Veterinary pay report 2026: what clinics post in job ads
In the veterinary job ads on our board on November 5, 2026, the median posted pay (the midpoint of each ad's range) was $31.50 an hour for vet techs, $22.75 an hour for vet assistants and $167,500 a year for veterinarians. The latest government figures, for May 2025, put the national median at $22.78 an hour for vet techs, $18.34 for vet assistants and lab animal caretakers, and $130,100 a year for veterinarians. The state tables are below.
Key statistics
- 357 of the 454 veterinary job ads on our board on November 5, 2026 posted a pay figure (79%). Source: Veterinary Job Hub posted-pay snapshot.
- Vet tech ads that posted an hourly rate had a median midpoint of $31.50 an hour (75 ads; middle half $28.25 to $32.00). Source: Veterinary Job Hub.
- Vet assistant ads that posted an hourly rate had a median midpoint of $22.75 an hour (34 ads; middle half $21.50 to $24.00). Source: Veterinary Job Hub.
- Veterinarian ads that posted a yearly figure had a median midpoint of $167,500 a year (22 ads; middle half $163,125 to $173,750). Source: Veterinary Job Hub.
- Vet tech ads whose title names a credential (LVT, RVT, CVT or LVMT, or the words "credentialed", "licensed vet", "registered vet" or "certified vet"; a title such as "Licensed or Unlicensed Veterinary Technician" counts as not naming one) posted a median of $31.50 an hour (53 ads), against $31.50 for other vet tech titles (22 ads). Source: Veterinary Job Hub.
- The BLS median wage for veterinary technologists and technicians was $22.78 an hour, or $47,380 a year, in May 2025. Source: BLS OEWS.
- The BLS median wage for veterinary assistants and laboratory animal caretakers was $18.34 an hour, or $38,150 a year, in May 2025. Source: BLS OEWS.
- The BLS median wage for veterinarians was $130,100 a year ($62.55 an hour) in May 2025. Source: BLS OEWS.
- BLS counted 129,140 vet techs, 126,580 vet assistants and lab animal caretakers, and 83,900 veterinarians on employer payrolls in May 2025. Source: BLS OEWS.
- BLS projects 9% job growth from 2025 to 2035 for each of the three roles, with about 13,400 vet tech, 23,200 vet assistant and 3,100 veterinarian openings a year. Source: BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook (techs, assistants, veterinarians).
- The AVMA estimates there were 133,475 US veterinarians as of December 31, 2025. Source: AVMA.
- New veterinarians from the class of 2026 who took full-time jobs expected average pay of $131,784; those entering private practice, $133,056. Source: AVMA Senior Survey 2026.
- The class of 2026 graduated with average veterinary school debt of $185,424 (all graduates) or $227,588 (graduates with debt). Source: AVMA.
- Vet techs who answered NAVTA's 2024 survey reported average gross income of $53,759 a year; 39% named low pay as their biggest challenge. Source: NAVTA 2024 Demographic Survey.
What clinics are posting right now
On November 5, 2026 our jobs board listed 454 open jobs from the careers pages of Lakefield Veterinary Group, GoodVets, Modern Animal and Bond Vet. 357 of them (79%) stated pay. For each ad we took the midpoint of the posted range (or the single figure) and report the median of those midpoints, plus the middle half of ads (25th to 75th percentile). Hourly and yearly ads are kept apart and never converted into each other.
| Role | Ads | Ads with pay | Hourly: median midpoint | Yearly: median midpoint |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vet tech | 150 | 144 (96%) | $31.50 (75 ads) Middle half $28.25 to $32.00 | None |
| Vet assistant | 58 | 53 (91%) | $22.75 (34 ads) Middle half $21.50 to $24.00 | None |
| Veterinarian | 197 | 117 (59%) | None | $167,500 (22 ads) Middle half $163,125 to $173,750 |
| Client service / receptionist | 22 | 19 (86%) | $19.50 (7 ads) Middle half $19.00 to $20.00 | None |
| Practice management | 27 | 24 (89%) | None | Too few (2) |
Roles come from the job title. "Vet tech" includes titles such as technician, veterinary nurse, LVT, RVT and CVT; "vet assistant" includes kennel and animal care roles.
