Kennel Attendant Salary in California
Animal caretakers in California — SOC 39-2021, a federal occupation that spans all industries, not only veterinary practices — earned a median annual wage of $38,700 in the May 2025 estimates, $3,340 or 9% above the national median of $35,360.
That ranks 5th of the 51 jurisdictions that publish a median.
California sits above the national figures at every percentile, with the widest lead at the bottom of the distribution and the narrowest at the middle.
What these figures cover
10th percentile
$35,640
25th percentile
$36,810
75th percentile
$45,160
90th percentile
$56,270
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 state estimates — California, SOC 39-2021 (Animal Caretakers). Retrieved 2026-09-16 from the BLS Public Data API.
How to read these figures
California vs. the national figures
The California median is above the national median by 9%. Among the 51 jurisdictions (states plus DC) where BLS publishes a Animal Caretakers (SOC 39-2021) median for May 2025, it ranks 5th, and 1st by estimated employment.
Differences are whole percentages, rounded half away from zero, computed from the figures shown.
Ahead at every percentile, by the most at the floor
California's lead over the national figures is largest at the bottom of the distribution.
The 10th percentile, $35,640, is $8,390 or 31% above the national $27,250, and the 25th percentile, $36,810, is $6,990 or 23% above the national $29,820.
The lead narrows toward the middle: the California median is $3,340, or 9%, above the national median of $35,360.
Above the middle the dollar gap widens again — the 75th percentile is $5,110 above the national $40,050 and the 90th percentile is $6,210 above the national $50,060, 13% and 12% respectively.
Benchmarking an offer against the national median alone would miss that even the California 10th percentile sits above it.
Narrower below the median, wider above it
Half of the California workers counted earned between $36,810 and $45,160 — a band $8,350 wide, against $10,230 nationally.
The full span from the 10th to the 90th percentile is $20,630, against $22,810 nationally.
The narrowing is not even: both segments below the median are tighter than their national counterparts — $1,170 from the 10th to the 25th percentile against $2,570, and $1,890 from the 25th percentile to the median against $5,540 — while both segments above the median are wider, $6,460 against $4,690 and $11,110 against $10,010.
The median sits $1,890 above the 25th percentile and $6,460 below the 75th.
OEWS does not publish why a distribution has this shape, and this row spans every industry, so this page does not assign it a cause.
Holding an hourly posting against these figures
The California hourly median is $18.60, against $17.00 nationally — a 9% gap, matching the annual median.
The data set carries hourly pay at the median only, so it is the figure to hold an hourly posting against.
Before comparing a posted rate with the annual percentiles, ask how many hours a week the role is scheduled.
Against the California vet tech median
In the same release, veterinary technologists and technicians in California have a median of $60,630 — $21,930, or 57%, more than the all-industry animal caretaker median on this page.
The comparison sets a veterinary occupation against one that spans all industries, so it is context for someone weighing a move into technician work, not a measure of what veterinary kennel work pays.
Same release, same state: veterinary technologists and technicians (SOC 29-2056) in California have a median of $60,630 ($29.15/hr) — $21,930 above the animal caretakers median shown on this page. Vet tech salary in California →
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the median kennel attendant salary in California?
No federal wage series isolates kennel attendants.
The closest is SOC 39-2021, Animal Caretakers, which covers all industries; its California median annual wage was $38,700 in May 2025, or $18.60 an hour.
Half of the animal caretakers counted earned more and half earned less.
The national median for the occupation is $35,360, so California sits 9% above it.
What do the top-paid animal caretakers in California earn?
The California 90th percentile is $56,270, so one in ten animal caretakers counted across all industries earned more than that.
Nationally the 90th percentile is $50,060, putting the California top tenth 12% higher.
The 75th percentile, $45,160, is 13% above the national $40,050, so the lead holds above the middle of the distribution too.
What does the low end of the distribution look like?
The California 10th percentile is $35,640 — $8,390, or 31%, above the national 10th percentile of $27,250.
Even the bottom of the California distribution sits above the national median of $35,360.
At the 25th percentile the state figure is $36,810, 23% above the national $29,820.
The floor is where California pulls furthest ahead of the national figures in both dollar and percentage terms.
How does this all-industry figure compare with vet tech pay in California?
In the same BLS release, veterinary technologists and technicians in California have a median of $60,630, which is $21,930 above the $38,700 median for animal caretakers across all industries — 1.6 times as much.
Only the technician figure is veterinary-specific, so treat the gap as context for a career decision, not as a promised raise.
How many animal caretakers work in California?
BLS estimates 25,710 animal caretakers were employed in California across all industries, 1st among the 51 jurisdictions that publish a median.
The estimate is a headcount of people in jobs during the survey period, not a count of openings, and BLS publishes no state count of how many of them work in veterinary settings.
More California Kennel Attendant Resources
Sources
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 state estimates — California, SOC 39-2021 Animal Caretakers (all industries), and SOC 29-2056 for the technician comparison (BLS Public Data API) (retrieved 2026-09-16)
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS May 2025 national estimates — SOC 39-2021 percentiles (via O*NET OnLine) (retrieved 2026-08-15)
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS May 2025 national estimates — SOC 39-2021 hourly median (BLS Public Data API) (retrieved 2026-09-23)
Wage figures: BLS OEWS May 2025 state and national estimates, SOC 39-2021, retrieved 2026-09-16. Page last updated 2026-09-24.