Dog Groomer Pay and Health Insurance in Alabama (2027)

Q: How much does a dog groomer make in Alabama?

The BLS median wage for Animal Caretakers in Alabama is $27,940 a year (May 2024). Starting pay — the 10th percentile — is about $20,590. The middle half earn $22,560 to $33,060, and the top 10% more than $44,420. BLS counts about 4,170 people doing this work for an employer in Alabama. The self-employed are not in the BLS survey, so this is the going rate for the work, not your own number.

Wage benchmark and the 2027 subsidy cliff

$27,940median annual wage, Dog Groomers in Alabama

175%of the federal poverty level

$63,8402027 subsidy cliff, single-person household

Below the cliff. At this income a single-person household remains eligible for a premium tax credit in 2027.

This occupation is below the cliff in all 23 states reported.

What this figure is. It is the median annual wage BLS reports for Animal Caretakers (SOC 39-2021) in Alabama. BLS surveys wage and salary workers and excludes the self-employed, so it is a benchmark for the occupation in this state — not the income of a self-employed dog groomer. Premium tax credit eligibility is set by household modified adjusted gross income and household size, not by occupation, so treat this as a reference point rather than a determination of what you qualify for.

Why the cliff is back. The enhanced premium tax credits expired on 31 December 2025. For plan year 2027 the 400% FPL limit applies again, so household income above $63,840 ends premium tax credit eligibility outright.

Sources

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2024. State-level annual median wage (A_MEDIAN), detailed occupation. https://www.bls.gov/oes/. Retrieved 2026-08-03. Figures used unmodified; suppressed cells are omitted, not estimated.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Annual Update of the HHS Poverty Guidelines. 91 FR 1797, 15 January 2026. https://aspe.hhs.gov/topics/poverty-economic-mobility/poverty-guidelines. Retrieved 2026-09-27. The 2026 guidelines govern premium tax credit eligibility for plan year 2027 coverage. The 2027 guidelines apply to 2028 coverage.
Full dataset for all occupations and states: CSV · JSON (CC BY 4.0).

All 23 states

Benchmark premium and median wage for this occupation, ranked by premium.

#	State	Benchmark @40	Median wage	vs cliff
1	Maryland	$491	$35,990	below
2	Indiana	$537	$28,800	below
3	Virginia	$549	$30,830	below
4	Nevada	$565	$29,530	below
5	Michigan	$595	$29,730	below
6	Ohio	$603	$29,700	below
7	Colorado	$615	$35,300	below
8	North Carolina	$660	$28,900	below
9	Oklahoma	$686	$28,370	below
10	South Carolina	$702	$29,900	below
11	South Dakota	$704	$29,460	below
12	Illinois	$707	$34,440	below
13	Alabama	$712	$27,940	below
14	Utah	$716	$31,550	below
15	Wisconsin	$720	$29,490	below
16	Georgia	$733	$28,880	below
17	Texas	$737	$29,810	below
18	Florida	$738	$30,380	below
19	Kansas	$748	$27,970	below
20	Arkansas	$757	$29,370	below
21	Nebraska	$780	$29,970	below
22	Tennessee	$796	$29,800	below
23	Mississippi	$814	$23,740	below

Questions

How much does a dog groomer make in Alabama?

The BLS median wage for Animal Caretakers in Alabama is $27,940 a year (May 2024). Starting pay — the 10th percentile — is about $20,590. The middle half earn $22,560 to $33,060, and the top 10% more than $44,420. BLS counts about 4,170 people doing this work for an employer in Alabama. The self-employed are not in the BLS survey, so this is the going rate for the work, not your own number.

Does being a dog groomer change what health insurance costs in Alabama?

No. Under the ACA carriers may not rate, decline, or exclude based on occupation or health history. Premiums vary only by age, ZIP code, tobacco use and household size, so the benchmark of $712 a month applies regardless of trade.

Do dog groomers qualify for a subsidy in Alabama in 2027?

Premium tax credit eligibility depends on household modified adjusted gross income and household size, not occupation. For reference, the BLS median wage for Animal Caretakers in Alabama is $27,940, which is below the 2027 cliff of $63,840 for a single-person household. Your own income and household size decide the answer.

What is the benchmark premium in Alabama for 2027?

$712 a month for a 40-year-old, ranking 13 of 23 states published here. That is full price before any premium tax credit.

Where do these numbers come from?

Premiums come from the CMS Plan Year 2027 Qualified Health Plan Landscape file and published state rate approvals. Wages come from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2024. Both are reproduced unmodified; the full wage dataset is downloadable as CSV or JSON.

Going deeper on Alabama

This page compares states. For Alabama specifically — county-by-county carriers, plan data and enrollment help — that is published on Coverage by County. To check whether a plan actually covers your hospital, see Plans By City.

← Dog Groomers in all states · All trades · All occupations

How Alabama compares with every other state →

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2027 coverage for dog groomers in Alabama: the enrollment window

The 2027 plans are posted: 4 carriers across 67 Alabama counties. Carriers file county by county, so the statewide count only tells you so much.

The benchmark Silver plan — the one tax credits are measured against — costs $686 a month for a 40-year-old in the median Alabama county in 2027, a 7.4% rise.

Insurers in Alabama were approved for an average 20.7% increase for 2027; your own premium turns on the plan and the county.

Choose by December 15 and your plan starts January 1. HealthCare.gov stays open to January 15, but a plan picked after December 15 starts February 1.

PPOs are sold in all 67 Alabama counties for 2027 — the plan type most likely to pay toward care out of network, which matters if your work takes you around.

Worth settling before December 15

The 2027 plans are posted and the deadline for a January 1 start is December 15. Ten minutes with your ZIP code settles which plan still fits.

Enter a ZIP and a licensed agent will tell you three things:

Whether your current plan and carrier are still selling in your county for 2027
What your income estimate should realistically be — the number your credit is calculated from
Whether the doctors you actually use are in the 2027 network, before you are locked in

Compare my 2027 options →

Dog Groomers Health Insurance in Alabama