Kennel Attendant Salary in 2026: Hourly and Annual Pay
25th percentile
$29,820
Median (50th)
$35,360
75th percentile
$40,050
90th percentile
$50,060
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 national release — SOC 39-2021, Animal Caretakers.
How Much Does a Kennel Attendant Make an Hour?
At the national median of $35,360 a year, a kennel attendant makes about $17.00 an hour, $680 a week or $2,947 a month before taxes.
The middle half of kennel attendants earn about $14.34 to $19.25 an hour, and the top 10% earn $24.07 an hour or more.
Hourly, weekly and monthly figures are our calculations from the BLS OEWS May 2025 annual figures for Animal Caretakers (SOC 39-2021): annual ÷ 2,080 hours (the 40-hour, 52-week year BLS uses to annualize wages), ÷ 52 weeks and ÷ 12 months.
To estimate part-time pay, multiply an hourly figure by the hours worked.
Kennel Attendant Compensation Structure
Compensation for kennel attendantsvaries significantly by employment type.
Here's how the most common structures break down:
Bottom 10%
Typically new hires and lower-cost-of-living markets, across the full aggregate this occupation covers.
$27,250 or less
Middle 50%
The band most postings fall in, across boarding, retail, shelter and clinic settings alike.
$29,820–$40,050
Median
Half of animal caretakers earn more than this, half less — the all-industries figure, not a clinic-specific one.
$35,360
Top 10%
Drawn from across the full aggregate — including boarding, retail, and settings like zoos and stables — not from veterinary clinics specifically.
$50,060 or more
Kennel Attendant Salary by Setting
Both figures are BLS OEWS May 2025 medians for the same occupation code (SOC 39-2021).
The all-industries row covers the full Animal Caretakers occupation — boarding, grooming, retail, self-employed, and zoo or stable work along with veterinary clinics.
The veterinary-services row isolates workers employed in veterinary clinics specifically, and it comes in lower ($32,150 vs. $35,360), not higher — this occupation does not follow the pattern of clinic settings paying a premium.
What Affects Kennel Attendant Salary?
Read this figure carefully before using it to judge a clinic-based kennel attendant job, because the occupation code behind it is unusually broad.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics counts kennel attendants under Animal Caretakers (SOC 39-2021), a code that also covers pet sitters, groomers, shelter workers, and zoo, aquarium and stable caretakers.
Only about 10% of the people counted in this occupation work in a veterinary-clinic-type setting — most work in boarding and grooming businesses, are self-employed, or work in pet retail.
See the kennel attendant career guide for the full breakdown of where the occupation actually works.
Filtered specifically to veterinary services (NAICS 541940), the median is lower, not higher, than the all-industries figure above — see the setting breakdown below.
That is worth stating plainly, because the intuitive assumption is that clinic work pays a premium over boarding or retail; the OEWS data says the opposite for this occupation.
Beyond the industry-mix caveat, the usual drivers apply: overnight, weekend and holiday coverage is routine in this role and is not always broken out as a differential in an advertised rate, and region moves the number as it does for any occupation.
There is no formal credentialing step that raises pay within this role — the next paid step up is typically a move into a different occupation entirely, such as veterinary assistant, at a national median of $38,150, or a credentialed veterinary technician role at $47,380.
Per-state pages built on the same OEWS release are being added one state at a time — the directory below lists those published so far.
Kennel Attendant Salary by State
Of the 51 jurisdictions below, Washington, DC ($44,210), Washington ($40,570) and Hawaii ($40,130) have the highest median pay.
What Kennel Attendant Job Listings Show Right Now
From the 327 active kennel attendant listings on VeterinaryHires as of November 1, 2026.
Employers with the most openings
Where the openings are
Pay employers post
- Median $15 an hour; the middle half of posted pay runs $13–$16 (78 listings that state an hourly rate)
- 24% of kennel attendant listings state any pay at all.
Benefits listings name
- Pet Care Discountnamed in 72%
- Health Insurancenamed in 52%
- Dental & Visionnamed in 50%
- PTO / Paid Time Offnamed in 36%
- 401k Matchnamed in 13%
Source: active kennel attendant listings on VeterinaryHires, updated daily. Pay figures use only listings that state pay (midpoint of each posted range). Benefits count listings that name the benefit; a listing that doesn’t mention one may still offer it.
Browse 327 jobs →Frequently Asked Questions
How much does a kennel attendant make an hour?
About $17.00 an hour at the median.
That is the $35,360 annual median from the BLS OEWS May 2025 release (SOC 39-2021, Animal Caretakers) divided by 2,080 hours, the full-time year BLS uses to annualize wages.
The middle half work out to $14.34 to $19.25 an hour, and the 90th percentile to $24.07.
An employer's posted rate, your state and your hours decide what you actually earn.
How much does a kennel attendant make a month?
About $2,947 a month before taxes at the median: the $35,360 annual median from the BLS OEWS May 2025 release (SOC 39-2021, Animal Caretakers) divided by 12.
The middle half works out to $2,485 to $3,338 a month, and the 90th percentile to $4,172.
BLS publishes annual and hourly wages, not monthly ones, so these monthly figures are calculations from its annual numbers.
What is the salary range for a kennel attendant?
In the BLS OEWS May 2025 release (SOC 39-2021, Animal Caretakers), the middle half of kennel attendants earn $29,820 to $40,050 a year, about $14.34 to $19.25 an hour.
The median is $35,360 ($17.00 an hour), and 10% earn $50,060 ($24.07 an hour) or more.
These are national figures for the whole occupation, not adjusted for cost of living; the state pages below show local medians.