Kennel Attendant Salary in Washington
Animal caretakers in Washington — SOC 39-2021, a federal occupation that spans all industries, not only veterinary practices — earned a median annual wage of $40,570 in the May 2025 estimates, $5,210 or 15% above the national median of $35,360.
That ranks 2nd of the 51 jurisdictions that publish a median.
Every percentile sits above its national counterpart, and the distribution is stretched at the top: the 90th percentile, $64,580, is $14,520 above the national figure.
What these figures cover
10th percentile
$36,100
25th percentile
$37,140
75th percentile
$48,030
90th percentile
$64,580
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 state estimates — Washington, SOC 39-2021 (Animal Caretakers). Retrieved 2026-09-16 from the BLS Public Data API.
How to read these figures
Washington vs. the national figures
The Washington median is above the national median by 15%. Among the 51 jurisdictions (states plus DC) where BLS publishes a Animal Caretakers (SOC 39-2021) median for May 2025, it ranks 2nd, and 12th by estimated employment.
Differences are whole percentages, rounded half away from zero, computed from the figures shown.
Ahead at every percentile, by different margins
Washington is ahead of the national figures at every point in the distribution.
The median, $40,570, is $5,210 or 15% above the national $35,360 — the smallest gap on either scale.
The gaps widen away from the middle: the 25th percentile, $37,140, is $7,320 or 25% above the national $29,820, and the 75th percentile, $48,030, is $7,980 or 20% above the national $40,050.
In percentage terms the largest gap is at the floor — the 10th percentile, $36,100, is $8,850 or 32% above the national $27,250 — while the largest dollar gap is at the top, the 90th percentile at $64,580, $14,520 or 29% above the national $50,060.
Benchmarking an offer against the national median alone would understate Washington at every level.
A stretched top, a compressed floor
The Washington 25th-to-75th band is $10,890 wide, only slightly wider than the national $10,230.
The full 10th-to-90th span is $28,480, against $22,810 nationally, and the extra width sits above the middle: from the median to the 75th percentile the stretch runs $7,460, against $4,690 nationally, and from the 75th to the 90th it runs $16,550, against $10,010.
Below the median the bottom is compressed — the 10th and 25th percentiles are $1,040 apart, against $2,570 nationally — and the median sits $3,430 above the 25th percentile and $7,460 below the 75th, in the lower half of its own 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 Washington hourly median is $19.51, against $17.00 nationally — $2.51 more an hour, a 15% gap matching the annual median.
The data set carries hourly pay at the median only, so this 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.
What the employment estimate says
BLS estimates 6,620 animal caretakers were employed in Washington across all industries — 12th of the 51 jurisdictions by employment, behind the state's 2nd-place rank by median wage.
The estimate is a headcount of people in jobs during the survey period, not a count of openings, and it says nothing about pay levels.
BLS publishes no state count of how many of them work in veterinary settings.
Against the Washington vet tech median
In the same release, veterinary technologists and technicians in Washington have a median of $59,740 — $19,170, or 47%, more than the all-industry animal caretaker median on this page, 1.5 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 kennel work pays, and not a raise anyone should expect — the two figures count different workers.
Same release, same state: veterinary technologists and technicians (SOC 29-2056) in Washington have a median of $59,740 ($28.72/hr) — $19,170 above the animal caretakers median shown on this page. Vet tech salary in Washington →
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the median kennel attendant salary in Washington?
No federal wage series isolates kennel attendants.
The closest is SOC 39-2021, Animal Caretakers, which covers all industries; its Washington median annual wage was $40,570 in May 2025, or $19.51 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 sits 15% above it.
What does the low end of the Washington distribution look like?
The 10th percentile is $36,100, $8,850 above the national $27,250 — the largest percentage gap in the distribution, 32%.
The 25th percentile, $37,140, is just $1,040 above the 10th, so the bottom of the distribution is tight before it opens up.
This row spans every industry, so none of these figures is veterinary-specific.
What do the top-paid animal caretakers in Washington earn?
The 90th percentile is $64,580, so one in ten animal caretakers counted across all industries earned more than that in Washington.
The national 90th percentile is $50,060, and the state figure sits 29% above it — the largest dollar gap in the distribution, $14,520.
The percentage gap, though, is widest at the floor: the 10th percentile is 32% above the national $27,250.
How does this all-industry figure compare with vet tech pay in Washington?
In the same BLS release, veterinary technologists and technicians in Washington have a median of $59,740, which is $19,170 above the $40,570 median for animal caretakers across all industries — 1.5 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 Washington?
BLS estimates 6,620 animal caretakers were employed in Washington across all industries, 12th among the 51 jurisdictions by employment — behind the state's 2nd-place rank by median wage.
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.
More Washington Kennel Attendant Resources
Sources
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 state estimates — Washington, 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.