Average Animal Keeper Salary in United States for 2024

In this article, we will look at the average Animal Keeper salary for 2024 in United States and how that compares to other countries and professions. We'll also look at interesting salary data points like median salary, 25th and 75th percentile salaries, salary amounts based on experience, bonus ranges and more!

The data in this article has been compiled using official government salary data, salary surveys, and other sources such as job postings which contain salary information.

All salary information is in the local currency, which is the United States dollar. To keep things simple, we are using the USD currency code instead of the currency symbol $.

How Much Does an Animal Keeper Make in United States?

An Animal Keeper working in United States will typically earn around 66,100 USD per year, and this can range from the lowest average salary of about 31,400 USD to the highest average salary of 107,300 USD.

Average Annual Salary
66,100 USD
Average Monthly Salary
5,508 USD

Lowest Annual Salary
31,400 USD
Lowest Monthly Salary
2,616 USD

Highest Annual Salary
107,300 USD
Highest Monthly Salary
8,941 USD

These are average salaries for an Animal Keeper in United States and include benefits such as housing and transport. It's also possible for an Animal Keeper to earn more or less than the average salaries shown above.

Animal Keeper salaries will vary a lot based on your experience, location, skills, and gender. Keep reading below to research more data on each of these areas.

Distribution of Animal Keeper Salaries in United States

So we've looked at the average salaries an Animal Keeper will earn in United States. The next interesting data point is the distribution of salaries.

Salary ranges

We already know that an Animal Keeper can earn between 31,400 USD and 107,300 USD on average in United States. This is known as the range in statistics.

The difference between the maximum and minimum values is a good indicator of variability in salaries, and can be used by employers to figure out how much they can expect to pay, and for employees to know how much they can earn.

Median salary

The median salary for an Animal Keeper in United States is 73,100 USD. This is the middle value in the distribution of salaries.

What this means is that approximately 50% of the population earn less than 73,100 USD, and 50% of the population earn more than 73,100 USD.

If you are earning more than the median salary, that's a good indicator that you are being paid well.

If you're not earning more than the median salary, your objective should be to increase your earnings to be at least as high as the median salary (which you can do by asking for a pay rise, looking for a better paying job, etc).

Percentiles

Percentiles are similar to the median salary, but instead of looking at the middle value, they look at the values in the top and bottom half of the distribution.

For the average Animal Keeper salary in United States, 25% of the population are earning less than 46,700 USD while 75% of the population earn more than 46,700 USD.

75% of the population earn less than 96,600 USD, and 25% of the population earn more than 96,600 USD.

Like the median salary, the 25th and 75th percentile salaries can be used to determine which quartile you fall into so that you know whether you are being paid well enough compared to others in your profession and location.

The difference between a median and an average salary

The median and average salary are both indicators you can use to see if you are being paid fairly based on the overall population.

  • If your salary is higher than the average and the median salary, you are earning well compared to others.
  • If your salary is lower than the average and the median salary, it could indicate you are not being paid well enough.
  • If you are somewhere in between then it's tricky to determine if you are being paid well enough and you might need to research more closely.

Animal Keeper Salary by Experience Level in United States

The most important factor in determining your salary after the specific profession is the number of years experience you have. It stands to reason that more years of experience will result in a higher wage.

We have researched the average animal keeper salary based on years of experience to give you an idea of how the average changes once you've worked for a certain amount of time.

  • 0 - 2 Years Experience. An Animal Keeper in United States that has less than two years of experience can expect to earn somewhere in the region of 35,300 USD.
  • 2 - 5 Years Experience. With two to five years of experience the average Animal Keeper salary would increase to 46,000 USD.
  • 5 - 10 Years Experience. From five to ten years of experience as an Animal Keeper, the average salary would be 68,100 USD.
  • 10 - 15 Years Experience. Once you have more than ten years of experience the average salary reaches around 84,500 USD.
  • 15 - 20 Years Experience. An Animal Keeper with 15 to 20 years of experience can earn an average of 92,400 USD.
  • 20+ Years Experience. For an Animal Keeper with more than 20 years, the expected average salary increases to 97,600 USD.

Average Salary by Experience Chart

0-2 Years
35,300 USD
2-5 Years +34%
46,000 USD
5-10 Years +48%
68,100 USD
10-15 Years +22%
84,500 USD
15-20 Years +9%
92,400 USD
20+ Years +8%
97,600 USD

Animal Keeper Salary by Education Level in United States

As well as experience in a job, your education plays a big role in how much you can earn. A lot of higher paying positions require a high level of education, but how much can a degree increase your salary?

