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Salary · Vet Tech · United States

Vet Tech salary: $47,380 median, and how to negotiate yours.

The full pay range by percentile, every state, the top-paying metro areas and similar roles, from the latest BLS survey. Place your own offer on the range.

Updated Oct 24, 2026 · Data: BLS OEWS May 2025
Annual wage range · U.S. · BLS May 2025
$47,380median ($22.78/hr)

Quick answer

The median annual wage for veterinary technologists and technicians in the United States was $47,380 in May 2025 (BLS). The lowest-paid 10% earned less than $35,710 and the top 10% earned more than $63,180. That median is 0.9 times the $50,980 median for all occupations. The highest-paying state was District of Columbia ($61,270).

Data Government data groups this job as Veterinary Technologists and Technicians (O*NET-SOC 29-2056.00). Figures on this page are for that occupation.

10th percentile
$35,710
lowest-paid 10% earn less
25th percentile
$38,910
a quarter earn less
75th percentile
$57,650
a quarter earn more
90th percentile
$63,180
top 10% earn more
Pay by state

Vet Tech salary in every state

Data BLS state estimates, May 2025. 51 states and DC published a median for this occupation. Sort by pay or by number employed.

Highest median pay
  1. District of Columbia$61,270
  2. California$60,630
  3. Washington$59,740
  4. New York$59,010
  5. Minnesota$57,270
Most people employed
  1. Texas16,730
  2. Florida11,380
  3. California11,310
  4. Pennsylvania6,620
  5. New York5,350
Median annual wage by state
State10th–90th percentile
District of Columbia$61,270$50,390–$81,990120
California$60,630$48,240–$75,86011,310
Washington$59,740$46,390–$77,3002,290
New York$59,010$47,640–$78,7605,350
Minnesota$57,270$42,640–$65,1203,560
Oregon$55,810$39,920–$77,7101,120
Virginia$52,090$35,590–$75,7702,790
Connecticut$50,950$41,480–$75,0901,690
Maine$50,810$47,340–$57,690910
Nevada$50,250$34,700–$65,4201,120
Michigan$49,710$37,410–$63,0202,550
Colorado$49,650$37,820–$60,3803,720
Massachusetts$49,540$37,500–$64,4703,990
Vermont$49,490$48,050–$58,430390
New Jersey$49,050$37,870–$75,3102,910
North Dakota$48,790$35,960–$56,980340
New Hampshire$48,780$37,450–$60,840870
Indiana$48,720$37,820–$59,4901,820
Hawaii$48,550$35,990–$62,660270
Delaware$48,370$37,250–$61,890530
Ohio$47,990$34,760–$61,3604,790
North Carolina$47,620$35,890–$59,4202,580
Maryland$47,350$38,750–$74,4602,540
Wisconsin$47,020$37,900–$59,1102,590
Alaska$46,480$37,010–$75,820380
Illinois$46,440$38,580–$60,5205,040
Pennsylvania$46,430$36,480–$60,2806,620
Florida$46,380$36,600–$57,87011,380
Arizona$46,300$37,870–$58,3503,970
Kansas$45,810$36,780–$58,2501,270
Iowa$45,560$36,290–$63,8601,220
Rhode Island$45,310$37,570–$63,590530
South Dakota$45,300$35,780–$50,440300
New Mexico$44,790$31,350–$56,870890
Nebraska$43,680$37,770–$57,310690
Missouri$43,520$31,940–$49,2602,040
Georgia$43,060$35,060–$58,5902,410
Tennessee$42,810$31,660–$57,0401,640
Idaho$42,120$31,900–$48,660790
Montana$41,170$35,420–$57,660480
Utah$40,560$29,640–$55,3301,550
Kentucky$39,590$28,490–$50,5301,670
Texas$39,410$30,320–$54,61016,730
Oklahoma$39,100$31,390–$53,8801,060
South Carolina$39,020$33,870–$57,9702,540
Wyoming$38,650$28,630–$49,260310
Arkansas$38,360$27,250–$47,820320
West Virginia$37,700$29,430–$48,170400
Alabama$36,590$28,590–$49,0601,880
Mississippi$36,380$29,120–$46,710650
Louisiana$35,530$28,490–$47,6902,220
Top-paying metro areas

Where the median is highest

Data Metropolitan areas with at least 100 people employed in the occupation, BLS May 2025.

  1. San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA$71,090
  2. San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA$67,280
  3. Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA$62,810
  4. Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA$61,940
  5. Salinas, CA$61,330
  6. Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA$61,260
  7. Vallejo, CA$61,230
  8. Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA$60,970
  9. Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA$60,670
  10. Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA$60,410
Similar roles

How the pay compares

Data National medians for related occupations (O*NET related roles, BLS pay).

  1. Anesthesiologist$391,490
  2. Urologist$265,930
  3. CRNA$236,590
  4. Anesthesiologist Assistant$135,880
  5. Veterinarian$130,100
  6. Surgical Tech$64,650
  7. Vet Tech$47,380
Negotiation script builder

Ask for more, calmly and in writing

Advice Uses only what you type. Replace anything in brackets with something true.

Our view If you cite market data, cite this page's source: the BLS median for your state and the percentile your offer sits at. A specific, sourced number is easier to agree to than a feeling.

Method

How this page is built

Wages are BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics estimates for May 2025 (national, state and metropolitan area), for the occupation shown. OEWS wages are straight-time gross pay: they include base pay, commissions, production bonuses and tips, and exclude overtime, shift differentials, non-production bonuses and benefits. Percentiles describe all workers in the occupation, not entry or senior levels.

What this page can't tell you
  • Pay at a specific employer, or for self-employed workers (OEWS covers employees).
  • Experience level: percentiles are not seniority bands.
  • Equity, bonuses outside OEWS's definition, and benefits.
Sources
  1. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 estimates (public domain).
  2. O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. TryHired selected, ranked and combined the data; O*NET is not responsible for these pages.
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