How much do animal care specialists make in 2026?
Animal care specialists are counted in the BLS animal caretakers series: OEWS May 2025 gives SOC 39-2021 a national median of $35,360 a year ($17.00 an hour), with the bottom 10% near $27,250 and the top 10% at $50,060 across 266,910 workers. It is a very large code and the title is used across a wide range of settings — shelters, boarding facilities, veterinary practices, zoos, wildlife rehabilitation and research institutions — which is why the same job title can pay quite differently. The setting that stands out is laboratory animal care. Research institutions, universities and pharmaceutical companies employ animal care specialists under AAALAC accreditation and institutional animal care committee oversight, where the work involves documented husbandry protocols, health surveillance, biosecurity and regulatory compliance under the Animal Welfare Act. That setting has a defined certification ladder through AALAS — assistant, technician and technologist grades — and each level maps to a pay step, which is unusual in animal care and puts certified technologists at the top of this band. Shelter, boarding and general animal care work sits near the bottom, and zoo and wildlife roles sit in the middle with intense competition for entry. Employment is projected to grow 12.1% through 2034 with roughly 74,600 openings a year. → Full animal care specialist career guide, career path, credentials & placement →
Note: $35,360 blends every experience level and every setting in this occupation. For pay by level alone, see Pay by Level below.
- Animal Care Specialists earn a national median $35,360/yr ($17.00/hr) (BLS OEWS May 2025, SOC 39-2021); the P10 to P90 range is $27,250 to $50,060.
- The title spans shelters, boarding, veterinary practice, zoos, wildlife rehabilitation and research, and the setting explains the pay difference far more than the skills do.
- Laboratory animal care has a defined AALAS certification ladder — assistant, technician, technologist — where each grade maps to a pay step, which is rare in this occupation.
- Shelter, boarding and general animal care sit near the bottom of the $27,250 to $50,060 band; certified laboratory animal technologists sit at the top.
US Animal Care Specialist Pay Distribution · BLS OEWS May 2025
Pay by Level · BLS OEWS May 2025
How much do animal care specialists earn at each level?
BLS OEWS publishes one blended wage for the whole occupation and does not break pay out by credential or practice level. The levels below distribute the published percentile range across the credential tiers this role actually hires at.
Level medians are aligned to the BLS OEWS May 2025 percentile distribution for SOC 39-2021; GlobalCybers does not yet publish a verified placement sample for this role, so no verified median is shown.
Methodology & Sources
How the numbers on this page are built
Published (BLS): BLS OEWS May 2025, SOC 39-2021, United States national estimate. Public, methodologically rigorous, but sampled on a rolling 3-year basis and published ~10 months after collection — so it reflects wages that are already 1–2 years old by the time you read them.
Level and certification medians: distributed across the published BLS percentile range for this SOC code (P10 through P90) according to the credential tiers this occupation actually hires at. They are modeled reference points, not separately surveyed wages.
State and metro figures: modeled — the BLS national median multiplied by the GlobalCybers state wage index, and for metros by the published metro index for that state. They are estimates of local pay, not BLS state or metropolitan-area observations, and are labelled as modeled in the tables below.
No verified placement sample:GlobalCybers does not yet publish a placement median for this role, so no "verified" figure appears anywhere on this page.
Pay by Career Level
How much does an animal care specialist earn at each career stage?
Animal care pay follows setting first and certification second. Each median is anchored to the BLS OEWS distribution for SOC 39-2021.
By State
Which states pay animal care specialists the most in 2026?
These are modeled state estimates — the national animal caretaker median scaled by the GlobalCybers state wage index — not BLS state observations. The presence of research universities and pharmaceutical employers in a state affects the availability of the better-paid laboratory animal roles far more than the state's wage level does.
6 of 51 state guides shown, ranked by median. Bar is relative to California ($40,660), the highest-paying state shown. See all role salary guides →
By Metro
Which cities pay animal care specialists the most?
Modeled metro estimates: the national median scaled by the state wage index and then by that state's published metro index. They estimate local wage levels and are not BLS metropolitan-area observations. Research and biotechnology clusters concentrate the certified laboratory animal positions at the top of this band.
BLS OEWS MSA estimates, May 2025. Nominal pay — weigh each metro against its cost of living before relocating.
Certification Impact
Which certifications raise an animal care specialist’s pay the most?
Median annual pay before and after each credential, based on GlobalCybers placement data cross-referenced with BLS. License upgrades move the needle most; stackable certs add on top.
Impacts are not additive, the licensing rows share the same career ladder. Browse all 167 certifications →
Trade Comparison
How does animal care specialist pay compare to related roles?
BLS OEWS national median across the closest trades. Animal Care Specialists sit mid-pack on median but carry one of the widest P10–P90 spreads, licensing and specialization drive the upside.
BLS OEWS May 2025. Verify animal care specialist wages on BLS.gov →
Take-Home Pay
What does an animal care specialist actually take home after taxes?
The medians above are gross base wage.
Estimates use 2026 federal brackets, standard deduction, and 7.65% FICA. Actual take-home varies with filing status, deductions, and local tax.
FAQ
Animal Care Specialist Salary, Frequently Asked Questions
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