Kennel Attendant Salary in Indiana
Animal caretakers in Indiana — SOC 39-2021, a federal occupation spanning all industries, not veterinary-specific — earned a median annual wage of $29,990 in the May 2025 estimates, $5,370 or 15% below the national median of $35,360.
That ranks 43rd of the 51 jurisdictions that publish a median.
The whole distribution sits low: every percentile falls below its national counterpart, and the widest percentage gap is at the floor, 18% under at the 10th.
What these figures cover
10th percentile
$22,440
25th percentile
$26,540
75th percentile
$35,420
90th percentile
$43,270
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 state estimates — Indiana, SOC 39-2021 (Animal Caretakers). Retrieved 2026-09-16 from the BLS Public Data API.
How to read these figures
Indiana vs. the national figures
The Indiana median is below the national median by 15%. Among the 51 jurisdictions (states plus DC) where BLS publishes a Animal Caretakers (SOC 39-2021) median for May 2025, it ranks 43rd, and 13th by estimated employment.
Differences are whole percentages, rounded half away from zero, computed from the figures shown.
Below the national figures at every percentile
Indiana trails the national figures at every percentile, and the gap never closes.
The floor falls furthest in percentage terms: the 10th percentile is $22,440, $4,810 or 18% below the national $27,250.
The 25th percentile, $26,540, sits 11% under the national $29,820, and the median is $5,370 below at 15%.
In dollars the ceiling falls furthest — the 90th percentile, $43,270, is $6,790 under the national $50,060, a 14% gap.
The 75th percentile, $35,420, is 12% below the national $40,050.
An offer benchmarked against the national median alone would overstate where this distribution sits.
A narrower band than the national one
Half of the Indiana animal caretakers counted earned between $26,540 and $35,420 — a band $8,880 wide, against $10,230 nationally.
The full span from the 10th to the 90th percentile is $20,830, against $22,810 nationally.
The median sits $3,450 above the 25th percentile and $5,430 below the 75th, so the middle of this distribution leans toward its lower half.
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 Indiana hourly median is $14.42, against $17.00 nationally — a $2.58 gap, 15%, matching the annual median exactly.
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.
Where Indiana ranks by employment
BLS estimates 6,420 animal caretakers were employed in Indiana across all industries — 13th 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 it covers every employer of the occupation, whatever the setting.
Against the Indiana vet tech median
In the same release, veterinary technologists and technicians in Indiana have a median of $48,720 — $18,730, or 62%, 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 Indiana have a median of $48,720 ($23.43/hr) — $18,730 above the animal caretakers median shown on this page. Vet tech salary in Indiana →
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the median kennel attendant salary in Indiana?
No federal wage series isolates kennel attendants.
The closest is SOC 39-2021, Animal Caretakers, which covers all industries; its Indiana median annual wage was $29,990 in May 2025, or $14.42 an hour.
Half of the animal caretakers counted earned more and half earned less.
The national median for the occupation is $35,360, so Indiana sits 15% below it.
What do the top-paid animal caretakers in Indiana earn?
The Indiana 90th percentile is $43,270, so one in ten animal caretakers counted across all industries earned more than that.
Nationally the 90th percentile is $50,060, $6,790 higher.
The gap runs through the upper half of the distribution: the Indiana 75th percentile, $35,420, is 12% below the national $40,050.
Percentage-wise the widest shortfall is at the floor, where the Indiana 10th percentile sits 18% under the national $27,250.
How does this all-industry figure compare with vet tech pay in Indiana?
In the same BLS release, veterinary technologists and technicians in Indiana have a median of $48,720, which is $18,730 above the $29,990 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 Indiana?
BLS estimates 6,420 animal caretakers were employed in Indiana across all industries, 13th among the 51 jurisdictions that publish a median.
BLS publishes no state count of how many of them work in veterinary settings, and the estimate is a headcount of people in jobs during the survey period, not a count of openings.
What does the low end of the pay range look like in Indiana?
The Indiana 10th percentile is $22,440 — one in ten of the animal caretakers counted across all industries earned less than that.
It sits $4,810, or 18%, below the national 10th percentile of $27,250, the widest percentage gap anywhere in this distribution.
The 25th percentile, $26,540, is 11% below its national counterpart of $29,820.
More Indiana Kennel Attendant Resources
Sources
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 state estimates — Indiana, 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.