How much does a parking attendant make?

The median pay is $16.90 per hour — roughly $35,000 a year, with the real range running from about $13.00/hr (10th percentile) to $21.42/hr (90th percentile). Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Do you need a degree to be a parking attendant?

The typical entry-level education is: Less than high school. Overall preparation level: some preparation (Job Zone 2 of 5).

What does a parking attendant actually do all day?

Take numbered tags from customers, locate vehicles, and deliver vehicles, or provide customers with instructions for locating vehicles. Inspect vehicles to detect any damage. Greet customers and open their car doors.

Transportation

Parking Attendants

Park vehicles or issue tickets for customers in a parking lot or garage. May park or tend vehicles in environments such as a car dealership or rental car facility. May collect fee.

What it pays
Parking Attendants earn a median of $16.90/hr — about $35,000 a year. The lowest-paid 10% earn $13.00/hr; the top 10% earn $21.42/hr. (Annual figures are approximate: hourly × 2,080.)

What you'd actually do

Take numbered tags from customers, locate vehicles, and deliver vehicles, or provide customers with instructions for locating vehicles.
Inspect vehicles to detect any damage.
Greet customers and open their car doors.
Issue ticket stubs or place numbered tags on windshields, log tags or attach tag to customers' keys, and give customers matching tags for locating parked vehicles.
Perform cash handling tasks, such as making change, balancing and recording cash drawer, or distributing tips.
Explain and calculate parking charges, collect fees from customers, and respond to customer complaints.

How you get there

Typical entry-level education: Less than high school. Overall preparation: some preparation (Job Zone 2 of 5).

The feel of the work

Much of the work happens outdoors; you're around people constantly. (Compared against the other 818 careers in the guide.)

Working for yourself

About 0% of parking attendants are self-employed.

Who it tends to fit

This work tends to fit people who are hands-on, organized and detail-focused and take-charge.

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Quick questions

How much does a parking attendant make?: The median pay is $16.90 per hour — roughly $35,000 a year, with the real range running from about $13.00/hr (10th percentile) to $21.42/hr (90th percentile). Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Do you need a degree to be a parking attendant?: The typical entry-level education is: Less than high school. Overall preparation level: some preparation (Job Zone 2 of 5).
What does a parking attendant actually do all day?: Take numbered tags from customers, locate vehicles, and deliver vehicles, or provide customers with instructions for locating vehicles. Inspect vehicles to detect any damage. Greet customers and open their car doors.

Wages: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS. Tasks & interests: O*NET. Career pathways shown in the app are draft archetypes — verify before relying on them. Trailhead is a free career guide for students — honest numbers, no hype.

Trailhead is operated by FLEXVermont LLC. It is intended for high-school students age 13 and older, and the educators and families who support them, and is not directed to children under 13. Trailhead is provided for general informational and educational purposes only. It does not offer professional, financial, or career advice, and its wage figures and pathways are estimates that may not fit your situation — they should not be relied on as the sole basis for any decision.