# Parking Attendants

US SOC code 53-6021. Markdown version of https://futurehistory.earth/timeline/53-6021

Also called: Valet parking attendant, Parking lot attendant, Valet, Parking garage attendant, Car park attendant.

## In brief

In May 2025, [BLS](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip) counted **137,880** US parking attendants, with median pay of **$35,150** a year. Of the BLS counts since 2021, the May 2025 count is the highest. The earliest figure here is [an estimate](https://usa.ipums.org/usa/volii/96occup.shtml) of **60,000** from 1960, not measured the same way as today's count. The last full technology era for parking attendants: Automated ticket dispenser + gate arm + pay station, 1970 to 2005.

## What the sources say

### Official outlook

BLS projects employment to grow 2% from 2025 to 2035. Source: [BLS Employment Projections 2025-35](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=53-6021&ioType=o).

### AI exposure studies

- **12.5%** of this job's tasks are exposed to large language models. Not a forecast of job losses. [Eloundou and others, 2023](https://github.com/openai/GPTs-are-GPTs/blob/main/data/occ_level.csv)

Data as of BLS OEWS May 2025; BLS Employment Projections 2025-35. BLS publishes these counts as yearly survey snapshots and cautions against reading them as a precise trend.

## Parking Attendants employment and pay by year

- On record since: 1905
- Latest US employment: 137,880 (May 2025). Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 [3]
- Latest US median pay: $35,150 (May 2025). Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 [4]
- Outlook: +2% by 2035. Source: BLS Employment Projections 2025-35 [13]

### All 25 years of cited US data

| Year | US employment | Annual pay (median unless marked) | Source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1960 | 60,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., IPUMS USA [1] |
| 2000 | 116,930 | n/a | BLS OEWS 2000 [2] |
| 2003 | 113,490 | $16,630 | BLS OEWS May 2003 [3] |
| 2004 | 120,080 | $16,800 | BLS OEWS May 2004 [3] |
| 2005 | 124,250 | $16,930 | BLS OEWS May 2005 [3] |
| 2006 | 131,870 | $17,320 | BLS OEWS May 2006 [3] |
| 2007 | 131,860 | $18,020 | BLS OEWS May 2007 [3] |
| 2008 | 136,470 | $18,790 | BLS OEWS May 2008 [3] |
| 2009 | 129,990 | $19,200 | BLS OEWS May 2009 [3] |
| 2010 | 124,590 | $19,530 | BLS OEWS May 2010 [3] |
| 2011 | 126,160 | $19,820 | BLS OEWS May 2011 [3] |
| 2012 | 126,520 | $19,540 | BLS OEWS May 2012 [3] |
| 2013 | 130,190 | $19,500 | BLS OEWS May 2013 [3] |
| 2014 | 136,440 | $19,800 | BLS OEWS May 2014 [3] |
| 2015 | 144,150 | $20,630 | BLS OEWS May 2015 [3] |
| 2016 | 146,350 | $21,730 | BLS OEWS May 2016 [3] |
| 2017 | 145,400 | $22,810 | BLS OEWS May 2017 [3] |
| 2018 | 145,900 | $23,870 | BLS OEWS May 2018 [3] |
| 2019 | 147,390 | $25,140 | BLS OEWS May 2019 [3] |
| 2020 | 123,790 | $27,080 | BLS OEWS May 2020 [3] |
| 2021 | 91,160 | $29,240 | BLS OEWS May 2021 [3] |
| 2022 | 105,290 | $30,570 | BLS OEWS May 2022 [3] |
| 2023 | 118,130 | $32,840 | BLS OEWS May 2023 [3] |
| 2024 | 134,650 | $34,600 | BLS OEWS May 2024 [3] |
| 2025 | 137,880 | $35,150 | BLS OEWS May 2025 [3] |

