Kennel Attendant Salary in Wisconsin
Animal caretakers in Wisconsin — SOC 39-2021, a federal occupation that spans all industries, not only veterinary practices — earned a median annual wage of $30,160 in the May 2025 estimates, $5,200 or 15% below the national median of $35,360.
That ranks 41st of the 51 jurisdictions that publish a median.
The distinctive feature is where the shortfall is deepest: the median gap exceeds the gap at every other percentile, in dollars and in percent, while the 90th percentile sits closest in percentage terms.
What these figures cover
10th percentile
$23,920
25th percentile
$28,170
75th percentile
$36,850
90th percentile
$47,700
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 state estimates — Wisconsin, SOC 39-2021 (Animal Caretakers). Retrieved 2026-09-16 from the BLS Public Data API.
How to read these figures
Wisconsin vs. the national figures
The Wisconsin median is below 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 41st, and 21st by estimated employment.
Differences are whole percentages, rounded half away from zero, computed from the figures shown.
Behind at every point, deepest at the middle
Wisconsin sits below the national figures at every percentile.
The shortfall is deepest at the middle: the median, $30,160, is $5,200 below the national $35,360, a 15% gap that no other percentile matches.
The floor is the next-deepest shortfall — the 10th percentile, $23,920, is $3,330 (12%) below the national $27,250.
The quartiles sit closer: the 25th percentile is $1,650 (6%) below, and the 75th, $36,850, is $3,200 (8%) below the national $40,050.
The 90th percentile, $47,700, is $2,360 below the national $50,060 — a 5% gap, the smallest in percentage terms.
Benchmarking an offer against the national median alone would overstate where the middle of Wisconsin's distribution sits.
A middle band with the median bunched low
Half of the Wisconsin workers counted earned between $28,170 and $36,850 — a band $8,680 wide, against $10,230 nationally.
As a share of the median the two bands are similar, so the width is not what sets Wisconsin apart.
What stands out is where the median sits: just $1,990 above the 25th percentile and $6,690 below the 75th, so the middle of the distribution is bunched toward the bottom of its band, where the national median splits its band more evenly — $5,540 above the 25th percentile, $4,690 below the 75th.
The full span from the 10th to the 90th percentile is $23,780, slightly wider than the national $22,810, because the Wisconsin floor drops further below the national floor than the ceiling does.
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 Wisconsin hourly median is $14.50, against $17.00 nationally — a 15% 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.
What the employment estimate says
BLS estimates 5,720 animal caretakers were employed in Wisconsin across all industries, 21st among 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 it is not a measure of whether employers are hiring.
BLS publishes no state count of how many of them work in veterinary settings.
Against the Wisconsin vet tech median
In the same release, veterinary technologists and technicians in Wisconsin have a median of $47,020 — $16,860, or 56%, more than the all-industry animal caretaker median on this page, 1.6 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, and not a raise anyone should expect.
Same release, same state: veterinary technologists and technicians (SOC 29-2056) in Wisconsin have a median of $47,020 ($22.61/hr) — $16,860 above the animal caretakers median shown on this page. Vet tech salary in Wisconsin →
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the median kennel attendant salary in Wisconsin?
No federal wage series isolates kennel attendants.
The closest is SOC 39-2021, Animal Caretakers, which covers all industries; its Wisconsin median annual wage was $30,160 in May 2025, or $14.50 an hour.
Half of the animal caretakers counted earned more and half earned less.
The national median for the occupation is $35,360, so Wisconsin sits 15% below it.
What do the lowest-paid animal caretakers in Wisconsin earn?
The Wisconsin 10th percentile is $23,920 — one in ten animal caretakers counted across all industries earned less than that, against a national 10th percentile of $27,250, a 12% gap.
The 25th percentile, $28,170, sits $1,650 below the national $29,820.
The 10th percentile falls further below its national figure than the 90th does — $3,330 versus $2,360, or 12% versus 5%.
What do the top-paid animal caretakers in Wisconsin earn?
The Wisconsin 90th percentile is $47,700, so one in ten animal caretakers counted across all industries earned more than that.
Nationally the 90th percentile is $50,060, so the Wisconsin top tenth sits $2,360, or 5%, below.
The upper-middle trails by more: the 75th percentile is $36,850 against the national $40,050, an 8% gap.
How does this all-industry figure compare with vet tech pay in Wisconsin?
In the same BLS release, veterinary technologists and technicians in Wisconsin have a median of $47,020, which is $16,860 above the $30,160 median for animal caretakers across all industries — 1.6 times as much, a 56% gap on the animal caretaker figure.
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 Wisconsin?
BLS estimates 5,720 animal caretakers were employed in Wisconsin across all industries, 21st 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 Wisconsin Kennel Attendant Resources
Sources
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 state estimates — Wisconsin, 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.