Kennel Attendant Salary in New Mexico
Animal caretakers in New Mexico — SOC 39-2021, a federal occupation that spans all industries, not only veterinary practices — earned a median annual wage of $33,570 in the May 2025 estimates, $1,790 or 5% below the national median of $35,360.
That ranks 26th of the 51 jurisdictions that publish a median.
The distinctive feature is where the shortfall sits: the state is 3% ahead at the 10th percentile yet 12% behind at the 90th, so the gap widens up the distribution.
What these figures cover
10th percentile
$27,980
25th percentile
$29,070
75th percentile
$37,300
90th percentile
$44,020
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 state estimates — New Mexico, SOC 39-2021 (Animal Caretakers). Retrieved 2026-09-16 from the BLS Public Data API.
How to read these figures
New Mexico vs. the national figures
The New Mexico median is below the national median by 5%. Among the 51 jurisdictions (states plus DC) where BLS publishes a Animal Caretakers (SOC 39-2021) median for May 2025, it ranks 26th, and 39th by estimated employment.
Differences are whole percentages, rounded half away from zero, computed from the figures shown.
Ahead at the floor, further behind at every percentile above
New Mexico's position against the national figures changes at every step up the distribution, and in the same direction each time.
The 10th percentile is the one place the state is ahead: $27,980, 3% above the national $27,250.
From there the shortfall widens with each percentile — the 25th, $29,070, is 3% below the national $29,820; the median is $1,790 or 5% below; the 75th, $37,300, is $2,750 or 7% below the national $40,050; and the 90th, $44,020, is $6,040 or 12% below the national $50,060.
Benchmarking an offer against the national median alone would miss how much further behind the upper half of this distribution sits.
A narrower band and a much shorter top end
Half of the New Mexico workers counted earned between $29,070 and $37,300 — a band $8,230 wide, against $10,230 nationally.
The full span from the 10th to the 90th percentile is $16,040, well short of the national $22,810 — the national 90th percentile reaches $50,060 while the New Mexico figure stops at $44,020.
The median sits $4,500 above the 25th percentile and $3,730 below the 75th, close to the middle of the 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 New Mexico hourly median is $16.14, against $17.00 nationally — $0.86 an hour lower, a 5% gap that matches 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.
1,710 animal caretakers, counted across all industries
BLS estimates 1,710 animal caretakers were employed in New Mexico across all industries, 39th 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 New Mexico vet tech median
In the same release, veterinary technologists and technicians in New Mexico have a median of $44,790 — $11,220, or 33%, above the all-industry animal caretaker median on this page.
The comparison sets a veterinary occupation against one that spans all industries and counts a different set of workers.
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 New Mexico have a median of $44,790 ($21.53/hr) — $11,220 above the animal caretakers median shown on this page. Vet tech salary in New Mexico →
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the median kennel attendant salary in New Mexico?
No federal wage series isolates kennel attendants.
The closest is SOC 39-2021, Animal Caretakers, which covers all industries; its New Mexico median annual wage was $33,570 in May 2025, or $16.14 an hour.
Half of the animal caretakers counted earned more and half earned less.
The national median for the occupation is $35,360, so New Mexico sits 5% below it.
What do the top-paid animal caretakers in New Mexico earn?
The New Mexico 90th percentile is $44,020, so one in ten animal caretakers counted across all industries earned more than that.
Nationally the 90th percentile is $50,060, and the state figure sits 12% below it.
The 75th percentile is $37,300 against the national $40,050, a 7% shortfall — the state trails by more the higher up the distribution you look.
How does this all-industry figure compare with vet tech pay in New Mexico?
In the same BLS release, veterinary technologists and technicians in New Mexico have a median of $44,790, which is $11,220 above the $33,570 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 New Mexico?
BLS estimates 1,710 animal caretakers were employed in New Mexico across all industries, 39th 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.
What does the low end of pay look like in New Mexico?
The 10th percentile is $27,980 — one in ten animal caretakers counted across all industries earned less than that.
It is the one point where New Mexico sits above the national distribution: 3% above the national 10th percentile of $27,250.
The 25th percentile, $29,070, is 3% below the national $29,820, so the advantage fades just above the floor.
More New Mexico Kennel Attendant Resources
Sources
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 state estimates — New Mexico, 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.