- Naming a credential in the title made no difference to the median. Vet tech ads whose title names a credential (LVT, RVT, CVT or LVMT, or the words "credentialed", "licensed vet", "registered vet" or "certified vet"; a title such as "Licensed or Unlicensed Veterinary Technician" counts as not naming one) had a median hourly midpoint of $31.50 (53 ads, middle half $29.00 to $33.50). Other vet tech titles had $31.50 (22 ads, middle half $25.12 to $32.00). See vet tech requirements by state for what each credential takes.
- Specialist pay is too thin to report. Only 1 specialist veterinarian ad (surgeon, radiologist, internist and similar) stated a yearly period, so we give no specialist figure. Other veterinarian titles had a median yearly midpoint of $165,000 (21 ads, middle half $162,500 to $170,000).
- Per-shift pay and pay with no stated period. 13 ads (9 veterinarian, 4 vet tech) posted pay per shift. 201 ads (86 of them veterinarian) gave an amount without saying per hour or per year, for example "$130,000 to $200,000 Salary Range" or "$20 to $26 USD". We do not guess the period, so these count as ads with pay but are not in the hourly or yearly figures.
Posted pay by state
A state appears in a table only when it had at least 5 ads for that role with pay in that unit. A handful of ads can move a median, and every row except Texas rests on one employer brand's ads, so each is that employer's pay scale in that state, not a state average. The last column is the BLS median for all workers in that occupation and state (May 2025); select it for the full state figures. Select a state name for its credential guide, or "jobs" for its open jobs.
Vet tech ads, hourly pay
| State | Median posted midpoint | Middle half | Ads used (of all in role) | Employer brands | BLS state median, May 2025 (hourly) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| California jobs | $32.00 | $32.00 to $34.50 | 19 of 23 | 1 | $29.15 |
| Massachusetts jobs | $30.50 | $30.50 to $30.50 | 6 of 7 | 1 | $23.82 |
| New Jersey jobs | $31.50 | $31.50 to $31.50 | 9 of 10 | 1 | $23.58 |
| New York jobs | $33.50 | $33.50 to $33.50 | 8 of 11 | 1 | $28.37 |
| Texas jobs | $22.00 | $20.50 to $25.00 | 13 of 14 | 2 | $18.95 |
Vet assistant ads, hourly pay
| State | Median posted midpoint | Middle half | Ads used (of all in role) | Employer brands | BLS state median, May 2025 (hourly) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| California jobs | $24.00 | $24.00 to $24.00 | 17 of 17 | 1 | $22.24 |
| New York jobs | $21.50 | $21.50 to $21.50 | 6 of 6 | 1 | $21.52 |
Veterinarian ads, yearly pay (specialist titles left out)
| State | Median posted midpoint | Middle half | Ads used (of all in role) | Employer brands | BLS state median, May 2025 (yearly) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| California jobs | $170,000 | $168,750 to $177,500 | 8 of 48 | 1 | $163,920 |
| New York jobs | $165,000 | $165,000 to $170,000 | 7 of 13 | 1 | $131,830 |
Posted pay next to the government figures
| Role | Our ads: median posted midpoint (November 2026) | BLS national median (May 2025) |
|---|---|---|
| Vet tech | $31.50 an hour (75 ads) | $22.78 an hour |
| Vet assistant | $22.75 an hour (34 ads) | $18.34 an hour |
| Veterinarian | $167,500 a year (22 ads) | $130,100 a year |
The two columns measure different things. Ours is the midpoint of ranges employers posted for open jobs in November 2026, from the employer brands whose ads state hourly or yearly pay (3 for vet techs, 3 for vet assistants, 2 for veterinarians). The BLS figure is the median wage of all people in the occupation, in every kind of employer, in May 2025. Use the BLS figure for the typical wage; use ours to see what these employers advertise now.
