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Parking Attendant

$35,150
median / year
$27,040 – $44,550
what most earn per year (10th–90th percentile)

What the job actually is

Park and retrieve vehicles, collect fees, and watch over lots and garages for customers.

You may also see this posted as: Parking Lot Attendant, Valet Attendant, Valet Parker, Hiker, Parking Cashier, Parking Ramp Attendant.

Where you work

Garages and parking lots

The hours

Shifts, nights and weekends

The day to day

What you'd actually spend time doing

  • 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.

Good fit if you like…

Realistic

working with tools, equipment, materials, or the physical world

Conventional

organizing information, following systems, and getting details right

Enterprising

leading, persuading, selling, or turning an idea into action

O*NET job zone 2 of 5

Some preparation—often a high school credential and on-the-job learning—is usually needed.

Work styles that matter most

DependabilityCooperationIntegrityAttention to Detail

Software that shows up in the work

Examples employers report—not a checklist you must already know.

Microsoft ExcelMicrosoft Office softwareMicrosoft OutlookMicrosoft WordCorePark ValetEmail software

By the numbers

May 2025 BLS wage & employment data · 2024–34 BLS employment projections.

Median pay
$35,150
per year
Hourly median
$16.90
per hour
What most earn
$27,040–$44,550
yearly, 10th to 90th percentile
Openings a year
~18,500
projected, 2024–34
Outlook to 2034
+3%
About average
Working in the U.S.
137,880
people, nationwide

Openings a year counts new jobs plus the ones that open when people retire or move on — a truer picture of your odds than growth alone.

“Median” means half earn more and half earn less. Your city, employer, and years on the job move it a lot — that is what the 10th-to-90th range shows.

What it pays in your state

Statewide medians are a better starting point than the national number. Your city and experience still matter.

BLS state wage tables

How you get in

Typical starting education

No formal credential

Training path: Learn on the job.

Related work experience: None.

On-the-job training: Short-term on-the-job training.

License or certification

No license required to start in most places.

You can earn while you train. This field has a genuinely paid pathway in — an apprenticeship, a paid academy, or employer-funded training — so you draw a paycheck instead of taking on debt to learn it.

Check the path where you live

Licensing rules and available programs change by state. These federal tools take you to the current official listings.

What it takes

DrivingCustomer serviceCash handlingAttention

The honest take

Low-barrier entry work with steady turnover openings — a first job more than a career.

Standard Occupational Classification 53-6021. Pay and employment from the BLS May 2025 OEWS survey; outlook and openings from the 2024–34 employment projections; tasks, interests, work styles, software examples, and job zone from O*NET 30.3. See something off? Tell us.