Start with the answer
Animal Trainers pay in Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA and Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC
The May 2025 BLS OEWS median for Animal Trainers is $66,040 per year in Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA. It is $99,190 per year in Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC. Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA is 33.4% below Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC on the published median.
Both rows use SOC 39-2011 and the same annual wage metric. Median means the middle of each area's published wage spread. It is not one worker's pay. The larger median is not proof that one place gives a better job or a better result. It is one wage fact from one source period.
BLS lists 110 wage and salary jobs in Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA and Not published in Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC. Those are survey job counts, not open posts. Read pay, job scale, local share, and price level as separate facts before you make a choice.