Kennel Attendant Salary in Utah
Animal caretakers in Utah — SOC 39-2021, a federal occupation that spans all industries, not only veterinary practices — earned a median annual wage of $34,750 in the May 2025 estimates, 2% below the national median of $35,360.
That ranks 20th of the 51 jurisdictions that publish a median.
The distinctive feature is the shape: the bottom half of Utah's distribution sits at or slightly below the national figures, while the 90th percentile is $6,670 above the national one.
What these figures cover
10th percentile
$26,310
25th percentile
$29,320
75th percentile
$42,010
90th percentile
$56,730
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 state estimates — Utah, SOC 39-2021 (Animal Caretakers). Retrieved 2026-09-16 from the BLS Public Data API.
How to read these figures
Utah vs. the national figures
The Utah median is below the national median by 2%. Among the 51 jurisdictions (states plus DC) where BLS publishes a Animal Caretakers (SOC 39-2021) median for May 2025, it ranks 20th, and 33rd by estimated employment.
Differences are whole percentages, rounded half away from zero, computed from the figures shown.
Behind through the middle, ahead at the top
Utah's position against the national figures flips across the distribution.
The bottom half trails modestly: the 10th percentile, $26,310, is 3% below the national $27,250, and the 25th percentile, $29,320, is 2% below the national $29,820.
The median is 2% below as well.
Then the line crosses: the 75th percentile, $42,010, is $1,960 or 5% above the national $40,050, and the 90th percentile, $56,730, is $6,670 or 13% above the national $50,060.
Benchmarking an offer against the national median alone would miss how much stronger the Utah upper tail is.
A wider band than the national one
Half of the Utah workers counted earned between $29,320 and $42,010 — a band $12,690 wide, against $10,230 nationally.
The full span from the 10th to the 90th percentile is $30,420, well above the national $22,810.
The extra width sits mostly at the top: Utah's 75th and 90th percentiles sit above the national ones while its 10th and 25th sit slightly below.
The median sits $5,430 above the 25th percentile and $7,260 below the 75th, so the state median falls in the lower half of its own band — the national median, by contrast, sits $5,540 above its 25th percentile and $4,690 below its 75th.
OEWS does not publish why a distribution has this shape, and this row spans all industries, so this page does not assign it a cause.
Holding an hourly posting against these figures
The Utah hourly median is $16.71, against $17.00 nationally — a 2% 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.
How many animal caretakers work in Utah
BLS estimates 2,350 animal caretakers were employed in Utah across all industries, 33rd of the 51 jurisdictions that publish a median.
The estimate counts people in jobs during the survey period, not openings, and BLS publishes no state count of how many of them work in veterinary settings.
Read it as the size of the occupation in the state, nothing more.
Against the Utah vet tech median
In the same release, veterinary technologists and technicians in Utah have a median of $40,560 — $5,810, or 17%, more than the all-industry animal caretaker median on this page, about 1.2 times as much.
The comparison sets a veterinary occupation against one that spans all industries, so the two figures count different workers.
Treat the gap as context for someone weighing a move into technician work, not as a raise built into any path.
Same release, same state: veterinary technologists and technicians (SOC 29-2056) in Utah have a median of $40,560 ($19.50/hr) — $5,810 above the animal caretakers median shown on this page. Vet tech salary in Utah →
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the median kennel attendant salary in Utah?
No federal wage series isolates kennel attendants.
The closest is SOC 39-2021, Animal Caretakers, which covers all industries; its Utah median annual wage was $34,750 in May 2025, or $16.71 an hour.
Half of the animal caretakers counted earned more and half earned less.
The national median for the occupation is $35,360, so Utah sits 2% below it.
What do the top-paid animal caretakers in Utah earn?
The Utah 90th percentile is $56,730, so one in ten animal caretakers counted across all industries earned more than that.
Nationally the 90th percentile is $50,060, so the Utah top tenth sits $6,670, or 13%, above.
The 75th percentile is already ahead too: $42,010, 5% above the national $40,050, so the gap opens well before the very top of the distribution.
How does this all-industry figure compare with vet tech pay in Utah?
In the same BLS release, veterinary technologists and technicians in Utah have a median of $40,560, which is $5,810 above the $34,750 median for animal caretakers across all industries — about 1.2 times as much, or 17% more.
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 Utah?
BLS estimates 2,350 animal caretakers were employed in Utah across all industries, 33rd 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.
What does the low end of pay look like in Utah?
The Utah 10th percentile is $26,310, so one in ten animal caretakers counted across all industries earned less than that.
It sits 3% below the national 10th percentile of $27,250 — a modest gap at the floor.
The 25th percentile is $29,320, 2% below the national $29,820, so the bottom quarter of the distribution tracks closely with the national figures.
More Utah Kennel Attendant Resources
Sources
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 state estimates — Utah, 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.