Pay rates for pet bathers depend on the employment setting and location.
Various types of employment opportunities are available to you if you're interested in a job bathing pets. Boarding kennels and veterinary clinics need people to wash pets, for instance, but they commonly require other tasks as well. Pet grooming businesses may have new workers concentrate only on bathing and drying pets, but employees usually begin adding other grooming tasks after they gain experience. About half of all workers who bathe pets earn more than $9 per hour as of 2010, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Salary Range
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics includes pet bathers and more experienced groomers along with other types of animal caretakers--such as pet sitters and kennel attendants--in its salary figures for this occupation. The average salary for pet bathers as of May 2010 was $10.61 per hour or approximately $22,070 per year for those who work full-time. The median salary was $9.40 per hour. The middle 50 percent of these workers earned $8.41 to $11.68 per hour. The bottom 10 percent of the pay scale was at $7.72 per hour and less, and the top 10 percent were paid $15.33 per hour or more.
Personal Services
The average salary of pet bathers and other animal caretakers was $10.67 per hour, and the U.S. Bureau of Statistics categorizes this type of employment as "other personal services." This category includes pet grooming services and boarding kennels. The middle 50 percent of these workers earned $8.49 to $11.82 per hour. The bottom 10 percent of the pay scale was at or below $7.77 per hour, and the top 10 percent were paid $15.34 per hour and higher.
Veterinary Services
Pet bathers and other animal caretakers working for veterinary clinics and hospitals had a lower average salary, at $9.96 per hour. The middle 50 percent of these workers were earning $8.21 to $10.97 per hour. The bottom 10 percent had wages of $7.62 per hour or less, and the top 10 percent were making $13.76 per hour or more.
Geography
The top-paying place for pet bathers and other animal caretakers in 2010 was the District of Columbia, where the average salary was $15.72 per hour or $32,700 for those working full-time. Rounding out the top five areas were Hawaii, where the average pay was $14.45 per hour, Alaska at $14.01, Maryland at $12.05 and Connecticut at $11.92 per hour.
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