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Role hub · Animal Trainers

Animal Trainer: what the job is, what it pays, and how to get hired.

The work, the skills that matter, the tools in demand and the pay range, from U.S. government data, plus every TryHired page for the role.

Maid DizdarevicCareer coach · 8x LinkedIn Top Voice
Updated Nov 2, 2026 · Data: BLS OEWS May 2025 · O*NET 31.0
Pay ladder · select a percentile
Median percentile pay

Half of animal trainers earn more than this and half earn less.

Annual
$39,990
Hourly
$19.22
Source
BLS May 2025
Quick answer

Animal Trainers train animals for riding, harness, security, performance, or obedience, or for assisting persons with disabilities. The median pay is $39,990 a year ($19.22 an hour) (BLS, May 2025). The most commonly reported education requirement is a high school diploma or equivalent (44% of workers surveyed by O*NET).

Median pay
$39,990
BLS May 2025
Employed in the U.S.
18,770
BLS May 2025
Preparation
Job Zone 1-2 of 5
very little to some preparation
Most common education
High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED)
44% of workers
Key facts

Animal Trainers at a glance

  • Animal trainers in the United States earned a median annual wage of $39,990 in May 2025, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

    Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025

  • In its 2025–35 employment projections, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics lists a high school diploma or equivalent as the typical entry-level education for animal trainers in the United States.

    Source: BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35

  • BLS projects employment of animal trainers in the United States to grow 4.2% from 2025 to 2035, with about 6,500 openings a year on average, including replacement openings.

    Source: BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35

  • BLS estimated that 18,770 people were employed as animal trainers in the United States in May 2025, not counting the self-employed.

    Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025

Explore the role

Every page for Animal Trainers

SalaryAnimal Trainer salary

Pay by percentile, state and metro, with a negotiation script.

Open →How to becomeAnimal Trainer how to become

Education, training and the skills to build first.

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The work

What animal trainers do day to day

Data Core tasks rated most important by workers in the role (O*NET).

  1. Cue or signal animals during performances.
  2. Talk to or interact with animals to familiarize them to human voices or contact.
  3. Conduct training programs to develop or maintain desired animal behaviors for competition, entertainment, obedience, security, riding, or related purposes.
  4. Feed or exercise animals or provide other general care, such as cleaning or maintaining holding or performance areas.
  5. Observe animals' physical conditions to detect illness or unhealthy conditions requiring medical care.
  6. Evaluate animals to determine their temperaments, abilities, or aptitude for training.
  7. Administer prescribed medications to animals.
  8. Keep records documenting animal health, diet, or behavior.
Where this career works

Industries that employ it

Data Share of all animal trainer jobs in each industry, 2025 (BLS Employment Matrix).

  1. Personal and laundry services19.0% of all jobs in this occupation · +7.5% projected change here 2025–35 · mean wage $45,800
  2. Support activities for agriculture and forestry17.3% of all jobs in this occupation · +4.6% projected change here 2025–35 · mean wage $48,390
  3. Animal production and aquaculture7.2% of all jobs in this occupation · +1.6% projected change here 2025–35
  4. Sporting goods, hobby, musical instrument, book, and miscellaneous retailers7.0% of all jobs in this occupation · +3.0% projected change here 2025–35 · mean wage $36,880
  5. Performing arts, spectator sports, and related industries4.3% of all jobs in this occupation · +4.9% projected change here 2025–35 · mean wage $52,700
  6. Religious, grantmaking, civic, professional, and similar organizations1.3% of all jobs in this occupation · +9.6% projected change here 2025–35 · mean wage $59,390

Sources: BLS 2025–35 National Employment Matrix (share of the occupation's jobs, projected change) and BLS OEWS May 2025 industry estimates (mean wage). Different industry estimates are not a pay forecast for any person.

Skills that matter

Ranked by importance to the job

Data O*NET importance ratings. The first three are core.

InstructingcoreSpeakingcoreLearning StrategiescoreCritical ThinkingActive LearningJudgment and Decision MakingActive ListeningMonitoringSocial Perceptiveness

Knowledge areas: Customer and Personal Service, Education and Training, Psychology, Administration and Management, English Language.

Tools and technology

Software animal trainers use

Data Examples reported for the role; employer demand flags from O*NET.

  • Epic SystemsMedical softwareHot technology
  • FacebookWeb page creation and editing softwareHot technology
  • Customer information control system CICSTransaction server software
  • Atlassian JIRAProject management softwareHot technology
  • Microsoft ExcelSpreadsheet softwareHot technology
  • Microsoft Office softwareOffice suite softwareHot technology
  • Microsoft OutlookElectronic mail softwareHot technology
  • Microsoft PowerPointPresentation softwareHot technology
  • Microsoft ProjectProject management softwareHot technology
  • Microsoft WindowsOperating system softwareHot technology
  • Microsoft WordWord processing softwareHot technology
  • Oracle DatabaseData base user interface and query softwareHot technology

Also called: Agility Instructor, Dog Obedience Instructor, Dog Trainer, Guide Dog Instructor, Guide Dog Mobility Instructor (GDMI), Guide Dog Trainer.

Method

How this page is built

Tasks, skills, tools, education and related roles come from O*NET 31.0. Pay and employment come from the BLS OEWS May 2025 national estimates. The skill-match score is our calculation: Skill match is the cosine similarity of the two occupations' skill profiles: for each of 35 O*NET skills (10 essential, 25 transferable) we multiply importance by level and subtract the average across all occupations, then compare the direction of the two profiles. 100 means identical shape; 0 means unrelated or opposite (negative values are shown as 0). Only occupations that O*NET itself lists as related are compared.

What this page can't tell you
  • How a specific employer defines the job.
  • Pay for self-employed workers (OEWS covers employees).
  • Your own chances: data describes the occupation, not you.
Sources
  1. O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. TryHired selected, ranked and combined the data; O*NET is not responsible for these pages.
  2. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 estimates (public domain).

How TryHired builds this data: sources, methods and downloads. Spotted an error? Report a correction.