How To Become An Animal Groomer: What It Is and Career Path

What is an animal groomer and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being an animal groomer. For example, did you know that they make an average of $14.43 an hour? That's $30,022 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 28% and produce 101,200 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreAnimal GroomerUS Average

Salary

2.3

Avg. Salary $30,022

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

6.7

Growth rate 28%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

1.1

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.46%

Asian 2.81%

Black or African American 4.89%

Hispanic or Latino 16.14%

Unknown 6.34%

White 69.37%

Gender

female 81.48%

male 18.52%

Age - 29

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 29

Stress level

6.7

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.0

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

8.1

Work life balance is good

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become an animal groomer

Explore animal groomer education requirements

Most common animal groomer degrees

High School Diploma

42.9 %

Bachelor's

31.4 %

Associate

14.3 %

Start to develop specific animal groomer skills

Skills	Percentages
PET	77.14%
Dry Vacuums	16.77%
Coats	3.56%
Customer Service	2.54%

Complete relevant animal groomer training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New animal groomers learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as an animal groomer based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real animal groomer resumes.

Research animal groomer duties and responsibilities

Assist in managing shelter for animals and arranging for adoption or euthanasia of confiscate animals.
Brush, bath and condition animals coats.
Groom their pet within a safe and timely manner.
Acquire necessary supplies and tools for basic grooming, ear cleaning, and nail clipping for cats and dogs.

Prepare your animal groomer resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your animal groomer resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on an animal groomer resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable animal groomer resume templates

Build a professional animal groomer resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your animal groomer resume.