In our research we have compared the salaries of employees in the same job and career level with different levels of education to see how much more you can earn at each education level.

The salary you can earn based on your education is very specific to both your location and the career path you choose.

In our research, we looked at the average salary for an Animal Keeper in United States based on the education level of the employees in order to find out whether a better education level would increase your salary.

  • High School. An Animal Keeper in United States with a high school education can earn an average salary of 38,700 USD.

  • Certificate or Diploma. An Animal Keeper in United States with a certificate or diploma education can earn an average salary of 61,800 USD.

  • Bachelor's Degree. An Animal Keeper in United States with a bachelor's degree education can earn an average salary of 105,200 USD.

Average Salary by Education Chart

High School
38,700 USD
Certificate or Diploma +57%
61,800 USD
Bachelor's Degree +68%
105,200 USD

How Much is a Master's Degree or MBA Program?

The approximate cost of a master's degree or post-graduate program like an MBA in United States is around 39,500 to 118,000 USD and takes two years to complete.

As you can see above, there are financial benefits from reaching master's degree level, but don't expect to see much of a salary increase until you have completed the degree.

It's common for people to pursue an MBA or other post-graduate program in order to switch to a a job that pays more. On average, you can expect to earn around 10% more when switching to a new company.

Whether you decide to pursue a master's degree depends on many factors. If you are able to afford it, the numbers suggest that the return on investment is worth it and you could recover the costs in a few years from the salary increase you would receive.

Animal Keeper Salary Compared by Gender

In the modern age, we know that there should never be a pay gap between men and women. Unfortunately, in many professions, there is still a significant difference between the salaries earned by men when compared to the salary of women in the same job.

In United States, a male animal keeper will earn an average of 64,600 USD, while a female animal keeper will earn around 68,100 USD.

This means that a male animal keeper earns approximately 5% less than a female animal keeper for performing the same job.

Average Salary by Gender Chart in United States

Male
64,600 USD
Female +5%
68,100 USD

Animal Keeper Average Pay Raise in United States

In many countries, an annual pay raise is often given to employees to reward their service with a salary increase.

From our research, we can see that the average pay raise for an Animal Keeper in United States is around 10% every 17 months.

The national average pay raise across all professions and industries in United States is around 8% every 16 months.

In this case, we can see that the number of months between the average pay raise is higher than the typical 12 months.

To make the data more meaningful, we can calculate what the approximate annual pay raise would be using a simple formula:

Annual Increase = ( Increase Rate ÷ Months ) × 12

So for this example, it would be:

Annual Increase = ( 10 ÷ 17 ) × 12  = 7%

What this means is that an Animal Keeper in United States can expect to receive an average pay raise of around 7% every 12 months.

Annual Pay Raise by Industry in United States for 2024

In the chart below, you can see the average annual pay raise percentages for each of the major industries in United States.

You will see that companies in bigger and more lucrative industries tend to have the higher annual pay raises.

Banking
4%
Energy
8%
Information Technology
3%
Healthcare
7%
Travel
2%
Construction
6%
Education
1%

Animal Keeper Bonus and Incentive Rates in United States

Another part of your overall compensation in a job is how much bonus you receive. Some job roles will be more likely to pay a bonus than others and also more likely to have higher bonus rates.

Generally speaking, jobs that are more involved with direct revenue generation will receive higher bonuses based on the performance towards revenue goals.

An Animal Keeper is a low bonus based job, with 35% of employees reporting at least one bonus in the last 12 months.

65% reported that they had not received any bonuses in the previous 12 months.

For the employees that did receive a bonus in the previous 12 months, the reported bonuses ranged from 0% to 4%.

Received Bonus
35%
No Bonus
65%

What are the Types of Bonus?

There are a number of difference types of bonus you can receive in a job. Including:

  • Individual performance bonus - This is a bonus that is awarded to an individual employee for general performance in the job. It's the most common type of bonus.
  • Company performance bonus - This is a bonus that is awarded to a company employees to share profit with the staff.
  • Goal based bonus - This is a bonus that is awarded to an individual employee (or a team) for achieving specific goals, objectives, or milestones.
  • Holiday bonus - This type of bonus is usually paid around the holidays, often the end of the year, and is a token of appreciation for the hard work throughout the year.

