How much do veterinarians make?

Veterinarian salary 2026 · BLS occupation: Veterinarians (SOC 29-1131) · Updated October 28, 2026

Answer

Veterinarians in the US earned a median of $130,100 a year ($62.55 an hour) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The middle half earned $101,460 to $166,120.

Median annual pay: $130,100; Mean $142,680
Median hourly pay: $62.55; Mean $68.60
Typical range (10th–90th): $73.9K–$216K; $73,920 to $215,700
US jobs: 83,900; +9.4% projected, 2025–35

BLS OEWS, May 2025, released April 30, 2026. Wages include tips, commissions and production bonuses but not overtime premiums, shift differentials, other bonuses or benefits; self-employed workers are not included. Methodology

How to become a veterinarian: steps, years and cost · Best-paying state after cost of living: Maryland

Veterinarian pay range

Annual wages, May 2025

10th percentile$73,920
25th percentile$101,460
Median$130,100
75th percentile$166,120
90th percentile$215,700

Half of all veterinarians earned more than $130,100 and half earned less. The lowest-paid 10% made under $73,920; the top 10% made over $215,700. The middle 50%, from the 25th to the 75th percentile, ran from $101,460 to $166,120.

These percentiles describe everyone in the occupation at one time. They are not pay steps by years of experience: they mix new and senior workers, different states, employers and hours. Pay generally rises with experience, credentials and specialization, but BLS does not publish pay by experience.

Percentile	Annual	Hourly	Monthly
10th	$73,920	$35.54	$6,160
25th	$101,460	$48.78	$8,455
Median (50th)	$130,100	$62.55	$10,842
75th	$166,120	$79.87	$13,843
90th	$215,700	$103.70	$17,975
Mean (average)	$142,680	$68.60	$11,890

Veterinarian salary by state

Median annual pay; cost of living from BEA regional price parities 2024

Median annual pay for veterinarians by state. Darker tiles pay more. A dash means BLS did not publish a figure.

Highest-paying states

1. California $163,920
2. Maryland $163,170
3. Washington $160,510
4. New Jersey $160,140
5. Arizona $152,020

Lowest-paying states

49. South Dakota $88,650
48. Wyoming $97,240
47. Oklahoma $98,090
46. Montana $99,390
45. North Dakota $102,180

Best after cost of living: Maryland. Its median of $163,170 is worth about $155,461 at national-average prices, more than in California once prices are counted.


Alabama	$105,630	41	$118,922	39	$50.79	1,020	0.48
Alaska	—	—	—	—	—	160	0.48
Arizona	$152,020	5	$150,998	2	$73.09	2,080	0.64
Arkansas	$107,710	39	$123,894	31	$51.79	540	0.41
California	$163,920	1	$148,049	4	$78.81	9,170	0.50
Colorado	$130,840	15	$126,965	25	$62.91	2,340	0.81
Connecticut	$126,190	26	$121,793	36	$60.67	950	0.56
Delaware	—	—	—	—	—	230	0.48
District of Columbia	$134,530	7	$122,410	34	$64.68	190	0.26
Florida	$131,660	13	$127,314	24	$63.30	5,360	0.54
Georgia	$126,590	24	$131,463	21	$60.86	2,670	0.55
Hawaii	$130,120	17	$118,344	41	$62.56	370	0.60
Idaho	$116,170	36	$121,652	37	$55.85	540	0.64
Illinois	$133,580	8	$133,636	18	$64.22	2,330	0.38
Indiana	$124,530	31	$133,431	19	$59.87	1,500	0.47
Iowa	$124,610	30	$141,986	7	$59.91	1,000	0.64
Kansas	$107,080	40	$118,888	40	$51.48	1,000	0.70
Kentucky	$104,100	43	$115,463	43	$50.05	1,190	0.59
Louisiana	$124,370	32	$140,998	8	$59.79	950	0.49
Maine	$130,600	16	$134,570	16	$62.79	600	0.93
Maryland	$163,170	2	$155,461	1	$78.45	1,430	0.52
Massachusetts	$140,260	6	$132,625	20	$67.43	1,920	0.53
Michigan	$125,390	28	$130,320	22	$60.28	2,030	0.46
Minnesota	$133,110	10	$134,971	14	$64.00	2,140	0.72
Mississippi	$105,370	42	$121,180	38	$50.66	480	0.41
Missouri	$114,660	37	$126,254	26	$55.12	1,920	0.65
Montana	$99,390	46	$105,013	47	$47.78	510	0.99
Nebraska	$103,500	44	$114,869	44	$49.76	780	0.76
Nevada	$125,550	27	$125,576	27	$60.36	680	0.44
New Hampshire	$128,190	22	$123,064	33	$61.63	650	0.94
New Jersey	$160,140	4	$147,181	5	$76.99	1,910	0.45
New Mexico	$129,390	18	$140,318	9	$62.21	460	0.53
New York	$131,830	11	$122,154	35	$63.38	3,390	0.35
North Carolina	$129,240	19	$137,014	10	$62.14	2,940	0.60
North Dakota	$102,180	45	$114,862	45	$49.13	270	0.63
Ohio	$125,060	29	$134,801	15	$60.12	3,430	0.62
Oklahoma	$98,090	47	$111,665	46	$47.16	1,150	0.68
Oregon	$128,880	21	$124,689	30	$61.96	1,660	0.85
Pennsylvania	$133,520	9	$136,843	11	$64.19	3,490	0.58
Rhode Island	$126,570	25	$123,749	32	$60.85	430	0.86
South Carolina	$122,130	35	$130,273	23	$58.72	1,380	0.60
South Dakota	$88,650	49	$100,072	49	$42.62	280	0.61
Tennessee	$124,350	33	$135,354	12	$59.78	1,730	0.53
Texas	$131,330	14	$135,312	13	$63.14	6,270	0.45
Utah	$123,990	34	$125,415	28	$59.61	640	0.37
Vermont	$131,820	12	$134,568	17	$63.38	280	0.94
Virginia	$126,730	23	$125,346	29	$60.93	2,700	0.66
Washington	$160,510	3	$149,991	3	$77.17	2,390	0.67
West Virginia	$128,990	20	$144,128	6	$62.01	390	0.55
Wisconsin	$108,780	38	$115,607	42	$52.30	1,830	0.62
Wyoming	$97,240	48	$104,908	48	$46.75	140	0.49

