MANCHESTER, NH – New Hampshire is the second-best state in the U.S. to be employed working with animals, a study has found.
Animal-related jobs may seem on the surface to be relatively well-paying in New Hampshire, with the average salary $53,818, according to the study. But that includes everything from veterinarians to dog-walkers, with veterinarian salaries boosting the number.
The average base pay for a veterinarian in New Hampshire is $117,601, according to Indeed, while the average veterinary tech makes $35,000. Those working in animal shelters, or as dog-walkers often make much less.
There are 1,090 licensed veterinarians in NH according to the state Office of
Professional Licensure and Certification.
Personal finance experts at the organization DollarGeek analyzed salaries for caretakers, veterinarians and trainers, average employment in the jobs and the number of job listings in the industry to come up with its rankings. It also included how much of salary goes toward housing, particularly rent, in its rankings.
Maine came in first, with a slightly lower average salary, but less of that salary going to pay rent, and more people employed in animal care jobs than New Hampshire.
New Hampshire scored 92.40 out of 100 in the study. Key statistics are:
- Average salary for those working with animals is $53,818
- 25.53 percent of salary goes to pay rent
- Location quotient is 1.35, which means that there are 1.35 times the number of people working with animals in the Granite State than the national average
- There were 111 animal-related job listings per 10,000 in New Hampshire at the time of the study
New Hampshire wasn’t the best in any category, but a mix of decent rankings in each put it in the second-place spot.
Maine’s number one ranking was spurred by the lowest amount of salary going to rent of all the ranked states, as well as the highest location quotient. Maine had an average salary of $53,748, with 19.49 percent of that going to rent, a location quotient of 1.59 and 93 job listings for animal-related jobs per 10,000.
“Many people’s dream job is to work with animals in some way, whether as a vet or at the zoo, so it’s fascinating to see which areas across the U.S. offer the best opportunities for a career in the field,” said a DollarGeek spokesperson. “The states in the top 10 are also spread across the country, which really highlights America’s love for animals.“
The top 10, after New Hampshire, are Kentucky, Oregon, North Carolina, Montana, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware and Florida. The worst state is Hawaii, preceded by New Jersey and Nebraska.
The study, done for DollarGeek by journoresearch.org, used employment and salary data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, and job listing data from Indeed.
Below: Rankings for all 50 states.
