Veterinarian salary in Chicago, IL: $148,730 median.
BLS reports occupational wages for the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN metropolitan statistical area (CBSA 16980), which includes Chicago, Naperville and Elgin and surrounding communities. Figures describe that whole area, not Chicago city limits. It spans Illinois and Indiana.
Veterinarians in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN metropolitan area earned a median annual wage of $148,730 in May 2025, according to BLS (OEWS, SOC 29-1131); the OEWS mean annual wage was $162,730. That median is 14% above the U.S. median of $130,100. BLS estimates about 1,530 people work in this occupation across the metro.
Data Among the 36 metro areas whose estimate for this occupation meets TryHired's reliability rule, this metro ranks 11 by median wage.
Data Separately, BEA puts 2024 price levels across the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN metropolitan area at 103.6 (U.S. = 100): prices for the average consumer are about 4% above the national level. That is context, not an adjusted salary. Cost of living in Chicago, IL.
What area these numbers cover
Data The BLS geography behind every figure on this page.
- Search label
- Chicago, IL
- BLS source geography
- Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN
- Geography type
- Metropolitan Statistical Area
- CBSA code
- 16980
- States
- Illinois, Indiana
- Delineation
- OMB Bulletin 23-01, as used by BLS OEWS May 2025
Local, state and national pay
Data Same occupation (SOC 29-1131), same BLS release (May 2025). This metro spans more than one state; each state is shown.
| Geography | Median annual wage | Mean annual wage | Employment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN (metro, CBSA 16980) | $148,730 | $162,730 | 1,530 |
| Illinois (state) | $133,580 | $153,810 | 2,330 |
| Indiana (state) | $124,530 | $127,060 | 1,500 |
| United States | $130,100 | $142,680 | 83,900 |
Veterinarian salary in Illinois · National Veterinarian salary · Careers in Chicago, IL.
Data Nationally, BLS projects employment in this occupation to change +9.4% from 2025 to 2035. BLS does not publish metro projections in this dataset, so that is national context, not a local forecast.
Reliable metro medians in Illinois
Data Metro areas that include part of this state and pass the reliability rule.
Reliable metro medians in Indiana
Data Metro areas that include part of this state and pass the reliability rule.
Use the local number
Advice Uses only what you type. A local, sourced median is easier to agree to than a national one.
How this page is built
BLS OEWS May 2025 estimates for the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN metropolitan statistical area (CBSA 16980) and SOC 29-1131 (Veterinarians). Chicago, IL is the search label for that area; BLS does not publish city-limit wages. Employment is the number of people working in the occupation (excluding the self-employed), not job openings. Ranks use only metro estimates that pass the reliability rule (500+ jobs, employment PRSE ≤ 20%, mean-wage PRSE ≤ 10%, non-degenerate distribution); suppressed values are never imputed. Searches this page answers include “veterinarian salary chicago”, “veterinarian salary in chicago”, “chicago veterinarian salary” (Ahrefs, U.S.).
- Cost of living: wages are not adjusted for local prices.
- Pay at a specific employer, in one city's limits, or for self-employed workers.
- Local outlook: BLS projections here are national.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 metropolitan-area estimates (2018 SOC; metropolitan statistical areas per OMB Bulletin 23-01), public domain.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 estimates (public domain).
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections program, national occupational projections 2025–35 (no metro projections are published in this dataset).
- U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024 (released February 19, 2026).
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