Animal Caretakers in California
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$32,592
after federal, FICA and California tax
Tax takes
$6,108
15.8% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$28,950
California costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in California — roughly, since only five points along the band are published.
One filer, standard deduction, no dependants and nothing paid in before tax — the same household the rest of this page uses, so the comparison holds. City and school-district income taxes are not included.
Median here
$38,700
Kept after tax
$32,592
Worth in national money
$28,950
State rank
5
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- California is one of the better-paying states for animal caretakers. The middle earner takes $38,700, which ranks 5 of 51 states with published figures. That is about 9.45% above the national middle.
- Within California this is lower-paid work. Of 492 occupations the state publishes figures for, animal caretakers ranks 468. That is the bottom quarter locally, whatever the national comparison says.
- The wage here flatters the reality. From $38,700 the take-home is $32,592. But California costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $28,950 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is higher, $42,730, because the best-paid pull it up.
- California ranks 5 of 51 states publishing a median for animal caretakers, at $38,700 — about 9.45% above the national median. A state's position on nominal pay is the figure wage tables report and the least informative of the three on this page, because it survives neither the tax adjustment nor the price adjustment intact for most occupations.
- Against every occupation California reports, animal caretakers ranks 468 of 492, in the lowest quartile of the state's distribution. That position is set by the local labor market and is independent of how the state compares nationally for this work.
- Retained pay after federal, FICA and California income tax is $32,592 for animal caretakers, from $38,700. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $28,950. ⚠️ This is purchasing power and not a wage; cross-state offer comparisons that stop at the nominal figure systematically overvalue high-cost states. The mean of $42,730 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
Choose your filing status and local taxes, compare pay, and keep a shortlist.Compare wage and personal-pay outcomes by state, with selected resident local taxes and saved career choices.
Pay band: Animal Caretakers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $35,640 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $38,700 |
| Top tenth earn over | $56,270 |
| This salary | $38,700 |
Positions between the published tenth, quarter, half, three-quarter and ninetieth points are estimated by straight line.
The same pay, somewhere else
The state median for this job
| Take-home in California | $32,592 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $33,275 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$5,293 |
State income tax and state price levels only. No city income tax, and no housing market.
What you would need there
The state median for this job
| To match take-home only | $37,849 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$6,402 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 113 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- A median is the middle, not an offer. Half of animal caretakers in California earn under $38,700 and half over. The published range runs $35,640 at the tenth percentile to $56,270 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In California the take-home figure of $32,592, from $38,700, assumes one filer, no dependants, and nothing paid into a pension before tax. Each of those lowers the bill, so treat it as the plain case. City and school-district income taxes are not included either, and in a few states those are real money. It ranks 468 of 492 occupations here.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $28,950 uses one figure for the whole of California. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 492 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 468.
- Figures are distribution medians for animal caretakers in California, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $35,640 to $56,270; within-state dispersion of that width routinely exceeds the dispersion between states, so tenure, employer and metropolitan area predict an individual's pay better than geography does.
- Take-home for California is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $32,592 from $38,700. Each omitted item reduces taxable income, so the figure is a lower bound on retained pay for this household shape. Municipal and school-district income taxes are excluded, which understates the burden materially in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Maryland. The occupation ranks 468 of 492 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $28,950, worked from $38,700, deflates by a statewide parity that conceals substantial intra-state variation, concentrated in housing — so it supports comparison between states rather than the pricing of a move to a particular California address, on work sitting at 468 of 492 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $42,730, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $35,640 and the top tenth $56,270, so most people doing this work in California sit within a fairly tight band.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
A larger wage in a dearer place is not automatically more. Adjusted for local prices, this pay behaves like $28,950 of national purchasing power.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Four deductions, stacked. The federal layer and the two payroll taxes apply wherever you work; California then takes its own share, leaving $32,592.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like one.
How does the published median differ from the mean for this occupation?
The median is the midpoint of the distribution; the mean for this occupation in California is $42,730. Wage distributions are right-skewed, so the mean exceeds the median wherever a minority earn substantially more. BLS publishes both because substituting one for the other misstates a typical worker's pay.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($35,640 to $56,270) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to California rather than a national figure.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
California's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $28,950 in national-average terms. ⚠️ RPPs are an all-items index; housing parities vary far more widely than the headline figure.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $32,592 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and California income tax for a single filer with no adjustments. The state layer is levied in addition to the federal one; only its rate and base differ between states.
Is this occupation's state coverage complete?
State-level estimates are published for all 51 jurisdictions for this occupation, so cross-state comparison is not confounded by suppression. ⚠️ Estimates remain survey-based and carry sampling error; small differences between adjacent states should not be over-read.