Kennel Attendant Salary in Texas
Animal caretakers in Texas — SOC 39-2021, a federal occupation that spans all industries, not only veterinary practices — earned a median annual wage of $32,730 in the May 2025 estimates, $2,630 or 7% below the national median of $35,360.
That ranks 27th of the 51 jurisdictions that publish a median.
The distinctive feature is a wide band: the Texas 25th-to-75th percentile range stretches $13,470, against $10,230 nationally, and the 75th percentile sits above its national level while the floor and middle sit below.
What these figures cover
10th percentile
$23,260
25th percentile
$28,460
75th percentile
$41,930
90th percentile
$49,660
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 state estimates — Texas, SOC 39-2021 (Animal Caretakers). Retrieved 2026-09-16 from the BLS Public Data API.
How to read these figures
Texas vs. the national figures
The Texas median is below the national median by 7%. Among the 51 jurisdictions (states plus DC) where BLS publishes a Animal Caretakers (SOC 39-2021) median for May 2025, it ranks 27th, and 2nd by estimated employment.
Differences are whole percentages, rounded half away from zero, computed from the figures shown.
Below the national line until the 75th percentile
Texas's position against the national figures changes twice across the distribution.
At the bottom it trails: the 10th percentile, $23,260, is 15% below the national $27,250, and the 25th percentile, $28,460, is 5% below the national figure.
The median is 7% lower.
Then it crosses above — the Texas 75th percentile, $41,930, is 5% above the national $40,050 — before crossing back, with the 90th percentile, $49,660, 1% below the national $50,060.
Benchmarking an offer against the national median alone would miss how far the Texas upper-middle reaches.
A wider band than the national one
Half of the Texas workers counted earned between $28,460 and $41,930 — a band $13,470 wide, against $10,230 nationally.
The full span from the 10th to the 90th percentile is $26,400, also wider than the national $22,810.
The median sits low inside its own band: $4,270 above the 25th percentile but $9,200 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 Texas hourly median is $15.74, against $17.00 nationally — a 7% 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.
A large all-industry workforce
BLS estimates 20,450 animal caretakers were employed in Texas across all industries, 2nd among the 51 jurisdictions that publish a median.
That 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.
The size of the workforce says nothing about how vacancies move.
Against the Texas vet tech median
In the same release, veterinary technologists and technicians in Texas have a median of $39,410 — $6,680, or 20%, more than the all-industry animal caretaker median on this page, 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 veterinary kennel work pays.
Same release, same state: veterinary technologists and technicians (SOC 29-2056) in Texas have a median of $39,410 ($18.95/hr) — $6,680 above the animal caretakers median shown on this page. Vet tech salary in Texas →
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the median kennel attendant salary in Texas?
No federal wage series isolates kennel attendants.
The closest is SOC 39-2021, Animal Caretakers, which covers all industries; its Texas median annual wage was $32,730 in May 2025, or $15.74 an hour.
Half of the animal caretakers counted earned more and half earned less.
The national median for the occupation is $35,360, so Texas sits 7% below it.
What do the top-paid animal caretakers in Texas earn?
The Texas 90th percentile is $49,660, so one in ten animal caretakers counted across all industries earned more than that, within 1% of the national 90th percentile of $50,060.
The 75th percentile is where Texas pulls ahead: $41,930, 5% above the national $40,050, while the 10th percentile, $23,260, is 15% below the national floor of $27,250.
How does this all-industry figure compare with vet tech pay in Texas?
In the same BLS release, veterinary technologists and technicians in Texas have a median of $39,410, which is $6,680 above the $32,730 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.
How many animal caretakers work in Texas?
BLS estimates 20,450 animal caretakers were employed in Texas across all industries, 2nd 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 Texas Kennel Attendant Resources
Sources
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 state estimates — Texas, 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.