers to the increase in 12 calendar month period, but because it is rare that people get their salaries reviewed exactly on the one-year mark, it is more meaningful to know the frequency and the rate at the time of the increase.

How to calculate the salary increment percentage?

The annual salary Increase in a calendar year (12 months) can be easily calculated as follows: Annual Salary Increase = Increase Rate x 12 / Increase Frequency

Worldwide Salary Raises: All Countries and All Jobs

Bonus and Incentive Rates / Animal Keeper / United States

How much and how often are bonuses being awarded?

65% of surveyed staff reported that they haven't received any bonuses or incentives in the previous year while 35% said that they received at least one form of monetary bonus.

Those who got bonuses reported rates ranging from 0% to 4% of their annual salary.

Received Bonus		35%
No Bonus		65%

Types of Bonuses Considered

Individual Performance-Based Bonuses

The most standard form of bonus, where the employee is awarded based on their exceptional performance.

Company Performance Bonuses

Occasionally, some companies like to celebrate excess earnings and profits with their staff collectively in the form of bonuses that are granted to everyone. The amount of the bonus will probably be different from person to person depending on their role within the organization.

Goal-Based Bonuses

Granted upon achieving an important goal or milestone.

Holiday / End of Year Bonuses

These types of bonuses are given without a reason and usually resemble an appreciation token.

Bonuses Are Not Commissions!

People tend to confuse bonuses with commissions. A commission is a prefixed rate at which someone gets paid for items sold or deals completed while a bonus is in most cases arbitrary and unplanned.

What makes a position worthy of good bonuses and a high salary?

Revenue generators usually get more and higher bonuses, higher salaries, and more frequent salary increments. The reason is quite simple: it is easier to quantify your value to the company in monetary terms when you participate in revenue generation.

Bonus Comparison by Seniority Level

Top management personnel and senior employees naturally exhibit higher bonus rates and frequencies than juniors. This is very predictable due to the inherent responsibilities of being higher in the hierarchy. People in top positions can easily get double or triple bonus rates than employees down the pyramid.

Average Hourly Wage / Animal Keeper / United States

The average hourly wage (pay per hour) for individuals working as Animal Keeper in United States is 32 USD.This is the rate they get paid for every worked hour.

About The Hourly Pay Rate

The hourly wage is the salary paid in one worked hour. Usually, jobs are classified into two categories: salaried jobs and hourly jobs. Salaried jobs pay a fixed amount regardless of the hours worked. Hourly jobs pay per worked hour. To convert salary into hourly wage the above formula is used (assuming 5 working days in a week and 8 working hours per day which is the standard for most jobs). The hourly wage calculation may differ slightly depending on the worked hours per week and the annual vacation allowance. The figures mentioned above are good approximations and are considered to be the standard. One major difference between salaried employees and hourly paid employees is overtime eligibility. Salaried employees are usually exempt from overtime as opposed to hourly paid staff.

What is the minimum hourly rate of pay?

The minimum pay rate per hour for people working as Animal Keeper in United States is 15 USD. This is the minimum as per the gathered data in the salary survey not the minimum hourly rate mandated by law.

Salary comparison with similar jobs

Pet Care
Animal Breeder	91,400 USD	+37%
Animal Care Worker	60,100 USD	-10%
Animal Caretaker	57,300 USD	-14%
Animal Control Officer	64,100 USD	-4%
Animal Health Technician	67,400 USD	+1%
Animal Keeper	66,600 USD	+0%
Animal Scientist	130,000 USD	+95%
Canine Massage Therapist	42,600 USD	-36%
Dog walker	47,900 USD	-28%
Kennel Attendant	57,300 USD	-14%
Kennel Technician	53,400 USD	-20%
Pet Acupuncturist	50,200 USD	-25%
Pet Adoption Counselor	64,600 USD	-3%
Pet Aromatherapist	48,200 USD	-28%
Pet Behaviorist	75,900 USD	+14%
Pet Environmental Consultant	84,000 USD	+26%
Pet Exercise Physiologist	83,900 USD	+26%
Pet First Aid Instructor	62,600 USD	-6%
Pet Genetic Counselor	87,400 USD	+31%
Pet Groomer	48,300 USD	-27%
Pet Hospice Care Provider	52,600 USD	-21%
Pet Loss Grief Counselor	65,800 USD	-1%
Pet Product Designer	73,400 USD	+10%
Pet Product Tester	59,200 USD	-11%
Pet Rehabilitation Therapist	83,200 USD	+25%
Pet Retailer	69,200 USD	+4%
Pet Shelter Worker	45,600 USD	-31%
Pet Sitter	47,100 USD	-29%
Pet Spa Manager	103,000 USD	+55%
Pet Taxi	60,400 USD	-9%
Pet Therapy Coordinator	60,500 USD	-9%
Pet Trainer	78,200 USD	+18%
Pet Travel Agent	74,500 USD	+12%
Pet Waste Removal Specialist	62,500 USD	-6%
Telemedicine Veterinarian	90,000 USD	+35%
Veterinarian	108,000 USD	+62%
Veterinary Assistant	82,100 USD	+23%
Veterinary Office Manager	124,000 USD	+86%
Veterinary Receptionist	56,100 USD	-16%
Veterinary Technician	76,700 USD	+15%
Zoo Keeper	73,500 USD	+10%
Zoo Veterinarian	116,000 USD	+74%

Salary Comparison By City

Salary Comparison By State

Government vs Private Sector Salary Comparison

Where can you get paid more, working in a private company or the government? The difference between the public or government sector salaries and the private sector salaries in United States is 5% on average across all career fields.

Salary Statistics and Calculation Guide

What is considered to be a good and competitive salary for the job title Animal Keeper in United States?

A good and competitive compensation would range anywhere between 63,600 USD and 73,300 USD. This is a very rough estimate. Experience and education play a very huge part in the final earnings.

Gross Salary (before tax) and Net Salary (after tax)

All salary and compensation figures displayed here are gross salary figures, that is the salary before tax deductions. Because taxes may differ across sectors and locations, it is difficult to accurately calculate the net salary after tax for every career.

Base / Basic Salary

The base salary for a careers like Animal Keeper in United States ranges from 30,600 USD to 51,300 USD. The base salary depends on many factors including experience and education. It is not easy to provide a figure with very little information, so take this range with a grain of salt.