BLS veterinarian pay at every level and in every state, salary per hour on long clinic weeks, and take-home after 2026 tax
Veterinarians earned a median salary of $130,100 in May 2025 ($62.55 an hour), according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which counted 83,900 vets on employers' payrolls. The bottom tenth earned under $73,920 and the top tenth over $215,700. Practice owners aren't in those figures.
This is the BLS line for veterinarians (SOC 29-1131) on employers' payrolls. Practice owners and other self-employed vets are excluded, and veterinary technicians and assistants are separate, lower-paid occupations. Take-home assumes a single filer with 2026 federal tax and FICA and no state tax.
| Pay level | Hourly | Annual | Monthly | Take-home a year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $35.54 | $73,920 | $6,160 | $60,833 |
| 25th percentile | $48.78 | $101,460 | $8,455 | $80,207 |
| Median | $62.55 | $130,100 | $10,842 | $100,189 |
| 75th percentile | $79.87 | $166,120 | $13,843 | $124,809 |
| 90th percentile | $103.70 | $215,700 | $17,975 | $160,490 |
California has both the most vets (9,170) and the highest median, $163,920; Maryland ($163,170) and Washington ($160,510) are close behind. South Dakota's $88,650 is the lowest. In Texas, with the second-largest vet workforce, the median is $131,330.
| State | Median hourly | Median annual | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | $78.81 | $163,920 | 9,170 |
| Maryland | $78.45 | $163,170 | 1,430 |
| Washington | $77.17 | $160,510 | 2,390 |
| New Jersey | $76.99 | $160,140 | 1,910 |
| Arizona | $73.09 | $152,020 | 2,080 |
| Massachusetts | $67.43 | $140,260 | 1,920 |
| District of Columbia | $64.68 | $134,530 | 190 |
| Illinois | $64.22 | $133,580 | 2,330 |
| Pennsylvania | $64.19 | $133,520 | 3,490 |
| Minnesota | $64.00 | $133,110 | 2,140 |
| New York | $63.38 | $131,830 | 3,390 |
| Vermont | $63.38 | $131,820 | 280 |
| Florida | $63.30 | $131,660 | 5,360 |
| Texas | $63.14 | $131,330 | 6,270 |
| Colorado | $62.91 | $130,840 | 2,340 |
| Maine | $62.79 | $130,600 | 600 |
| Hawaii | $62.56 | $130,120 | 370 |
| New Mexico | $62.21 | $129,390 | 460 |
| North Carolina | $62.14 | $129,240 | 2,940 |
| West Virginia | $62.01 | $128,990 | 390 |
| Oregon | $61.96 | $128,880 | 1,660 |
| New Hampshire | $61.63 | $128,190 | 650 |
| Virginia | $60.93 | $126,730 | 2,700 |
| Georgia | $60.86 | $126,590 | 2,670 |
| Rhode Island | $60.85 | $126,570 | 430 |
| Connecticut | $60.67 | $126,190 | 950 |
| Nevada | $60.36 | $125,550 | 680 |
| Michigan | $60.28 | $125,390 | 2,030 |
| Ohio | $60.12 | $125,060 | 3,430 |
| Iowa | $59.91 | $124,610 | 1,000 |
| Indiana | $59.87 | $124,530 | 1,500 |
| Louisiana | $59.79 | $124,370 | 950 |
| Tennessee | $59.78 | $124,350 | 1,730 |
| Utah | $59.61 | $123,990 | 640 |
| South Carolina | $58.72 | $122,130 | 1,380 |
| Idaho | $55.85 | $116,170 | 540 |
| Missouri | $55.12 | $114,660 | 1,920 |
| Wisconsin | $52.30 | $108,780 | 1,830 |
| Arkansas | $51.79 | $107,710 | 540 |
| Kansas | $51.48 | $107,080 | 1,000 |
| Alabama | $50.79 | $105,630 | 1,020 |
| Mississippi | $50.66 | $105,370 | 480 |
| Kentucky | $50.05 | $104,100 | 1,190 |
| Nebraska | $49.76 | $103,500 | 780 |
| North Dakota | $49.13 | $102,180 | 270 |
| Montana | $47.78 | $99,390 | 510 |
| Oklahoma | $47.16 | $98,090 | 1,150 |
| Wyoming | $46.75 | $97,240 | 140 |
| South Dakota | $42.62 | $88,650 | 280 |
Vets at social advocacy organizations ($131,760) and in veterinary services ($129,990), where 83% of employed vets work, have nearly the same median. Schools and universities pay $121,890 and government $115,210 (BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook).
| Industry | Median annual wage |
|---|---|
| Social advocacy organizations | $131,760 |
| Veterinary services | $129,990 |
| Educational services; state, local, and private | $121,890 |
| Government, excluding state and local education and hospitals | $115,210 |
Most veterinarians work full time, often more than 40 hours a week. Some work nights or weekends, and they may have to respond to emergencies outside scheduled hours (BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook). Veterinary practices employ 83% of vets on payrolls, and 7% are self-employed, whose income BLS doesn't count.
Most vets are paid a salary. A salaried employee whose job needs the advanced knowledge of a prolonged course of study, like a veterinary degree, can be an exempt learned professional if paid at least $684 a week on a salary or fee basis (DOL Fact Sheet #17D). Veterinarians aren't in the separate practice-of-medicine rule, which covers physicians, dentists, podiatrists and optometrists (29 CFR 541.304), so the salary test applies. On-call and emergency pay, where a clinic offers it, isn't in BLS's figures.
Vets often work past 40 hours, and emergency calls run on top of that (BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook). A salary doesn't grow with those hours, so the table shows what the BLS median and 75th-percentile salaries are worth per hour at longer weeks.
| Hours a week | Median salary per hour | 75th percentile per hour |
|---|---|---|
| 35 | $71.48 | $91.27 |
| 40 | $62.55 | $79.87 |
| 45 | $55.60 | $70.99 |
| 50 | $50.04 | $63.89 |
| 55 | $45.49 | $58.08 |
| 60 | $41.70 | $53.24 |
Veterinarians need a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM or VMD) from an accredited college — usually a 4-year program after a science-heavy bachelor's — and a license. Every state requires the national exam and most also have a state exam, and because few states accept other states' licenses, vets usually test again to move. Government vets may not need a state license. Board certification in a specialty is optional (BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook).
More ways to work with your veterinarian pay:
$130,100 a year ($62.55 an hour) at the BLS median for May 2025. The middle half earned $101,460 to $166,120.
California ($78.81 an hour, $163,920 a year), then Maryland and Washington; South Dakota pays least among the 49 states where BLS released a figure (BLS, May 2025).
Salaried vets paid at least $684 a week usually don't: they generally qualify as exempt learned professionals (DOL Fact Sheet #17D). A vet paid by the hour, or below that salary, is owed time and a half after 40 hours.
BLS can't say: its wage figures exclude the self-employed, which includes practice owners. The figures here are for vets employed by a practice, school, government agency or other employer.
Tax rules, limits and pay data change. Check the current figures with the primary source before acting on them.