Kennel Attendant Salary in Kansas
Animal caretakers in Kansas — SOC 39-2021, a federal occupation that spans all industries, not only veterinary practices — earned a median annual wage of $29,830 in the May 2025 estimates, $5,530 or 16% below the national median of $35,360.
That ranks 45th of the 51 jurisdictions that publish a median.
The distribution is wide: every percentile sits below the national figure, but the gap is widest at the floor and nearly closed at the 90th percentile.
What these figures cover
10th percentile
$21,720
25th percentile
$24,440
75th percentile
$38,280
90th percentile
$49,450
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 state estimates — Kansas, SOC 39-2021 (Animal Caretakers). Retrieved 2026-09-16 from the BLS Public Data API.
How to read these figures
Kansas vs. the national figures
The Kansas median is below the national median by 16%. Among the 51 jurisdictions (states plus DC) where BLS publishes a Animal Caretakers (SOC 39-2021) median for May 2025, it ranks 45th, and 29th by estimated employment.
Differences are whole percentages, rounded half away from zero, computed from the figures shown.
Behind at every percentile, least at the top
Kansas sits below the national figures at every percentile, but by very different margins.
At the floor, the Kansas 10th percentile of $21,720 is 20% below the national $27,250.
The 25th percentile, $24,440, is 18% below its national counterpart of $29,820, and the median's 16% gap is the one the headline shows.
Then the gap collapses: the 75th percentile of $38,280 is 4% below the national $40,050, and the 90th percentile of $49,450 is 1% below the national $50,060.
Someone benchmarking a Kansas offer against the national figures alone would overstate how far behind the top end is.
A wider band than the national one
Half of the Kansas workers counted earned between $24,440 and $38,280 — a band $13,840 wide, against $10,230 nationally.
The full span from the 10th to the 90th percentile is $27,730, against $22,810 nationally.
So the Kansas distribution is wider than the national one at the middle and across the extremes, even though every point in it sits lower.
Inside the band, the median sits $5,390 above the 25th percentile and $8,450 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 Kansas hourly median is $14.34, against $17.00 nationally — a 16% 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.
What the employment estimate counts
BLS estimates 3,000 animal caretakers were employed in Kansas across all industries — 29th among the 51 jurisdictions by employment.
The estimate is a headcount of people in jobs during the survey period, not a count of job openings, and it cannot be split: BLS publishes no state count of how many animal caretakers work in veterinary settings.
Against the Kansas vet tech median
In the same release, veterinary technologists and technicians in Kansas have a median of $45,810 — $15,980, or 54%, 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 Kansas have a median of $45,810 ($22.02/hr) — $15,980 above the animal caretakers median shown on this page. Vet tech salary in Kansas →
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the median kennel attendant salary in Kansas?
No federal wage series isolates kennel attendants.
The closest is SOC 39-2021, Animal Caretakers, which covers all industries; its Kansas median annual wage was $29,830 in May 2025, or $14.34 an hour.
Half of the animal caretakers counted earned more and half earned less.
The national median for the occupation is $35,360, so Kansas sits 16% below it.
What do the top-paid animal caretakers in Kansas earn?
The Kansas 90th percentile is $49,450, so one in ten animal caretakers counted across all industries earned more than that.
Nationally the 90th percentile is $50,060, so the Kansas top tenth sits 1% below the national level.
The floor is a different story: the 10th percentile is $21,720, 20% below the national $27,250.
How does this all-industry figure compare with vet tech pay in Kansas?
In the same BLS release, veterinary technologists and technicians in Kansas have a median of $45,810, which is $15,980 above the $29,830 median for animal caretakers across all industries — about 1.5 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 Kansas?
BLS estimates 3,000 animal caretakers were employed in Kansas across all industries, 29th 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.
More Kansas Kennel Attendant Resources
Sources
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 state estimates — Kansas, 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.