Animal Trainers in Nebraska
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$29,338
after federal, FICA and Nebraska tax
Tax takes
$5,562
15.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$32,462
Nebraska costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Nebraska — 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
$34,900
Kept after tax
$29,338
Worth in national money
$32,462
State rank
37
of 47 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Nebraska is among the lower-paying states for animal trainers. The middle earner takes $34,900, ranking 37 of 47 states — about 12.73% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Measured against other jobs in Nebraska, this one sits low: 454 of 488 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Here is where Nebraska does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $34,900 you keep $29,338, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $32,462 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $37,660, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Nebraska ranks 37 of 47 for animal trainers, with a median of $34,900 — about 12.73% below the national figure. A nominal shortfall is not by itself a real one: lower-paying states frequently carry lower tax and lower price levels, and the adjusted figures below are where that is settled rather than assumed.
- Animal trainers occupies position 454 of 488 in Nebraska's occupational wage distribution, in the bottom quartile. National ranking and local ranking answer different questions and frequently disagree; this is the one a resident experiences.
- After federal, FICA and Nebraska income tax, retained pay for animal trainers on $34,900 is $29,338. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $32,462 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 $37,660 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 | $33,220 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $34,900 |
| Top tenth earn over | $49,070 |
| This salary | $34,900 |
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 Nebraska | $29,338 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $30,222 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,361 |
The raise and the real gain point in opposite directions here.
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 | $33,799 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,646 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Nebraska earn less than $34,900. The published range is $33,220 up to $49,070, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In Nebraska the take-home figure of $29,338, from $34,900, 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 454 of 488 occupations here.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $32,462 uses one figure for the whole of Nebraska. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 488 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 454.
- Reported values are medians; for animal trainers in Nebraska the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $33,220 to $49,070. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Take-home for Nebraska is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $29,338 from $34,900. 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 454 of 488 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $32,462, worked from $34,900, 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 Nebraska address, on work sitting at 454 of 488 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
Half earn more than this and half earn less. The average sits at $37,660 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $33,220 at the tenth percentile, $49,070 at the ninetieth.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. Nebraska is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $32,462 in national terms.
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 Nebraska adds its own income tax on top — which is why $29,338 of this wage survives to your account.
Why is this job missing from some states?
A blank is a suppression, not a zero. 47 states have a published figure for this work; the others had too few responses to release 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 Nebraska is $37,660. 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 ($33,220 to $49,070) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Nebraska rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Nebraska'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 $32,462 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 $29,338 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Nebraska 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.