New research has revealed the best states to work with animals, with Maine coming out on top.
Personal finance experts at DollarGeek analysed several factors for working with animals in each state. These factors included the salaries for caretakers, vets, and trainers, the average employment in these jobs and the number of job listings.
The study found that Maine is the best state to work with animals. The state scored well on its average salary of $53,748, with only 19.49% of this going on rent. There was a relatively high number of animal job listings, roughly 93 per 10,000. A high location quotient of 1.59 also indicates many more people currently working with animals in the state compared to the national average.
New Hampshire comes in second place, with the New England state scoring 92.40 out of 100 in the study. It has a good balance of factors to give it the second spot, such as an average working with animals salary of $53,818, with only 25.53% of it going towards rent. There are also 111 animal-related job listings per 10,000 total, and the state also has a location quotient of 1.35.
Coming in third place is Kentucky. Despite the state having the second lowest average salary out of the top ten with $46,980, only 20% of it goes towards rent, and this, combined with the state’s location quotient of 1.59, it achieves a score of 90.85 out of 100 in the study.
| Rank | State | Average working with animals salary | Average location quotient | % of salary spent on rent | Number of animal job listings per 10,000 jobs | Working with animals score /100 |
| 1 | Maine | $53,748 | 1.59 | 19.49% | 93 | 100 |
| 2 | New Hampshire | $53,818 | 1.35 | 25.53% | 111 | 92.40 |
| 3 | Kentucky | $46,980 | 1.59 | 20.00% | 67 | 90.85 |
| 4 | Oregon | $54,148 | 1.37 | 26.00% | 105 | 90.22 |
| 5 | North Carolina | $52,215 | 1.11 | 21.42% | 100 | 87.59 |
| 6 | Montana | $43,335 | 1.39 | 23.15% | 84 | 87.29 |
| 7 | Colorado | $49,885 | 1.17 | 32.11% | 122 | 86.20 |
| 8 | Connecticut | $60,403 | 1.15 | 23.86% | 101 | 85.910 |
| 9 | Delaware | $55,560 | 1.24 | 24.84% | 98 | 85.909 |
| 10 | Florida | $51,273 | 1.25 | 28.51% | 106 | 85.55 |
Fourth place goes to Oregon, receiving a score of 90.22 out of 100. This is due to a high average salary of $54,148, with 26% of it going towards rent, a location quotient of 1.37 and 105 animal job listings per 10,000 total listings.
Rounding out the top five is North Carolina, with a score of 87.59 out of 100 due to factors like a low 21.42% of salary going towards rent, a location quotient of 1.11 and 100 animal job listings per 10,000 total listings.