Kennel Attendant Salary in Massachusetts
Animal caretakers in Massachusetts — SOC 39-2021, a federal occupation that spans all industries, not only veterinary practices — earned a median annual wage of $39,650 in the May 2025 estimates, $4,290 or 12% above the national median of $35,360.
That ranks 4th of the 51 jurisdictions that publish a median.
The distinctive feature is the top end: the 90th percentile, $64,060, is $14,000 above the national $50,060, while the lower half of the state distribution is tighter than the national one.
What these figures cover
10th percentile
$32,910
25th percentile
$36,820
75th percentile
$47,750
90th percentile
$64,060
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 state estimates — Massachusetts, SOC 39-2021 (Animal Caretakers).
Retrieved 2026-09-16 from the BLS Public Data API.
How to read these figures
Massachusetts vs. the national figures
The Massachusetts median is above the national median by 12%; among the 51 jurisdictions (states plus DC) where BLS publishes a Animal Caretakers (SOC 39-2021) median for May 2025, it ranks 4th, between Hawaii ($40,130) and California ($38,700), and 11th by estimated employment. In the same release, veterinary assistant pay in Massachusetts has a $46,670 median, 3rd of 51, between DC ($49,080) and California ($46,260).
Differences are whole percentages, rounded half away from zero, computed from the figures shown.
Above the national figures at every percentile
Massachusetts sits above the national figures at every percentile.
At the floor, the 10th percentile, $32,910, is $5,660 or 21% above the national $27,250, and the 25th percentile, $36,820, is 23% above the national $29,820.
The middle is closer: the median is $4,290, or 12%, above the national median of $35,360.
Then the gap widens again — the 75th percentile, $47,750, is 19% above the national $40,050, and the 90th percentile, $64,060, is $14,000, or 28%, above the national $50,060.
Benchmarking an offer against the national median alone would miss how much higher the Massachusetts top end reaches.
A wide top, a tighter lower half
Half of the Massachusetts workers counted earned between $36,820 and $47,750 — a band $10,930 wide, against $10,230 nationally.
The full span from the 10th to the 90th percentile is $31,150, against the national $22,810, and the extra width sits at the top: from the 75th percentile to the 90th, the state figures stretch $16,310, against $10,010 nationally.
Below the median the distribution is tighter than the national one — $6,740 from the 10th percentile to the median, against $8,110 nationally.
The median sits $2,830 above the 25th percentile and $8,100 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 Massachusetts hourly median is $19.06, against $17.00 nationally — a 12% 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 covers
BLS estimates 6,900 animal caretakers were employed in Massachusetts across all industries, ranking 11th of 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 BLS publishes no state count of how many of them work in veterinary settings.
Against the Massachusetts vet tech median
In the same release, veterinary technologists and technicians in Massachusetts have a median of $49,540 — $9,890, or 25%, 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.
The $9,890 step from the animal caretakers median on this page up to vet tech pay in Massachusetts ($49,540, or $23.82/hr, ranked 13th of 51, between Colorado and Vermont) is narrower than the $12,020 between the two national medians.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the median kennel attendant salary in Massachusetts?
No federal wage series isolates kennel attendants.
The closest is SOC 39-2021, Animal Caretakers, which covers all industries; its Massachusetts median annual wage was $39,650 in May 2025, or $19.06 an hour.
Half of the animal caretakers counted earned more and half earned less.
The national median for the occupation is $35,360, so Massachusetts sits 12% above it.
What do the top-paid animal caretakers in Massachusetts earn?
The Massachusetts 90th percentile is $64,060, so one in ten animal caretakers counted across all industries earned more than that.
Nationally the 90th percentile is $50,060, so the state top end sits $14,000 higher — a 28% gap.
The 75th percentile tells a similar story: $47,750 in Massachusetts, 19% above the national $40,050.
How does this all-industry figure compare with vet tech pay in Massachusetts?
In the same BLS release, veterinary technologists and technicians in Massachusetts have a median of $49,540, which is $9,890 above the $39,650 median for animal caretakers across all industries — 1.2 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.
What does the low end of pay look like in Massachusetts?
The Massachusetts 10th percentile is $32,910, $5,660 or 21% above the national 10th percentile of $27,250.
The 25th percentile, $36,820, is 23% above the national $29,820, so even the lower tail of the state distribution sits well above the national one.
Half of the workers counted earned between $36,820 and $47,750.
How many animal caretakers work in Massachusetts?
BLS estimates 6,900 animal caretakers were employed in Massachusetts across all industries, 11th 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 Massachusetts Kennel Attendant Resources
Sources
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 state estimates — Massachusetts, 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.