## Sources (74)

### Employment series

1. [IPUMS USA — 1960 Census Occupation Codes (code 632: "Attendants, auto service and parking")](https://usa.ipums.org/usa/volii/96occup.shtml), IPUMS / University of Minnesota
2. [BLS OES 2000 national estimates (flat file)](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oes00nat.zip), Bureau of Labor Statistics
3. BLS OEWS, national cross-industry estimates (flat file), Bureau of Labor Statistics. Editions: [2003](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm03nat.zip), [2004](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm04nat.zip), [2005](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm05nat.zip), [2006](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm06nat.zip), [2007](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm07nat.zip), [2008](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm08nat.zip), [2009](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm09nat.zip), [2010](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm10nat.zip), [2011](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm11nat.zip), [2012](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm12nat.zip), [2013](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm13nat.zip), [2014](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm14nat.zip), [2015](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm15nat.zip), [2016](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm16nat.zip), [2017](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm17nat.zip), [2018](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm18nat.zip), [2019](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm19nat.zip), [2020](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm20nat.zip), [2021](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm21nat.zip), [2022](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm22nat.zip), [2023](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm23nat.zip), [2024](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm24nat.zip), [2025](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip)

### Wage series

4. BLS OEWS, national cross-industry estimates (flat file), Bureau of Labor Statistics. Editions: [2003](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm03nat.zip), [2004](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm04nat.zip), [2005](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm05nat.zip), [2006](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm06nat.zip), [2007](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm07nat.zip), [2008](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm08nat.zip), [2009](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm09nat.zip), [2010](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm10nat.zip), [2011](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm11nat.zip), [2012](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm12nat.zip), [2013](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm13nat.zip), [2014](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm14nat.zip), [2015](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm15nat.zip), [2016](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm16nat.zip), [2017](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm17nat.zip), [2018](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm18nat.zip), [2019](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm19nat.zip), [2020](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm20nat.zip), [2021](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm21nat.zip), [2022](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm22nat.zip), [2023](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm23nat.zip), [2024](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm24nat.zip), [2025](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip)

### Tool eras

5. [NPR — "Parking Garages: A Multilevel History" (early valet-parked garages, car lifts and ramps)](https://www.npr.org/2009/11/18/120545290/parking-garages-a-multilevel-history), NPR
6. [Wikipedia — Multistorey car park (1905 Garage Rue de Ponthieu, Hotel La Salle 1918, attendant-parked era)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multistorey_car_park), Wikipedia
7. [HISTORY — "World's first parking meter installed" (July 16, 1935, Carl Magee, Oklahoma City)](https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/july-16/worlds-first-parking-meter-installed), HISTORY
8. [Oklahoma Historical Society — "Parking Meter" (Park-O-Meter No. 1, 175 meters, national spread to 140,000 by early 1940s)](https://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry?entry=PA015), Oklahoma Historical Society
9. [Parkwell — "History of Parking" (self-park garages widespread by 1940s-1950s; attendants retained for fees, gates, direction)](https://parkwell.medium.com/history-of-parking-64178feda2f1), Parkwell
10. [Parker Technology — "The Evolution of Labor in Parking" (1977 NYT "Self-park Garages Sound Death Knell of Car-Jockey"; automated gates and booths) \[archived 2025-02-17\]](https://web.archive.org/web/20250217014918/https://parkertechnology.com/evolution-of-parking-labor/), Parker Technology (via Wayback Machine)
11. [CNBC — "AI startup Metropolis raises $1.6 billion for major retail expansion" (founded 2017, SP Plus acquisition 2024, checkout-free LPR parking)](https://www.cnbc.com/2025/11/06/ai-based-parking-lot-payment-startup-metropolis-raises-1point6-billion.html), CNBC
12. [SKIDATA — "AI-Based Mobility" (AI Video Car Tracking, camera occupancy monitoring, Automated Valet Parking)](https://www.skidata.com/skidata-blog/ai-based-mobility), SKIDATA

