Animal caretakers in Montana — SOC 39-2021, a federal occupation that spans all industries, not only veterinary practices — earned a median annual wage of $34,210 in the May 2025 estimates, $1,150 or 3% below the national median of $35,360, ranking 22nd of the 51 jurisdictions that publish a median.
The distinctive feature is the floor: the 10th percentile sits 4% below the national level, the deepest gap in the distribution in percentage terms.
What these figures cover
10th percentile
$26,170
25th percentile
$29,600
75th percentile
$39,130
90th percentile
$49,080
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 state estimates — Montana, SOC 39-2021 (Animal Caretakers). Retrieved 2026-09-16 from the BLS Public Data API.
How to read these figures
The Montana median is below 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 22nd, and 42nd by estimated employment.
Differences are whole percentages, rounded half away from zero, computed from the figures shown.
Montana trails the national figures at every point in the distribution, but not by a uniform amount.
The 10th percentile, $26,170, sits 4% below the national $27,250 — the widest gap in percentage terms.
One step up, the 25th percentile is nearly level, 1% below the national $29,820.
The median is $1,150 or 3% lower; the 75th percentile, $39,130, and the 90th, $49,080, are each 2% below their national benchmarks of $40,050 and $50,060.
Holding an offer against the national figures alone would overstate Montana pay modestly at every level.
Half of Montana's animal caretakers earned between $29,600 and $39,130 — a middle band $9,530 wide, against $10,230 nationally.
The full span from the 10th to the 90th percentile is $22,910, fractionally wider than the national $22,810, because the distance from the 10th to the 25th percentile stretches to $3,430 against $2,570 nationally.
The median sits $4,610 above the 25th percentile and $4,920 below the 75th, so more than half of the middle band lies above it; the national median sits the other way, $5,540 above its 25th percentile and $4,690 below its 75th.
OEWS does not publish why a distribution takes this shape, and this row spans every industry, so this page does not assign it a cause.
The Montana hourly median is $16.45, against $17.00 nationally — a 3% 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.
BLS estimates 1,200 animal caretakers were employed in Montana across all industries, 42nd among the 51 jurisdictions that publish a median for the occupation.
The workforce ranks near the bottom of the table on size while the median wage sits 22nd — two different rankings of two different things.
The estimate is a headcount of people in jobs during the survey period, not a count of openings, and BLS publishes no state split of it by industry or setting.
In the same release, veterinary technologists and technicians in Montana have a median of $41,170 — $6,960, or 20%, more than the all-industry animal caretaker median on this page, or 1.2 times as much.
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 kennel work pays and not a raise anyone should expect.
Same release, same state: veterinary technologists and technicians (SOC 29-2056) in Montana have a median of $41,170 ($19.79/hr) — $6,960 above the animal caretakers median shown on this page. Vet tech salary in Montana →
No federal wage series isolates kennel attendants.
The closest is SOC 39-2021, Animal Caretakers, which covers all industries; its Montana median annual wage was $34,210 in May 2025, or $16.45 an hour.
Half of the animal caretakers counted earned more and half earned less.
The national median for the occupation is $35,360, so Montana sits 3% below it.
The 10th percentile is $26,170, so one in ten animal caretakers counted across all industries earned less than that; the 25th percentile is $29,600, meaning a quarter earned less.
Both sit below the national figures of $27,250 and $29,820 — the 10th percentile by 4%, the widest gap in the Montana distribution in percentage terms.
In the same BLS release, veterinary technologists and technicians in Montana have a median of $41,170, which is $6,960 above the $34,210 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.
BLS estimates 1,200 animal caretakers were employed in Montana across all industries, 42nd 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.
Sources
Wage figures: BLS OEWS May 2025 state and national estimates, SOC 39-2021, retrieved 2026-09-16. Page last updated 2026-09-24.