Animal welfare officers rescue distressed animals.
Animal welfare officers are animal control workers, people who seek to protect domestic animals and wildlife. These professionals are trained to rescue distressed animals, investigate reports of cruelty and instruct the public on the care of pets. The salary of an animal welfare officer depends on the person's employer, experience and job location.
Average Salaries
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports salary data for animal control workers or animal welfare officers. As of May 2010, the average annual salary for these professionals was $34,020. Pay ranged from $19,720 to $51,840, with the middle 50 percent earning approximately $25,490 to $41,150 annually. The median income for such workers was $32,050.
Top Employers
Nearly 90 percent of animal welfare officers found employment through local governments, earning slightly above the national mean at $34,380 per year. Social advocacy organizations, including humane societies and privately funded animal shelters, paid $29,880. State governments paid their workers $38,120 per year on average.
State Information
In 2010, California had the largest number of animal welfare officers, who earned well above the national average. At $47,220, California animal control workers earned between the 75th and 90th percentiles for all such workers. Texas had the second-largest number of such workers, who earned below-average salaries, taking in a mean annual wage of $29,840. New York claimed the third-largest population of workers, who earned $33,410 per year on average. Florida and North Carolina followed, with salaries averaging $34,090 and $31,090, respectively. Other states with reported data ranged from Maine at $23,230 and Oklahoma at $27,870 to Alaska at $40,040 and Nevada at $48,930.
Metropolitan Areas
Top pay for animal control workers among metropolitan areas was found in Las Vegas, Nevada, where workers earned $53,270 annually on average. That rate corresponds to what American animal welfare workers earn who are in the top 10 percent of the salary range. San Jose, California, followed with mean average earnings of $50,920, followed by greater Fort Lauderdale, Florida, at $50,020. The Santa Ana, California, area was up next with mean annual wages of $49,780, followed by Nassau and Suffolk counties on Long Island, New York, where such workers earned $47,510 per year. Wages in the Denver, Colorado, area averaged $45,260 and in the greater New York City area these professionals earned $44,880 per year on average.
Tags: welfare officers, workers earned, animal control, animal control workers, control workers