### Forecasts and exposure studies

13. [BLS Employment Projections 2025-35, National Employment Matrix: 53-6021 Parking attendants (2025: 139.2 thousand; 2035: 142.0 thousand; +2.0%)](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=53-6021&ioType=o), Bureau of Labor Statistics
14. [Eloundou, Manning, Mishkin & Rock (2023), "GPTs are GPTs", occupation-level exposure data occ\_level.csv (O\*NET-SOC 53-6021.00, human-rated β 0.125)](https://github.com/openai/GPTs-are-GPTs/blob/main/data/occ_level.csv), OpenAI

### Historical notes

15. [Wikipedia — Multistorey car park (1905 Garage Rue de Ponthieu, Paris; Hotel La Salle, Chicago, 1918)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multistorey_car_park), Wikipedia
16. [HISTORY — "World's first parking meter installed" (July 16, 1935)](https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/july-16/worlds-first-parking-meter-installed), HISTORY
17. [IPUMS USA — 1960 Census Occupation Codes (code 632: "Attendants, auto service and parking")](https://usa.ipums.org/usa/volii/96occup.shtml), IPUMS / University of Minnesota
18. [Parker Technology — "The Evolution of Labor in Parking" (citing the 1977 NYT "Self-park Garages Sound Death Knell of Car-Jockey") \[archived 2025-02-17\]](https://web.archive.org/web/20250217014918/https://parkertechnology.com/evolution-of-parking-labor/), Parker Technology (via Wayback Machine)
19. [CNBC — "AI startup Metropolis raises $1.6 billion for major retail expansion" (SP Plus acquisition; checkout-free LPR parking)](https://www.cnbc.com/2025/11/06/ai-based-parking-lot-payment-startup-metropolis-raises-1point6-billion.html), CNBC

### Predecessors & successors

20. [NPR — "Parking Garages: A Multilevel History" (early garages descended from and replaced livery stables for vehicle keeping)](https://www.npr.org/2009/11/18/120545290/parking-garages-a-multilevel-history), NPR
21. [IPUMS USA — 1960 Census Occupation Codes (code 632 bundled service-station and parking attendants)](https://usa.ipums.org/usa/volii/96occup.shtml), IPUMS / University of Minnesota

### Present-day analysis

- [O\*NET 30.3 — Parking Attendants (53-6021.00): tasks, work context, wages, outlook](https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/53-6021.00), accessed 2026-06-05
- [BLS OEWS May 2024 — Parking Attendants: 135,700 workers, $16.63/hr median wage](https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes536021.htm), accessed 2026-06-05
- [AI Changing Work — Parking Attendants: 62% automation risk, BLS -12% 2024-34 projection](https://aichanging.work/en/occupation/parking-attendants), accessed 2026-06-05
- [Eloundou et al. 2024 — GPTs are GPTs: LLM labor exposure by occupation (Science)](https://arxiv.org/abs/2303.10130), accessed 2026-06-05
- [CNBC — AI startup Metropolis raises $1.6 billion for major retail expansion (Nov 2025)](https://www.cnbc.com/2025/11/06/ai-based-parking-lot-payment-startup-metropolis-raises-1point6-billion.html), accessed 2026-06-05
- [National Parking / Parkify — Leave Parking Attendants in the Past: LPR automates check-in/out (Dec 2025)](https://national-parking.com/about/resources/2025/12/parking-attendant-alternative/), accessed 2026-06-05
- [Metropolis Technologies — checkout-free drive-in, drive-out parking via computer vision](https://www.metropolis.io/), accessed 2026-06-05
- [National Parking — AI Is Revolutionizing Parking Solutions: automated payment, QR code checkout (Nov 2025)](https://national-parking.com/about/resources/2025/11/ai-management-parking-solutions/), accessed 2026-06-05
- [SKIDATA — AI-Based Mobility: floor-level occupancy monitoring, AI-powered vehicle counting](https://www.skidata.com/skidata-blog/ai-based-mobility), accessed 2026-06-05

How to read these figures: https://futurehistory.earth/methodology. Every figure links to its own source; gaps stay gaps.