How to become a Parking Attendant

Official title: Parking Attendants

Also called: Hiker, Parking Attendant, Parking Cashier, Parking Lot Attendant, Parking Ramp Attendant, Valet Attendant, Valet Parker, Valet Parking Attendant

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.

Main tasks

• 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.
• Park and retrieve automobiles for customers in parking lots, storage garages, or new car lots.
• Provide customer assistance and information, such as giving directions or handling wheelchairs.

How to become one

Typical education to start: No formal educational credential

Pay · Outlook · AI and this job

• Median pay: $35,150 a year The middle half earn $29,960 to $37,670.
• About 139,200 people work in this job now, and about 142,000 are projected by 2035. (+2%)
• People use generative AI for relatively little of this work so far. Microsoft Research rates its AI applicability as low.

Related jobs

• Bridge and Lock Tenders
• Automotive and Watercraft Service Attendants
• Aircraft Service Attendants
• Traffic Technicians
• Transportation Inspectors
• Aviation Inspectors

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Questions people ask

How much does a Parking Attendant earn in the US?

Median full-time pay is $35,150 a year (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics). The middle half earn $29,960 to $37,670.

Is a Parking Attendant a growing career in the US?

Employment is projected to stay about the same by 2035: about 139,200 people now and 142,000 later (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics).

Do you need a degree to become a Parking Attendant?

Usually not. Only 14% of people in this job hold a bachelor's degree or higher.

Will AI change the work of a Parking Attendant?

People use generative AI for relatively little of this work so far. Microsoft Research rates its AI applicability as low.

Sources

• Microsoft Research: Working with AI: AI applicability by occupation (2025-12-22 (built on O*NET 29.0)), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 2026-10-03
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Employment Projections (2025-35 (released 2026-08-27)), Public domain (BLS), retrieved 2026-10-03
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2025), Public domain (BLS), retrieved 2026-10-03

Updated 2026-10-03

This page includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.