Kennel Attendant Salary in Minnesota
Animal caretakers in Minnesota — SOC 39-2021, a federal occupation spanning all industries, not veterinary-specific — earned a median annual wage of $36,430 in the May 2025 estimates, $1,070 or 3% above the national median of $35,360.
That ranks 15th of the 51 jurisdictions that publish a median.
The distinctive shape is where the advantage sits: the floor runs 8% ahead of the national floor, while the 90th percentile is the one figure below its national counterpart, 4% under.
What these figures cover
10th percentile
$29,440
25th percentile
$31,710
75th percentile
$41,600
90th percentile
$48,050
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 state estimates — Minnesota, SOC 39-2021 (Animal Caretakers). Retrieved 2026-09-16 from the BLS Public Data API.
How to read these figures
Minnesota vs. the national figures
The Minnesota median is above the national median by 3%. Among the 51 jurisdictions (states plus DC) where BLS publishes a Animal Caretakers (SOC 39-2021) median for May 2025, it ranks 15th, and 23rd by estimated employment.
Differences are whole percentages, rounded half away from zero, computed from the figures shown.
Ahead at the floor, behind at the ceiling
Minnesota's position against the national figures is not one story across the distribution — the lead is widest at the floor and gone by the ceiling.
The 10th percentile, $29,440, is $2,190 or 8% above the national $27,250, the largest lead at any percentile in dollars or in percentage terms.
The 25th percentile, $31,710, is 6% above the national $29,820, and the median, $36,430, is $1,070 above at 3%.
The 75th percentile, $41,600, holds a 4% lead over the national $40,050.
Then the comparison flips: the 90th percentile, $48,050, is $2,010 below the national $50,060 — the only percentile under its national counterpart.
Benchmarking an offer against the national median alone would miss how much stronger the Minnesota floor is.
A narrower span, concentrated at the top
Half of the Minnesota animal caretakers counted earned between $31,710 and $41,600 — a band $9,890 wide, against $10,230 nationally.
The full span from the 10th to the 90th percentile is $18,610, against $22,810 nationally, and most of that narrowing sits in the top segment: the step from the 75th to the 90th percentile covers $6,450 in Minnesota against $10,010 nationally.
The lower segments track the national ones more closely — $2,270 against $2,570 from the 10th to the 25th, and $4,720 against $5,540 from the 25th to the median — while the median-to-75th step, $5,170 against $4,690, is the one segment wider than its national counterpart.
The median sits almost centered in the band: $4,720 above the 25th percentile, $5,170 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 Minnesota hourly median is $17.51, against $17.00 nationally — a $0.51 gap, 3%, 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.
Where Minnesota ranks by employment
BLS estimates 4,250 animal caretakers were employed in Minnesota across all industries — 23rd 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.
Minnesota's employment standing, 23rd, sits below its 15th-place median ranking.
Against the Minnesota vet tech median
In the same release, veterinary technologists and technicians in Minnesota have a median of $57,270 — $20,840, or 57%, 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 Minnesota have a median of $57,270 ($27.54/hr) — $20,840 above the animal caretakers median shown on this page. Vet tech salary in Minnesota →
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the median kennel attendant salary in Minnesota?
No federal wage series isolates kennel attendants.
The closest is SOC 39-2021, Animal Caretakers, which covers all industries; its Minnesota median annual wage was $36,430 in May 2025, or $17.51 an hour.
Half of the animal caretakers counted earned more and half earned less.
The national median for the occupation is $35,360, so Minnesota sits 3% above it.
What do the top-paid animal caretakers in Minnesota earn?
The Minnesota 90th percentile is $48,050, so one in ten animal caretakers counted across all industries earned more than that.
It is the one figure in this distribution below its national counterpart: the national 90th percentile is $50,060, $2,010 higher.
The 75th percentile tells a different story — $41,600 in Minnesota, 4% above the national $40,050 — so the top tenth falls short while the upper-middle holds a lead.
How does this all-industry figure compare with vet tech pay in Minnesota?
In the same BLS release, veterinary technologists and technicians in Minnesota have a median of $57,270, which is $20,840 above the $36,430 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 Minnesota?
BLS estimates 4,250 animal caretakers were employed in Minnesota across all industries, 23rd 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 Minnesota?
The Minnesota 10th percentile is $29,440 — one in ten of the animal caretakers counted across all industries earned less than that.
It is the strongest figure in this distribution relative to the national one: $2,190, or 8%, above the national 10th percentile of $27,250.
The 25th percentile, $31,710, is 6% above its national counterpart of $29,820.
More Minnesota Kennel Attendant Resources
Sources
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 state estimates — Minnesota, 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.