Dog Trainer Pay and Health Insurance in North Carolina (2027)

Q: How much does a dog trainer make in North Carolina?

The BLS median wage for Animal Trainers in North Carolina is $40,860 a year (May 2024). Starting pay — the 10th percentile — is about $24,960. The middle half earn $32,300 to $55,330, and the top 10% more than $80,820. BLS counts about 740 people doing this work for an employer in North Carolina. 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

$40,860median annual wage, Dog Trainers in North Carolina

256%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 22 states reported.

What this figure is. It is the median annual wage BLS reports for Animal Trainers (SOC 39-2011) in North Carolina. 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 trainer. 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	$46,390	below
2	Indiana	$537	$38,530	below
3	Virginia	$549	—	—
4	Nevada	$565	$36,060	below
5	Michigan	$595	$34,100	below
6	Ohio	$603	$32,960	below
7	Colorado	$615	$43,670	below
8	North Carolina	$660	$40,860	below
9	Oklahoma	$686	$33,120	below
10	South Carolina	$702	$31,620	below
11	South Dakota	$704	$39,380	below
12	Illinois	$707	$34,560	below
13	Alabama	$712	$58,480	below
14	Utah	$716	$35,380	below
15	Wisconsin	$720	$40,360	below
16	Georgia	$733	$38,130	below
17	Texas	$737	$33,290	below
18	Florida	$738	$36,190	below
19	Kansas	$748	$35,360	below
20	Arkansas	$757	$42,460	below
21	Nebraska	$780	$34,500	below
22	Tennessee	$796	$37,250	below
23	Mississippi	$814	$35,240	below

Questions

How much does a dog trainer make in North Carolina?

The BLS median wage for Animal Trainers in North Carolina is $40,860 a year (May 2024). Starting pay — the 10th percentile — is about $24,960. The middle half earn $32,300 to $55,330, and the top 10% more than $80,820. BLS counts about 740 people doing this work for an employer in North Carolina. 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 trainer change what health insurance costs in North Carolina?

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 $660 a month applies regardless of trade.

Do dog trainers qualify for a subsidy in North Carolina 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 Trainers in North Carolina is $40,860, 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 North Carolina for 2027?

$660 a month for a 40-year-old, ranking 8 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 North Carolina

This page compares states. For North Carolina 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 Trainers in all states · All trades · All occupations

How North Carolina compares with every other state →

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Open Enrollment 2027 for Dog Trainers in North Carolina

North Carolina has 5 carriers selling 2027 plans over 100 counties, down from 6 in 2026. The list is set county by county, so start with the carriers in yours.

The benchmark Silver plan — the one tax credits are measured against — costs $694 a month for a 40-year-old in the median North Carolina county in 2027, a 1.2% rise.

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 90 of North Carolina’s 100 counties for 2027. Whether yours has one decides how much out-of-network care a plan will pay toward.

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

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Dog Trainers Health Insurance in North Carolina