Kennel Attendant Salary in Vermont
Animal caretakers in Vermont — SOC 39-2021, a federal occupation spanning all industries, not only veterinary practices — earned a median annual wage of $36,090 in the May 2025 estimates, 2% above the national median of $35,360, ranking 16th of the 51 jurisdictions that publish a median.
The state sits ahead of the national figures at every percentile below the ceiling, but its 90th percentile falls 5% short, and its 430-worker estimate is the smallest of the 51.
What these figures cover
10th percentile
$31,990
25th percentile
$33,870
75th percentile
$42,840
90th percentile
$47,360
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 state estimates — Vermont, SOC 39-2021 (Animal Caretakers). Retrieved 2026-09-16 from the BLS Public Data API.
How to read these figures
Vermont vs. the national figures
The Vermont median is above 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 16th, and 51st by estimated employment.
Differences are whole percentages, rounded half away from zero, computed from the figures shown.
Ahead everywhere below the ceiling
Vermont sits ahead of the national figures at four of the five published points.
The 10th percentile, $31,990, is 17% above the national $27,250, and the 25th percentile, $33,870, is 14% above the national $29,820.
The median is 2% higher, and the 75th percentile, $42,840, is 7% above the national $40,050.
Only at the top does the state fall behind: the 90th percentile, $47,360, is 5% below the national $50,060.
Benchmarking an offer against the national figures alone would understate what the lower half of the Vermont distribution pays and overstate the top tenth.
A tighter distribution than the national one
Half of the Vermont workers counted earned between $33,870 and $42,840 — a 25th-to-75th band $8,970 wide, against $10,230 nationally.
The full span from the 10th to the 90th percentile is $15,370, well short of the national $22,810, so the Vermont distribution is compressed at both ends rather than only in the middle.
Within the band the median sits close to the bottom: $2,220 above the 25th percentile and $6,750 below the 75th.
OEWS publishes percentiles, not causes, and this row spans all industries, so this page does not assign the shape a reason.
Holding an hourly posting against these figures
The Vermont hourly median is $17.35, 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.
The smallest estimate of the 51 jurisdictions
BLS estimates 430 animal caretakers were employed in Vermont across all industries, 51st of the 51 jurisdictions that publish a median.
That 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 Vermont vet tech median
In the same release, veterinary technologists and technicians in Vermont have a median of $49,490 — $13,400, or 37%, more than the all-industry animal caretaker median on this page, or 1.4 times as much.
The comparison sets a veterinary occupation against one that spans all industries and counts different workers, so it is context for someone weighing a move into technician work, not a raise anyone already in the job should expect.
Same release, same state: veterinary technologists and technicians (SOC 29-2056) in Vermont have a median of $49,490 ($23.80/hr) — $13,400 above the animal caretakers median shown on this page. Vet tech salary in Vermont →
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the median kennel attendant salary in Vermont?
No federal wage series isolates kennel attendants.
The closest is SOC 39-2021, Animal Caretakers, which covers all industries; its Vermont median annual wage was $36,090 in May 2025, or $17.35 an hour.
Half of the animal caretakers counted earned more and half earned less.
The national median for the occupation is $35,360, so Vermont sits 2% above it.
What do the top-paid animal caretakers in Vermont earn?
The Vermont 90th percentile is $47,360, so one in ten animal caretakers counted across all industries earned more than that.
Nationally the 90th percentile is $50,060, so the Vermont top tenth falls 5% short — the one point in the distribution where the state is behind.
The 75th percentile tells the opposite story: $42,840, 7% above the national $40,050.
How does this all-industry figure compare with vet tech pay in Vermont?
In the same BLS release, veterinary technologists and technicians in Vermont have a median of $49,490, which is $13,400 above the $36,090 median for animal caretakers across all industries — 1.4 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 Vermont?
BLS estimates 430 animal caretakers were employed in Vermont across all industries, 51st 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 Vermont Kennel Attendant Resources
Sources
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 state estimates — Vermont, 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.