Government pay data: BLS, May 2025
The Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) program surveys employers about their staff's wages. The May 2025 estimates are the latest; they cover employees on payrolls, not self-employed owners. BLS turns hourly into yearly wages by multiplying by 2,080 hours, so a yearly figure here is BLS's own number.
| Occupation (SOC code) | Employment | Median hourly | Median yearly | Mean yearly | Middle half (25th to 75th percentile) | 10th / 90th percentile |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Veterinary technologists and technicians 29-2056 | 129,140 | $22.78 | $47,380 | $49,120 | $38,910 to $57,650 | $35,710 / $63,180 |
| Veterinary assistants and laboratory animal caretakers 31-9096 | 126,580 | $18.34 | $38,150 | $40,340 | $35,660 to $45,710 | $30,120 / $49,150 |
| Veterinarians 29-1131 | 83,900 | $62.55 | $130,100 | $142,680 | $101,460 to $166,120 | $73,920 / $215,700 |
Note: BLS counts veterinary assistants together with laboratory animal caretakers, so the assistant figures include people who care for animals in research labs.
For every state's BLS median, 10th to 90th percentile range and rank, see vet tech salary by state, vet assistant salary by state and veterinarian salary by state.
Job outlook, 2025 to 2035
| Occupation | Jobs, 2025 | Projected growth, 2025 to 2035 | Openings a year (average) | Median pay, 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Veterinary technologists and technicians | 131,400 | 9% (12,300 jobs) | 13,400 | $47,380 |
| Veterinary assistants and laboratory animal caretakers | 132,100 | 9% (12,000 jobs) | 23,200 | $38,150 |
| Veterinarians | 91,100 | 9% (8,600 jobs) | 3,100 | $130,100 |
From the BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook. BLS calls 9% growth "much faster than average". The job counts here include self-employed workers, so they are higher than the OEWS payroll counts above. Projections are BLS estimates, not guarantees.
Veterinarian pay and debt: AVMA figures
- The AVMA estimates 133,475 US veterinarians as of December 31, 2025, of whom 91,889 are women. AVMA's count leaves out nonmembers born before 1955 or who graduated before 1981. AVMA: U.S. veterinarian numbers
- Among all veterinarians, average professional income reported in 2026 for 2025 was $163,014 (AVMA 2026 Census of Veterinarians).
- Class of 2026 graduates entering full-time jobs expected average pay of $131,784 ($127,046 in 2025 dollars). Private practice averaged $133,056 and public practice $101,234; internships averaged $59,436 and residencies $54,988.
- Of the class of 2026 graduates entering full-time employment, 58.7% received a signing bonus, 34.6% a moving allowance and 19.9% student loan repayment.
- Average veterinary school debt for the class of 2026 was $185,424 across all graduates and $227,588 among those with debt; 43.3% owed $200,000 or more. For new veterinarians entering full-time employment, the average debt-to-income ratio was 1.5 to 1.
Figures from the AVMA's 2026 Senior Survey and Census of Veterinarians, as reported in AVMA News, October 8, 2026. The survey covers final-year students at US veterinary colleges and two Caribbean colleges.
Vet tech pay: what techs report
NAVTA's 2024 Demographic Survey of veterinary technicians reports average annual gross income of $53,759. 39% of respondents said low pay was their biggest challenge, and 8% said they were "extremely satisfied" with their jobs, down from 25% in 2022. These are answers from people who chose to take the survey, so they are not directly comparable with BLS or with posted ranges. NAVTA's survey release, April 3, 2025
How we got our numbers
- We read every job ad published on veterinaryjobhub.com on November 5, 2026 (2026-11-05 08:16 UTC). The board lists jobs from the employers' own careers pages (Lakefield Veterinary Group, GoodVets, Modern Animal and Bond Vet) and refreshes daily. The jobs index that day showed 454 jobs, updated November 5, 2026.
