Animal Control Workers salary

SOC 33-9011 · BLS OEWS May 2025

Median

$45,660

per year, nationally

Middle half

$37,750–$57,060

25th to 75th percentile

Employed

12,070

in the U.S.

Growth 2024–34

+3.9%

1,300 openings/yr

What the range looks like

A single median hides most of what a job pays. The bar below is the full national range: the wash spans the 10th to 90th percentile, the solid bar is the middle half, and the tick is the median.

$33,090$68,070

10th: $33,090
25th: $37,750
Median: $45,660
75th: $57,060
90th: $68,070

Getting in

Typical education to enter: High school diploma or equivalent
Related work experience: None
On-the-job training: Moderate-term on-the-job training

Entry requirements describe what is typical, not mandatory. Source: BLS Employment Projections, 2024–34.

Where animal control workers earn the most

Nominal pay and pay adjusted for local prices rank states differently — a high-wage state with high costs can be worse off in real terms than a middling one. Switch between the two below.

The median wage as published, before local prices are taken into account.

#	State	Median	Cost of living	Employed	Concentrationvs. national
1	Washington	$66,440	107.0	180	0.67×
2	Oregon	$66,130	103.4	40	0.26×
3	Alaska	$63,340	102.4	30	1.19×
4	California	$62,630	110.7	1,210	0.85×
5	Massachusetts	$60,930	105.8	280	0.98×
6	Nevada	$58,810	100.0	100	0.85×
7	Colorado	$58,470	103.1	170	0.75×
8	Connecticut	$57,130	103.6	220	1.66×
9	Rhode Island	$55,060	102.3	70	1.88×
10	Iowa	$54,190	87.8	80	0.66×
11	Wyoming	$53,870	92.7	40	1.78×
12	Maryland	$53,330	105.0	140	0.66×
13	New Jersey	$52,050	108.8	260	0.78×
14	Pennsylvania	$52,000	97.6	—	—
15	Montana	$50,530	94.6	50	1.26×
16	Maine	$49,660	97.0	90	1.80×
17	Virginia	$49,010	101.1	430	1.35×
18	New Hampshire	$48,840	104.2	60	1.07×
19	New York	$48,420	107.9	870	1.16×
20	Michigan	$48,340	96.2	260	0.77×
21	Arizona	$47,650	100.7	210	0.85×
22	Utah	$47,210	98.9	200	1.49×
23	Florida	$45,860	103.4	640	0.83×
24	South Dakota	$45,530	88.6	50	1.40×
25	Ohio	$45,220	92.8	290	0.68×
26	North Carolina	$43,940	94.3	460	1.19×
27	Idaho	$43,930	95.5	50	0.76×
28	Texas	$43,250	97.1	1,300	1.19×
29	Indiana	$43,000	93.3	340	1.37×
30	Tennessee	$42,970	91.9	280	1.09×
31	Illinois	$42,480	100.0	410	0.86×
32	Missouri	$41,760	90.8	440	1.95×
33	Kansas	$39,520	90.1	190	1.74×
34	Georgia	$39,500	96.3	430	1.14×
35	South Carolina	$38,790	93.7	180	0.98×
36	Louisiana	$38,020	88.2	120	0.78×
37	New Mexico	$37,800	92.2	260	3.89×
38	Oklahoma	$37,450	87.8	380	2.85×
39	Wisconsin	$37,380	94.1	120	0.51×
40	Alabama	$37,340	88.8	290	1.75×
41	Kentucky	$35,360	90.2	190	1.23×
42	West Virginia	$35,120	89.5	90	1.57×
43	Mississippi	$34,890	87.0	160	1.81×
44	Arkansas	$34,410	86.9	180	1.73×

Cost of living is the BEA regional price parity for all items, where 100 is the national average. Concentration is the BLS location quotient: how much more of the local workforce does this job than the national average, so 2.00× means twice the national share. It is often the reason wages differ — a place that concentrates an occupation has the employers and the competition for it. States where animal control workers wages are suppressed by BLS for confidentiality are omitted.

Best paying metro areas for animal control workers

The 40 highest-paying metros with a published estimate. BLS suppresses roughly half of all occupation-by-metro cells, so a metro absent here has no local figure rather than a low one.

The median wage as published, before local prices are taken into account.

#	Metro area	Median	Cost of living	Employed	Concentrationvs. national
1	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA	$78,750	111.1	80	0.49×
2	San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA	$77,540	115.6	120	0.63×
3	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA	$74,260	110.4	30	0.38×
4	Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT	$70,410	106.9	40	1.30×
5	Las Vegas-Henderson-North Las Vegas, NV	$67,860	100.2	60	0.70×
6	Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA	$64,050	106.7	70	0.82×
7	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH	$63,140	108.3	170	0.80×
8	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA	$62,810	113.6	430	0.89×
9	Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO	$61,950	105.8	70	0.57×
10	New Haven, CT	$61,860	104.6	40	1.72×
11	Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT	$60,560	102.7	70	1.54×
12	Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA	$59,870	106.4	160	1.21×
13	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL	$58,430	114.2	90	0.43×
14	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV	$57,510	108.9	160	0.67×
15	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD	$56,640	102.6	50	0.20×
16	New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ	$55,790	112.6	400	0.54×
17	San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA	$55,570	111.9	40	0.32×
18	Worcester, MA	$55,410	102.5	40	1.45×
19	Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL	$54,810	101.4	90	0.84×
20	Providence-Warwick, RI-MA	$54,770	101.8	100	1.87×
21	Rochester, NY	$54,370	97.0	80	1.97×
22	Pittsburgh, PA	$52,000	94.7	—	—
23	Portland-South Portland, ME	$50,110	101.9	40	1.74×
24	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD	$49,890	104.5	60	0.61×
25	Cleveland, OH	$49,710	93.9	80	1.02×
26	Salt Lake City-Murray, UT	$49,680	100.9	100	1.51×
27	Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN	$49,370	103.6	210	0.60×
28	Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY	$49,150	99.6	90	2.58×
29	Richmond, VA	$49,010	97.9	60	1.15×
30	Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ	$48,830	103.3	90	0.46×
31	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI	$48,340	100.3	130	0.88×
32	Syracuse, NY	$48,150	95.7	40	1.86×
33	Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN	$47,730	95.7	70	0.87×
34	Raleigh-Cary, NC	$47,700	98.2	40	0.64×
35	Waterbury-Shelton, CT	$47,440	99.8	30	2.75×
36	Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY	$46,680	95.8	60	1.56×
37	Bakersfield-Delano, CA	$46,480	100.9	40	1.61×
38	Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX	$46,430	98.1	80	0.76×
39	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC	$46,310	97.3	90	0.83×
40	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL	$45,860	100.9	80	0.70×

Cost of living is the BEA regional price parity for all items, where 100 is the national average. Concentration is the BLS location quotient: how much more of the local workforce does this job than the national average, so 2.00× means twice the national share. It is often the reason wages differ — a place that concentrates an occupation has the employers and the competition for it. Metro areas where animal control workers wages are suppressed by BLS for confidentiality are omitted.

Similar occupations

Other jobs in the same field, with what each pays nationally.

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Lifeguards, Ski Patrol, and Other Recreational Protective Service Workers$33,580
Crossing Guards and Flaggers$38,100
Protective Service Workers, All Other$42,540
School Bus Monitors$35,100
Transportation Security Screeners$66,770
Private Detectives and Investigators$51,220
Gambling Surveillance Officers and Gambling Investigators$43,370