Kennel Attendant Salary in Mississippi
Animal caretakers in Mississippi — SOC 39-2021, a federal occupation that spans all industries, not only veterinary practices — earned a median annual wage of $26,970 in the May 2025 estimates, $8,390 or 24% below the national median of $35,360.
That ranks 51st of the 51 jurisdictions that publish a median.
Every percentile sits 22% to 26% below its national counterpart, and the dollar shortfall widens from $6,090 at the 10th percentile to $13,090 at the 90th.
What these figures cover
10th percentile
$21,160
25th percentile
$22,190
75th percentile
$29,890
90th percentile
$36,970
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 state estimates — Mississippi, SOC 39-2021 (Animal Caretakers). Retrieved 2026-09-16 from the BLS Public Data API.
How to read these figures
Mississippi vs. the national figures
The Mississippi median is below the national median by 24%. Among the 51 jurisdictions (states plus DC) where BLS publishes a Animal Caretakers (SOC 39-2021) median for May 2025, it ranks 51st, and 36th by estimated employment.
Differences are whole percentages, rounded half away from zero, computed from the figures shown.
Below the national figures at every percentile
Mississippi's figures sit below the national ones across the distribution, and the dollar gap widens moving up it.
The 10th percentile, $21,160, is $6,090 below the national $27,250 — 22% lower.
The 25th percentile, $22,190, is $7,630 below the national $29,820; the median, $26,970, is $8,390 below the national median; the 75th percentile, $29,890, is $10,160 below the national $40,050.
At the top, the 90th percentile, $36,970, is $13,090 below the national $50,060 — 26% lower, the largest dollar gap in the distribution.
Benchmarking an offer against the national figures alone would overestimate pay at every level, and most of all at the top end.
A narrower band than the national one
Half of the animal caretakers counted in Mississippi earned between $22,190 and $29,890 — a 25th-to-75th percentile band $7,700 wide, against $10,230 nationally.
The full 10th-to-90th span is $15,810, against $22,810 nationally.
The median sits $4,780 above the 25th percentile and $2,920 below the 75th, so it hugs the upper edge of a band that sits low in the distribution.
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 Mississippi hourly median is $12.97, against $17.00 nationally — $4.03 less, a 24% gap, matching the annual median's shortfall.
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 1,900 animal caretakers were employed in Mississippi across all industries — 36th 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.
BLS publishes no state count of how many of these jobs are in veterinary settings, and this row spans every industry.
Against the Mississippi vet tech median
In the same release, veterinary technologists and technicians in Mississippi have a median of $36,380 — $9,410, or 35%, more than the all-industry animal caretaker median on this page.
The comparison sets a veterinary occupation against one that spans all industries — two occupations counting different workers — so it is context for someone weighing a move into technician work, not a raise anyone should expect and not a measure of what veterinary kennel work pays.
Same release, same state: veterinary technologists and technicians (SOC 29-2056) in Mississippi have a median of $36,380 ($17.49/hr) — $9,410 above the animal caretakers median shown on this page. Vet tech salary in Mississippi →
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the median kennel attendant salary in Mississippi?
No federal wage series isolates kennel attendants.
The closest is SOC 39-2021, Animal Caretakers, which covers all industries; its Mississippi median annual wage was $26,970 in May 2025, or $12.97 an hour.
Half of the animal caretakers counted earned more and half earned less.
The national median for the occupation is $35,360, so Mississippi sits 24% below it.
What do the top-paid animal caretakers in Mississippi earn?
The Mississippi 90th percentile is $36,970, so one in ten animal caretakers counted across all industries earned more than that.
Nationally the 90th percentile is $50,060 — the Mississippi figure is $13,090, or 26%, below it.
That is the largest dollar shortfall in the distribution: the 75th percentile is $10,160 below the national $40,050, and the 10th percentile $6,090 below the national $27,250.
How does this all-industry figure compare with vet tech pay in Mississippi?
In the same BLS release, veterinary technologists and technicians in Mississippi have a median of $36,380, which is $9,410 above the $26,970 median for animal caretakers across all industries — 35% more, or 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 Mississippi?
BLS estimates 1,900 animal caretakers were employed in Mississippi across all industries, 36th of 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 Mississippi Kennel Attendant Resources
Sources
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 state estimates — Mississippi, 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.