Animal Trainers in Georgia
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$36,879
after federal, FICA and Georgia tax
Tax takes
$8,371
18.5% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$38,138
Georgia costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Georgia — 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
$45,250
Kept after tax
$36,879
Worth in national money
$38,138
State rank
11
of 47 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- This is a good state for the work. Georgia pays animal trainers a middle wage of $45,250, ranking 11 of 47 states and sitting about 13.15% above the national middle.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 492 occupations Georgia reports figures for, this is number 358.
- Here is where Georgia does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $45,250 you keep $36,879, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $38,138 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $51,470, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Georgia's median for animal trainers is $45,250, about 13.15% above the national figure and 11 of 47 states reporting. Whether that premium reaches the worker depends on the two adjustments below, which is the part a wage table cannot tell you.
- In Georgia's occupational distribution, animal trainers sits at 358 of 492 — neither quartile. This local position is what a resident compares against, and it is determined by the state's own labor market rather than by national patterns for this occupation.
- After federal, FICA and Georgia income tax, retained pay for animal trainers on $45,250 is $36,879. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $38,138 in national-average terms. ⚠️ That figure is purchasing power, not a wage, and nobody is paid it; it is what the take-home buys. The mean of $51,470 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Animal Trainers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $29,880 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $45,250 |
| Top tenth earn over | $79,620 |
| This salary | $45,250 |
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 Georgia | $36,879 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $38,538 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$1,521 |
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 | $43,185 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$1,839 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 97 |
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 trainers in Georgia earn under $45,250 and half over. The published range runs $29,880 at the tenth percentile to $79,620 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In Georgia the take-home figure of $36,879, from $45,250, 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 358 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 $38,138 uses one figure for the whole of Georgia. 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 358.
- Figures are distribution medians for animal trainers in Georgia, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $29,880 to $79,620; 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 Georgia is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $36,879 from $45,250. 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 358 of 492 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $38,138, worked from $45,250, 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 Georgia address, on work sitting at 358 of 492 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
No — it is the middle. Half of these workers earn more and half earn less. The average is $51,470, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $29,880 at the bottom tenth to $79,620 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
More than the figure suggests. Prices in Georgia sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $38,138 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Into four separate taxes, not one. Federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare apply everywhere, and Georgia adds its own income tax on top — which is why $36,879 of this wage survives to your account.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 47 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
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 Georgia is $51,470. 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 drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($29,880) and the ninetieth ($79,620) exceeds the family median dispersion. SOC codes aggregate roles differing in seniority, industry and specialisation, and BLS does not disaggregate below the detailed occupation level, so within-title variance is not separable from the published series.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Georgia's regional price parity is at or below the national average, so nominal wages understate purchasing power. Take-home deflated by the state price level is $38,138 in national-average terms. The adjustment uses an all-items index and does not isolate housing.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $36,879 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Georgia 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.
Why does this occupation lack published estimates in every state?
BLS suppresses estimates failing disclosure or reliability criteria. This occupation has published state-level estimates in 47 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.