Kennel Attendant Salary in Delaware
Animal caretakers in Delaware — SOC 39-2021, a federal occupation that spans all industries, not only veterinary practices — earned a median annual wage of $33,910 in the May 2025 estimates, $1,450 or 4% below the national median of $35,360.
That ranks 25th of the 51 jurisdictions that publish a median.
The distinctive feature is a compressed distribution: the 10th-to-90th span is $11,300 against $22,810 nationally, with the floor above the national level and the ceiling well below it.
What these figures cover
10th percentile
$31,200
25th percentile
$31,200
75th percentile
$36,360
90th percentile
$42,500
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 state estimates — Delaware, SOC 39-2021 (Animal Caretakers). Retrieved 2026-09-16 from the BLS Public Data API.
How to read these figures
Delaware vs. the national figures
The Delaware median is below the national median by 4%. Among the 51 jurisdictions (states plus DC) where BLS publishes a Animal Caretakers (SOC 39-2021) median for May 2025, it ranks 25th, and 41st by estimated employment.
Differences are whole percentages, rounded half away from zero, computed from the figures shown.
Ahead at the floor, well behind at the ceiling
Delaware's position against the national figures flips across the distribution.
At the bottom it is ahead: the 10th percentile, $31,200, is 14% above the national $27,250, and the 25th percentile — the same published figure — is 5% above the national $29,820.
The median, $33,910, is 4% below the national median.
Above the middle the gap widens: the 75th percentile, $36,360, is 9% below the national $40,050, and the 90th percentile, $42,500, is 15% below the national $50,060.
An offer benchmarked against the national median alone would miss how far the Delaware ceiling sits below it.
A compressed distribution
Half of the Delaware workers counted earned between $31,200 and $36,360 — a 25th-to-75th band $5,160 wide, against $10,230 nationally.
The full 10th-to-90th span is $11,300, against $22,810 nationally, so the Delaware distribution is tight at both ends, not only at the bottom.
The median sits $2,710 above the 25th percentile and $2,450 below the 75th, close to the middle of 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 Delaware hourly median is $16.30, against $17.00 nationally — 4% lower, the same gap as the annual median.
The data set carries hourly pay at the median only, so this 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 small workforce, counted across every industry
BLS estimates 1,230 animal caretakers were employed in Delaware across all industries, 41st of the 51 jurisdictions counted for this occupation.
It is a small workforce for this occupation, and the estimate is a headcount of people in jobs during the survey period, not a count of openings.
BLS publishes no state count of how many of them work in veterinary settings.
Against the Delaware vet tech median
In the same release, veterinary technologists and technicians in Delaware have a median of $48,370 — $14,460, or 43%, more than the all-industry animal caretaker median on this page, 1.4 times as much.
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.
On an hourly basis the Delaware technician median is $23.25 against $16.30 for animal caretakers, a $6.95 difference.
Same release, same state: veterinary technologists and technicians (SOC 29-2056) in Delaware have a median of $48,370 ($23.25/hr) — $14,460 above the animal caretakers median shown on this page. Vet tech salary in Delaware →
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the median kennel attendant salary in Delaware?
No federal wage series isolates kennel attendants.
The closest is SOC 39-2021, Animal Caretakers, which covers all industries; its Delaware median annual wage was $33,910 in May 2025, or $16.30 an hour.
Half of the animal caretakers counted earned more and half earned less.
The national median for the occupation is $35,360, so Delaware sits 4% below it.
What do the top-paid animal caretakers in Delaware earn?
The Delaware 90th percentile is $42,500, so one in ten animal caretakers counted across all industries earned more than that.
Nationally the 90th percentile is $50,060, putting the Delaware top end 15% below the national level.
The ceiling is where Delaware falls furthest behind: the state median is 4% below the national median, while the 90th percentile is 15% below.
What does the low end of pay look like in Delaware?
The Delaware 10th percentile is $31,200, 14% above the national 10th percentile of $27,250 — and it is the same figure as Delaware's 25th percentile, which is 5% above the national $29,820.
The floor is the one part of the Delaware distribution that sits clearly ahead of the national one.
Remember that a percentile is a position in the distribution, not a level of experience.
How does this all-industry figure compare with vet tech pay in Delaware?
In the same BLS release, veterinary technologists and technicians in Delaware have a median of $48,370 — $14,460 above the $33,910 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 Delaware?
BLS estimates 1,230 animal caretakers were employed in Delaware across all industries, 41st of the 51 jurisdictions counted.
That is a small workforce for this occupation, and it is a headcount of people in jobs during the survey period, not a count of openings.
BLS publishes no state count of how many of them work in veterinary settings.
More Delaware Kennel Attendant Resources
Sources
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 state estimates — Delaware, 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.