Kennel Attendant Salary in Washington, DC
Animal caretakers in Washington, DC — SOC 39-2021, a federal occupation that spans all industries, not only veterinary practices — earned a median annual wage of $44,210 in the May 2025 estimates.
That is $8,850, or 25%, above the national median of $35,360, and it ranks 1st of the 51 jurisdictions that publish a median.
The distinctive feature is the floor: the 10th percentile here, $37,840, sits above the national median itself.
What these figures cover
10th percentile
$37,840
25th percentile
$38,290
75th percentile
$47,730
90th percentile
$64,300
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 state estimates — Washington, DC, SOC 39-2021 (Animal Caretakers). Retrieved 2026-09-16 from the BLS Public Data API.
How to read these figures
Washington, DC vs. the national figures
The Washington, DC median is above the national median by 25%. Among the 51 jurisdictions (states plus DC) where BLS publishes a Animal Caretakers (SOC 39-2021) median for May 2025, it ranks 1st, and 49th by estimated employment.
Differences are whole percentages, rounded half away from zero, computed from the figures shown.
Ahead at every percentile, but not by the same margin
Washington, DC sits ahead of the national figures at every point of the distribution, but the margin moves.
The 10th percentile, $37,840, is 39% above the national $27,250, and the 25th percentile, $38,290, is 28% above the national $29,820.
The median is 25% above, $44,210 against $35,360.
The thinnest margin is at the 75th percentile, $47,730, just 19% above the national $40,050.
Then the gap widens again at the top: the 90th percentile, $64,300, is 28% above the national $50,060.
Benchmarking an offer against the national median alone would miss how much higher the floor sits.
A narrow middle band, a stretched top
Half of the animal caretakers counted in Washington, DC earned between $38,290 and $47,730 — a band $9,440 wide, against $10,230 nationally.
The full span from the 10th to the 90th percentile is $26,460, wider than the national $22,810, because the top end stretches: the distance from the 75th to the 90th percentile is $16,570 here, against $10,010 nationally.
The median sits $5,920 above the 25th percentile and $3,520 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 Washington, DC hourly median is $21.25, against $17.00 nationally — a $4.25 difference, or a 25% 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 small headcount, and what it does not say
BLS estimates 460 animal caretakers were employed in Washington, DC across all industries, 49th of 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, and BLS publishes no state count of how many of them work in veterinary settings.
With an estimate this small, read the wage figures as one survey's view rather than a precise measure.
Against the Washington, DC vet tech median
In the same release, veterinary technologists and technicians in Washington, DC have a median of $61,270 — $17,060, or 39%, more than the all-industry animal caretaker median on this page.
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 Washington, DC have a median of $61,270 ($29.46/hr) — $17,060 above the animal caretakers median shown on this page. Vet tech salary in Washington, DC →
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the median kennel attendant salary in Washington, DC?
No federal wage series isolates kennel attendants.
The closest is SOC 39-2021, Animal Caretakers, which covers all industries; its Washington, DC median annual wage was $44,210 in May 2025, or $21.25 an hour.
Half of the animal caretakers counted earned more and half earned less.
The national median for the occupation is $35,360, so Washington, DC sits 25% above it.
What do the top-paid animal caretakers in Washington, DC earn?
The Washington, DC 90th percentile is $64,300, so one in ten animal caretakers counted across all industries earned more than that.
Nationally the 90th percentile is $50,060, a 28% difference.
The 75th percentile is $47,730, only 19% above the national $40,050, so the premium over national pay is thinnest in the upper-middle before widening again at the top.
How does this all-industry figure compare with vet tech pay in Washington, DC?
In the same BLS release, veterinary technologists and technicians in Washington, DC have a median of $61,270, which is $17,060 above the $44,210 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.
What does the low end of the range look like in Washington, DC?
The 10th percentile is $37,840 — 39% above the national floor of $27,250, and above the national median of $35,360 itself.
Fewer than one in ten animal caretakers counted in Washington, DC earned less than the national median for the occupation.
The 25th percentile is $38,290, 28% above the national $29,820.
More Washington, DC Kennel Attendant Resources
Sources
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 state estimates — Washington, DC, 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.