Government vs Private Sector Salaries

Another commonly asked question is whether you get paid a higher salary working in the public (government) sector or the private sector.

Public sector employees in United States earn approximately 6% more than private sector employees in the same role.

Public Sector
98,800 USD
Private Sector -6%
93,100 USD

Salaries for Jobs Similar to an Animal Keeper

In the table below, we have salary information for jobs that are similar to an Animal Keeper in United States.

Job Title Category Salary
Animal Breeder Pet Care 90,900 USD
Animal Care Worker Pet Care 60,200 USD
Animal Caretaker Pet Care 57,100 USD
Animal Control Officer Pet Care 63,800 USD
Animal Health Technician Pet Care 66,200 USD
Animal Scientist Pet Care 128,400 USD
Kennel Attendant Pet Care 57,100 USD
Kennel Technician Pet Care 51,900 USD
Pet Sitter Pet Care 47,600 USD
Veterinarian Pet Care 109,000 USD
Veterinary Assistant Pet Care 81,400 USD
Veterinary Office Manager Pet Care 125,400 USD
Veterinary Receptionist Pet Care 55,200 USD
Veterinary Technician Pet Care 75,900 USD
Zoo Keeper Pet Care 73,300 USD
Zoo Veterinarian Pet Care 114,300 USD

Salary Comparison by City

If you want to compare salaries with different cities in United States, you can use the links below to explore the data for each specific city we have researched.

City Average Salary
Atlanta 62,300 USD
Austin 79,700 USD
Baltimore 67,800 USD
Boston 73,700 USD
Bristol 55,100 USD
Chicago 83,300 USD
Cincinnati 62,500 USD
Cleveland 58,500 USD
Dallas 74,000 USD
Denver 72,400 USD
Detroit 68,400 USD
Honolulu 57,100 USD
Houston 79,800 USD
Indianapolis 72,400 USD
Iowa City 54,200 USD
Jacksonville 77,000 USD
Kansas City 66,000 USD
Kent 57,100 USD
Las Vegas 66,200 USD
Long Beach 61,700 USD
Los Angeles 78,200 USD
Memphis 69,800 USD
Miami 63,900 USD
Minneapolis 58,700 USD
New Orleans 64,800 USD
New York 84,900 USD
Oakland 60,700 USD
Oklahoma City 71,000 USD
Orlando 54,600 USD
Philadelphia 75,900 USD
Phoenix 77,300 USD
Sacramento 65,400 USD
San Antonio 77,000 USD
San Diego 79,800 USD
San Francisco 73,300 USD
San Jose 78,200 USD
Seattle 71,700 USD
Tampa 60,900 USD
Vancouver 54,200 USD
Washington D.C. 71,200 USD

Salary Comparison by State

The table below includes links to the average salary for each state in United States.

City Average Salary
Alabama 68,400 USD
Alaska 58,600 USD
Arizona 71,200 USD
Arkansas 68,500 USD
California 78,500 USD
Colorado 71,000 USD
Connecticut 67,300 USD
Delaware 61,800 USD
District of Columbia 61,400 USD
Florida 71,900 USD
Georgia 77,000 USD
Hawaii 66,100 USD
Idaho 64,400 USD
Illinois 75,900 USD
Indiana 70,500 USD
Iowa 65,800 USD
Kansas 66,900 USD
Kentucky 67,800 USD
Louisiana 71,400 USD
Maine 65,100 USD
Maryland 71,400 USD
Massachusetts 70,500 USD
Michigan 73,500 USD
Minnesota 68,400 USD
Mississippi 66,000 USD
Missouri 69,400 USD
Montana 65,400 USD
Nebraska 66,400 USD
Nevada 67,500 USD
New Hampshire 62,300 USD
New Jersey 74,000 USD
New Mexico 63,800 USD
New York 73,100 USD
North Carolina 69,400 USD
North Dakota 64,300 USD
Ohio 75,800 USD
Oklahoma 70,800 USD
Oregon 69,700 USD
Pennsylvania 73,300 USD
Rhode Island 60,700 USD
South Carolina 67,200 USD
South Dakota 66,900 USD
Tennessee 76,000 USD
Texas 80,200 USD
Utah 66,700 USD
Vermont 60,700 USD
Virginia 72,400 USD
Washington 69,400 USD
West Virginia 61,700 USD
Wisconsin 72,400 USD
Wyoming 61,700 USD

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