Kennel Attendant Salary in Maryland
Animal caretakers in Maryland — SOC 39-2021, a federal occupation that spans all industries, not only veterinary practices — earned a median annual wage of $36,780 in the May 2025 estimates, $1,420 or 4% above the national median of $35,360.
That ranks 12th of the 51 jurisdictions that publish a median.
The shape is the distinctive part: every percentile sits above its national counterpart, but the middle gains the least — 16% above at the floor, only 4% at the median.
What these figures cover
10th percentile
$31,500
25th percentile
$34,450
75th percentile
$46,790
90th percentile
$56,730
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 state estimates — Maryland, SOC 39-2021 (Animal Caretakers). Retrieved 2026-09-16 from the BLS Public Data API.
How to read these figures
Maryland vs. the national figures
The Maryland median is above 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 12th, and 22nd by estimated employment.
Differences are whole percentages, rounded half away from zero, computed from the figures shown.
Ahead everywhere, but least at the middle
Maryland sits above the national figures at every percentile, by very different margins.
The bottom of the range is well ahead: the 10th percentile, $31,500, is 16% above the national $27,250, and the 25th percentile, $34,450, is 16% above the national $29,820.
The middle gains least: the median, $36,780, is 4% above $35,360.
The upper half pulls away again — the 75th percentile, $46,790, is 17% above the national $40,050, and the 90th percentile, $56,730, is 13% above $50,060.
Benchmarking an offer against the national median alone misses how far ahead both ends of the Maryland range sit.
A wide band with the median low in it
Half of the Maryland workers counted earned between $34,450 and $46,790 — a band $12,340 wide, against $10,230 nationally.
The full span from the 10th to the 90th percentile is $25,230, against $22,810 nationally.
Where the median sits is the tell: $2,330 above the Maryland 25th percentile and $10,010 below the 75th, while the national median sits $5,540 above its 25th and $4,690 below its 75th, close to the middle of its own 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 Maryland hourly median is $17.68, against $17.00 nationally — 4% above, matching the annual median's gap.
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 says
BLS estimates 5,570 animal caretakers were employed in Maryland across all industries, 22nd 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.
BLS publishes no state count of how many of them work in veterinary settings.
Against the Maryland vet tech median
In the same release, veterinary technologists and technicians in Maryland have a median of $47,350 — $10,570, or 29%, 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 it is context for someone weighing a move into technician work, not a raise anyone should expect.
Same release, same state: veterinary technologists and technicians (SOC 29-2056) in Maryland have a median of $47,350 ($22.77/hr) — $10,570 above the animal caretakers median shown on this page. Vet tech salary in Maryland →
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the median kennel attendant salary in Maryland?
No federal wage series isolates kennel attendants.
The closest is SOC 39-2021, Animal Caretakers, which covers all industries; its Maryland median annual wage was $36,780 in May 2025, or $17.68 an hour.
Half of the animal caretakers counted earned more and half earned less.
The national median for the occupation is $35,360, so Maryland sits 4% above it.
What do the top-paid animal caretakers in Maryland earn?
The Maryland 90th percentile is $56,730, so one in ten animal caretakers counted across all industries earned more than that.
Nationally the 90th percentile is $50,060, putting the Maryland top tenth 13% higher.
The 75th percentile shows the same direction: $46,790 in Maryland against a national $40,050, 17% above.
What does the low end of pay look like in Maryland?
The Maryland 10th percentile is $31,500, so one in ten animal caretakers counted across all industries earned less than that — 16% above the national 10th percentile of $27,250.
The 25th percentile, $34,450, is also 16% above its national figure of $29,820.
The floor sits well ahead of the national figures — far more so than the median, 4% above $35,360.
In dollars the gap is $4,250 at the 10th percentile and $4,630 at the 25th.
How does this all-industry figure compare with vet tech pay in Maryland?
In the same BLS release, veterinary technologists and technicians in Maryland have a median of $47,350, which is $10,570 above the $36,780 median for animal caretakers across all industries — 1.3 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 Maryland?
BLS estimates 5,570 animal caretakers were employed in Maryland across all industries, 22nd 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.
BLS publishes no state count of how many of them work in veterinary settings.
More Maryland Kennel Attendant Resources
Sources
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 state estimates — Maryland, 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.