Dog groomers may get paid by the job or by the hour.
Dog groomers can take the most motley mutt and transform this woeful canine into a kennel club favorite. These professionals wash, cut, shape and brush a dog's coat, trim nails, clean ears and manage other grooming needs. Dog groomers may work for a veterinarian or a pet store, or provide these services as independent workers in the home of the pet owner or at their own place of business. Dog groomers will sometimes handle other pets including cats and will usually have attended a state-licensed grooming school, working their way up as they gain experience. Salaries vary depending on the groomer's experience, location and employer.
Salary Information
The mean annual wage for nonfarm animal caretakers including dog groomers was $22,070 as of May 2010, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Pay ranged from $7.72 to $15.33 per hour with a mean hourly rate of $10.61. The salary range for this profession was $16,050 to $31,880, with a median annual salary of $19,550. The middle 50 percent of dog groomers earned from $17,490 to $24,290.
Industry Information
Most dog groomers worked for personal service companies including veterinarian practices, earning an average salary of $22,200 per year. They also found work with pet stores, earning $19,660 per year on average. Social advocacy organizations also employed dog groomers, offering an average annual salary of $21,170.
Regional Information
Dog groomers in the District of Columbia earned an average annual salary of $32,700 in 2010, according to the bureau. States where such professionals earned salaries well above the national mean included Hawaii and Alaska, where wages averaged $30,050 and $29,150, respectively. In Maryland, groomers averaged $25,070 annually and in Connecticut salaries averaged $24,790 per year. States where wages trended lower than the national mean average included Arkansas at $18,850; Mississippi at $19,840; and Indiana at $20,120. Among metropolitan areas, Honolulu, Hawaii, offered the highest wages to dog groomers, who earned $31,440 per year on average in 2010. Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, followed with an average annual salary of $30,010. In Anchorage, Alaska, dog groomers earned $29,920 per year, and in San Francisco, California, annual pay averaged $29,270. Among nonmetropolitan areas, the north central area of Colorado came in at $34,190 per year followed by the Hawaii/Maui/Kauai area paying $27,950 annually.
Job Forecast
Dog groomers may find job opportunities to be excellent in coming years with the bureau forecasting a 21 percent job growth through 2018. The bureau notes that the companion pet population will continue to grow as America ages, offering additional chances for finding work particularly with those who provide mobile grooming services, an increasingly popular option for pet care favored by pet owners.
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