Kennel Attendant Salary in Connecticut
Animal caretakers in Connecticut — SOC 39-2021, a federal occupation spanning all industries, not only veterinary practices — earned a median annual wage of $37,310 in the May 2025 estimates, $1,950 or 6% above the national median of $35,360.
That ranks 9th of the 51 jurisdictions that publish a median.
The distinctive feature is the shape: a floor 29% above the national 10th percentile and a ceiling that stretches the top of the range far beyond it.
What these figures cover
10th percentile
$35,150
25th percentile
$35,860
75th percentile
$45,980
90th percentile
$62,540
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 state estimates — Connecticut, SOC 39-2021 (Animal Caretakers). Retrieved 2026-09-16 from the BLS Public Data API.
How to read these figures
Connecticut vs. the national figures
The Connecticut median is above the national median by 6%. Among the 51 jurisdictions (states plus DC) where BLS publishes a Animal Caretakers (SOC 39-2021) median for May 2025, it ranks 9th, and 29th by estimated employment.
Differences are whole percentages, rounded half away from zero, computed from the figures shown.
A high floor, a level middle, a high ceiling
Connecticut is ahead of the national figures at every percentile, but by very different margins.
At the bottom it pulls furthest ahead in proportional terms: the 10th percentile, $35,150, sits $7,900 or 29% above the national $27,250, and the 25th percentile, $35,860, is 20% above the national $29,820.
At the middle the gap narrows to $1,950, or 6%, on the median.
The 75th percentile, $45,980, is 15% above the national $40,050, and the 90th percentile, $62,540, is $12,480 or 25% above the national $50,060 — the widest dollar gap in the distribution.
Benchmarking an offer against the national median alone would understate how high both ends of the Connecticut range sit.
A level middle band and a stretched top
Half of the Connecticut workers counted earned between $35,860 and $45,980 — a band $10,120 wide, nearly identical to the national $10,230.
The full 10th-to-90th span is a different story: $27,390, against $22,810 nationally, because the Connecticut top end extends far above the national one.
The median sits only $1,450 above the 25th percentile and $8,670 below the 75th, so the middle of the distribution is compressed low in the band.
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 Connecticut hourly median is $17.94, against $17.00 nationally — a 6% 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.
A mid-sized workforce
BLS estimates 3,000 animal caretakers were employed in Connecticut across all industries, 29th among the 51 jurisdictions that publish a median — mid-table by headcount even though the state ranks 9th by 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.
Against the Connecticut vet tech median
In the same release, veterinary technologists and technicians in Connecticut have a median of $50,950 — $13,640, or 37%, more than the all-industry animal caretaker median on this page.
The comparison sets a veterinary occupation against one that spans all industries, counting different workers, so treat it as context for a career decision, not a raise anyone should expect.
Same release, same state: veterinary technologists and technicians (SOC 29-2056) in Connecticut have a median of $50,950 ($24.49/hr) — $13,640 above the animal caretakers median shown on this page. Vet tech salary in Connecticut →
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the median kennel attendant salary in Connecticut?
No federal wage series isolates kennel attendants.
The closest is SOC 39-2021, Animal Caretakers, which covers all industries; its Connecticut median annual wage was $37,310 in May 2025, or $17.94 an hour.
Half of the animal caretakers counted earned more and half earned less.
The national median for the occupation is $35,360, so Connecticut sits 6% above it.
What do the highest-paid animal caretakers in Connecticut earn?
The Connecticut 90th percentile is $62,540, so one in ten animal caretakers counted across all industries earned more than that.
Nationally the 90th percentile is $50,060, so the Connecticut top tenth sits $12,480, or 25%, above it — the widest dollar gap in the distribution.
The 75th percentile is $45,980, 15% above the national $40,050.
What does the low end of the range look like in Connecticut?
The Connecticut 10th percentile is $35,150, $7,900 or 29% above the national 10th percentile of $27,250.
Only 2% separates the 10th and 25th percentiles in Connecticut, against 9% nationally, so the bottom of the all-industry distribution is unusually flat.
A percentile is a position in the wage distribution, not a figure any individual worker is guaranteed.
How does this all-industry figure compare with vet tech pay in Connecticut?
In the same BLS release, veterinary technologists and technicians in Connecticut have a median of $50,950, which is $13,640 above the $37,310 median for animal caretakers across all industries — 1.4 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 Connecticut?
BLS estimates 3,000 animal caretakers were employed in Connecticut across all industries, 29th among the 51 jurisdictions that publish a median — mid-table by headcount even though the state ranks 9th by median.
The estimate counts people in jobs during the survey period, not openings.
More Connecticut Kennel Attendant Resources
Sources
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 state estimates — Connecticut, 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.