How much do zookeepers make in 2026?
Zookeepers 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. That code is overwhelmingly made up of kennel, grooming, boarding and shelter staff; zookeepers are a very small fraction of it, and there is no separate occupational code for them. The published band is nonetheless a reasonable guide, because zoo keeping pays in a similar range and for a similar reason — the supply of people who want the work vastly exceeds the number of positions. Accredited zoos and aquariums receive large numbers of applications for each keeper vacancy, most from candidates with relevant degrees and unpaid internship experience, and pay reflects that imbalance rather than the skill involved. The work itself is genuinely skilled: husbandry and nutrition for species with specific requirements, operant conditioning and training for voluntary medical behaviours, enclosure and enrichment design, record keeping to institutional standards, and safety protocols around dangerous animals. Pay rises with seniority, taxon specialism and supervisory responsibility, but the ceiling is low. Employment across the pooled series is projected to grow 12.1% through 2034 with roughly 74,600 openings a year — almost all of it outside zoos. → Full zookeeper 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.
- Zookeepers 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.
- There is no separate occupational code for zookeepers — they sit inside a 266,910-worker animal caretaker series dominated by kennel, grooming and shelter employment.
- Pay reflects a severe supply and demand imbalance rather than the difficulty of the work: accredited institutions receive large numbers of qualified applicants for each vacancy.
- The skill content is real — species-specific husbandry, operant conditioning for voluntary medical behaviours, enrichment design, dangerous animal protocols — but the ceiling on pay is low.
US Zookeeper Pay Distribution · BLS OEWS May 2025
Pay by Level · BLS OEWS May 2025
How much do zookeepers 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 a zookeeper earn at each career stage?
Zookeeping pay follows seniority and taxon responsibility within a narrow band. Each median is anchored to the BLS OEWS distribution for SOC 39-2021.
By State
Which states pay zookeepers the most in 2026?
These are modeled state estimates — the pooled national animal caretaker median scaled by the GlobalCybers state wage index — not BLS state observations. For zookeeping they are weak guidance: pay is set by individual institutional budgets, and there may be only one or two accredited employers in an entire state.
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 zookeepers 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. Accredited zoos sit in a limited number of metros, and larger, better-funded institutions pay above smaller municipal facilities.
BLS OEWS MSA estimates, May 2025. Nominal pay — weigh each metro against its cost of living before relocating.
Certification Impact
Which certifications raise a zookeeper’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 zookeeper pay compare to related roles?
BLS OEWS national median across the closest trades. Zookeepers 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 zookeeper wages on BLS.gov →
Take-Home Pay
What does a zookeeper 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
Zookeeper Salary, Frequently Asked Questions
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