- The pay figure is the employer's own text. An ad counts as posting pay when it states a dollar amount. It is an hourly ad only when the pay says per hour ("hour", "hr", "hourly") and a yearly ad only when it says per year ("year", "annual"); we never infer the period from the size of the number or from words like "salary range". We used the midpoint of each range. A midpoint counts if it falls between $10 and $150 an hour or $25,000 and $500,000 a year (0 ads fell outside). We also left 3 student externship ads out of the pay figures.
- Medians and the middle half (25th to 75th percentile) are calculated with linear interpolation between ads, the same method as a spreadsheet's QUARTILE.INC.
- Limits: 4 employer brands is not the whole market. Some employers do not post pay at all, and employers outside these four brands may pay differently. An ad's range is what the employer will pay, not what the hired person gets. The 143 ads that state hourly or yearly pay come from Bond Vet (65, including 3 student externships left out of the figures), Modern Animal (55) and Lakefield Veterinary Group (23); GoodVets, with 123 ads, states no hourly or yearly pay, so its pay is not in these medians.
- We keep the snapshot and the scripts that produced every figure on this page.
FAQ
How much does a vet tech make an hour?
The BLS national median for veterinary technologists and technicians was $22.78 an hour in May 2025. In the vet tech ads on our board in November 2026 that posted an hourly rate, the median midpoint was $31.50.
Where can I see vet tech pay for my state?
For the government figure, open your state on vet tech salary by state (BLS, May 2025). For what clinics are advertising now, see the state tables above; they cover states with at least 5 vet tech ads that posted an hourly rate.
What pays more, vet tech or vet assistant?
Vet tech. The BLS medians were $47,380 for techs and $38,150 for assistants and lab animal caretakers in May 2025. See vet tech vs vet assistant.
Do vet techs make six figures?
$100,000 is far above what nearly all employed vet techs earn: the BLS 90th percentile for vet techs was $63,180 a year in May 2025, so 90% earned less than that.
How much does a veterinarian make?
The BLS median was $130,100 a year in May 2025. The AVMA reports average professional income of $163,014 for 2025 across all veterinarians, and $131,784 expected by 2026 graduates entering full-time jobs.
How to cite this page
Veterinary Job Hub. "Veterinary Pay Report 2026: What Clinics Post in Job Ads." Updated November 5, 2026. https://veterinaryjobhub.com/veterinary-salary-report/
You are welcome to quote these figures and use our posted-pay data under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license (CC BY 4.0): credit Veterinary Job Hub and link to this page. BLS, AVMA and NAVTA figures belong to those organizations; cite them as the source.
Download: veterinary-salary-report-2026-posted-pay.csv (our posted-pay tables, with the BLS May 2025 median beside each vet tech, vet assistant and veterinarian row).
Next steps
Thinking about the career? Read how to become a vet tech, how to become a veterinary assistant and your state's vet tech requirements. Looking for work? See open veterinary jobs by state, with pay shown when the employer states it.
Sources
- Veterinary Job Hub, posted-pay snapshot of 454 job ads, collected November 5, 2026 (CSV)
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 occupation profiles; OEWS data tables (national and state downloads)
- Veterinary Job Hub BLS pages: vet tech salary by state, vet assistant salary by state, veterinarian salary by state
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook: Veterinary Technologists and Technicians, Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretakers, Veterinarians
- American Veterinary Medical Association, U.S. veterinarian numbers
- AVMA News, New veterinary graduates face rising debt, lower real income (October 8, 2026)
- National Association of Veterinary Technicians in America, 2024 Demographic Survey release (April 3, 2025)
Keep reading
- Vet tech salary by state
- Vet assistant salary by state
- Veterinarian salary by state
- All veterinary jobs
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