Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, aged to 2026 using compounded market movement. State selections show BLS state-level figures where published. Actual pay varies with experience, industry, and organization size.
Animal Trainer is a professional role in the Personal Care and Service job family, focused on Animal Trainer work. Pay for this title reflects both its level and its scope; see our Title Level and Organization Responsibility guides for how WePayFairly defines them.
What Animal Trainers do
Typical education: High School Diploma
Cue or signal animals during performances.
Talk to or interact with animals to familiarize them to human voices or contact.
Conduct training programs to develop or maintain desired animal behaviors for competition, entertainment, obedience, security, riding, or related purposes.
Feed or exercise animals or provide other general care, such as cleaning or maintaining holding or performance areas.
Observe animals' physical conditions to detect illness or unhealthy conditions requiring medical care.
Top skills:InstructingSpeakingLearning StrategiesCritical ThinkingActive LearningMonitoring
Includes information from O*NET OnLine by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (CC BY 4.0).
Animal Trainer salary by industry
Other Services (except Public Administration)
9,670 workers
$48,000
Sectors 44 and 45 – Retail Trade
3,330 workers
$38,000
Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation
2,390 workers
$53,000
Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting
1,430 workers
$50,000
Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services
430 workers
$52,500
Educational Services
360 workers
$48,500
Health Care and Social Assistance
180 workers
$51,000
Local Government, including Schools and Hospitals (OEWS Designation)
90 workers
$55,000
National sector-level figures, BLS OEWS May 2025, aged to 2026.
How this role compares
Animal Trainer pays 1% above the average across 32 roles in the Personal Care and Service job family (family average $48,000).
