Protective Service
Animal Control Officers
SOC 33-9011
Respond to animal-related complaints and enforce animal welfare laws.
The job
Median pay
$46k
$38k to $57k typical range
Outlook, 2025 to 2035
Growing fast
+4.0% projected
Openings a year
2k
BLS projection
Typical education
High school
Our model
AI displacement risk
Moderate
How much of this job AI may do instead of the person
Works with AI
7/100
AI alongside the person rather than instead of them
AI exposure
24th pct
More exposed than 24% of occupations · modeled estimate · 70th pct in Microsoft's data
Future-proof
52/100
Key skills
- Active Listening
- Speaking
- Critical Thinking
- Reading Comprehension
- Writing
- Monitoring
Pay and jobs by state
BLS OEWS May 2025, 51 states. Sorted by jobs; per 1,000 is jobs per thousand workers in the state; vs national compares that rate with the country's. A tilde marks a figure estimated from the parent occupation group where BLS publishes none.
| State | Jobs | Per 1,000 | vs national | Median pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | 1,300 | 0.1 | 1.2× | $43k |
| California | 1,210 | 0.1 | 0.9× | $63k |
| New York | 870 | 0.1 | 1.2× | $48k |
| Florida | 640 | 0.1 | 0.8× | $46k |
| North Carolina | 460 | 0.1 | 1.2× | $44k |
| Missouri | 440 | 0.1 | 1.9× | $42k |
| Pennsylvania | 433 | 0.1 | 0.9× | $52k~ |
| Georgia | 430 | 0.1 | 1.1× | $40k |
| Virginia | 430 | 0.1 | 1.4× | $49k |
| Illinois | 410 | 0.1 | 0.9× | $42k |
All 51 states
| State | Jobs | Per 1,000 | vs national | Median pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oklahoma | 380 | 0.2 | 2.9× | $37k |
| Indiana | 340 | 0.1 | 1.4× | $43k |
| Alabama | 290 | 0.1 | 1.8× | $37k |
| Ohio | 290 | 0.1 | 0.7× | $45k |
| Massachusetts | 280 | 0.1 | 1.0× | $61k |
| Tennessee | 280 | 0.1 | 1.1× | $43k |
| Michigan | 260 | 0.1 | 0.8× | $48k |
| New Jersey | 260 | 0.1 | 0.8× | $52k |
| New Mexico | 260 | 0.3 | 3.9× | $38k |
| Connecticut | 220 | 0.1 | 1.7× | $57k |
| Arizona | 210 | 0.1 | 0.8× | $48k |
| Utah | 200 | 0.1 | 1.5× | $47k |
| Kansas | 190 | 0.1 | 1.7× | $40k |
| Kentucky | 190 | 0.1 | 1.2× | $35k |
| Arkansas | 180 | 0.1 | 1.8× | $34k |
| South Carolina | 180 | 0.1 | 1.0× | $39k |
| Washington | 180 | 0.1 | 0.7× | $66k |
| Colorado | 170 | 0.1 | 0.8× | $58k |
| Mississippi | 160 | 0.1 | 1.8× | $35k |
| Minnesota | 156 | 0.1 | 0.7× | $54k~ |
| Maryland | 140 | 0.1 | 0.7× | $53k |
| Louisiana | 120 | 0.1 | 0.8× | $38k |
| Wisconsin | 120 | 0.0 | 0.5× | $37k |
| Nevada | 100 | 0.1 | 0.8× | $59k |
| Washington DC | 95 | 0.1 | 1.7× | $67k~ |
| Maine | 90 | 0.1 | 1.8× | $50k |
| West Virginia | 90 | 0.1 | 1.6× | $35k |
| Iowa | 80 | 0.1 | 0.7× | $54k |
| Rhode Island | 70 | 0.1 | 1.8× | $55k |
| Hawaii | 67 | 0.1 | 1.4× | $51k~ |
| New Hampshire | 60 | 0.1 | 1.1× | $49k |
| Nebraska | 55 | 0.1 | 0.7× | $55k~ |
| Idaho | 50 | 0.1 | 0.8× | $44k |
| Montana | 50 | 0.1 | 1.3× | $51k |
| South Dakota | 50 | 0.1 | 1.4× | $46k |
| Oregon | 40 | 0.0 | 0.3× | $66k |
| Wyoming | 40 | 0.1 | 1.8× | $54k |
| Delaware | 33 | 0.1 | 0.9× | $47k~ |
| Alaska | 30 | 0.1 | 1.2× | $63k |
| North Dakota | 26 | 0.1 | 0.8× | $53k~ |
| Vermont | 15 | 0.0 | 0.6× | $52k~ |
Top metro areas
- Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA430 jobs · $63k median
- New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ400 jobs · $56k median
- Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX350 jobs · $46k median
- Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN210 jobs · $49k median
- Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA200 jobs · $43k median
- St. Louis, MO-IL180 jobs · $46k median
- Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH170 jobs · $63k median
- Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA160 jobs · $60k median
Explore the rankings
Explore Animal Control Officers interactively →Pay and outlook from BLS (OEWS 2025, Employment Projections 2025-2035). Skills and work activities from O*NET 30.3. AI exposure and future-proof scores are modeled estimates. How these numbers are made.