BLS OEWS, May 2025, state estimates. Adjusted pay = median ÷ (state price level ÷ 100), using BEA regional price parities for 2024; it ignores taxes. Figures for states with few workers in the occupation have larger survey errors and can change sharply from one year to the next. “—” means BLS did not publish the figure (2 states). State names link to each state’s highest-paying jobs.

Best-paying metro areas for veterinarians

282 metro areas with published pay

Highest median pay
Metro area	Median	Adjusted	Jobs
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA	$208,080	$179,980	1,350
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA	$192,160	$174,022	350
Napa, CA	$172,600	$153,349	30
Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA	$165,260	$154,926	830
Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA	$164,820	$149,978	130
Atlantic City-Hammonton, NJ	$164,620	$166,523	60
Barnstable Town, MA	$164,060	$166,811	100
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA	$163,810	$147,400	1,330
Amherst Town-Northampton, MA	$163,630	$163,233	60
Kennewick-Richland, WA	$163,520	$163,391	60

Most jobs
Metro area	Jobs	Median	Adjusted
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ	3,150	$156,150	$138,722
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA	2,740	$160,080	$140,958
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD	1,790	$139,810	$136,328
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX	1,760	$133,550	$129,547
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV	1,740	$154,350	$141,756
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA	1,610	$128,980	$128,905
Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH	1,540	$138,900	$128,295
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN	1,530	$148,730	$143,569
Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ	1,480	$161,060	$155,891
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI	1,470	$158,200	$150,923

BLS OEWS, May 2025, metropolitan statistical areas; adjusted with BEA metro price parities (2024).

What moves veterinarian pay: employers and settings

Location is the clearest pay factor in our data. California leads with a median of $163,920, followed by Maryland at $163,170, Washington at $160,510, New Jersey at $160,140, and then Arizona at $152,020. By contrast, Oklahoma at $98,090, Wyoming at $97,240, and South Dakota, the lowest, sit well below the rest. After adjusting for living costs, Maryland comes out best.

Almost nine in ten vets work in veterinary services, counted in professional and technical services, where the median is $129,990; that is essentially the overall figure. Among the smaller settings, the highest median is in other miscellaneous retailers, at $150,920. Other personal services pay $135,460; colleges and universities pay $121,590. Government pay is split. Local government has the highest median at $140,160. State government pays $115,490; the federal median is $110,590.

Across all vets, pay runs from $73,920, the 10th percentile, to $215,700, the 90th. That spread reflects state, setting and type of practice, not just years in the field; percentiles rank all vets' pay, not career stages. The 7.2% of vets who are self-employed, mostly practice owners, are not counted in these wage figures, since the survey covers only employees.

Where veterinarians work
Industry	Share of jobs	Median pay
Other Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services	89.6%	$129,990
Other Personal Services	1.5%	$135,460
Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools	1.3%	$121,590
Social Advocacy Organizations	1.2%	$131,760
Federal Executive Branch	1.1%	$110,590
Other Miscellaneous Retailers	0.8%	$150,920

Private employers and government
Employer type	Jobs	Median pay
Private employers	81,120	$130,380
Federal government (incl. Postal Service)	900	$110,590
State government (incl. schools and hospitals)	1,420	$115,490
Local government (incl. schools and hospitals)	460	$140,160

BLS OEWS, May 2025, national industry-specific and ownership estimates (4-digit NAICS).

Veterinarian pay over time

Median annual pay, 2015–2025

$130K $88.5K

2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024
2025

Nominal median (dollars of each year)In May 2025 dollars (adjusted with CPI-U)

The median rose from $88,490 in 2015 to $130,100 in 2025, up 47% in nominal dollars. After inflation, the 2015 median is worth $119,621 in May 2025 dollars, so real pay grew 9% over the period.

BLS OEWS, May 2025 and earlier May releases; inflation from the CPI-U, US city average, May of each year.

What veterinarians do

A veterinarian is the doctor for animals: a vet examines, diagnoses, prescribes, operates and, when nothing else helps, euthanizes. Most vets work in companion animal clinics and hospitals, seeing dogs and cats along with rabbits, birds and other pets. A typical clinic day mixes wellness visits and vaccines with sick-pet appointments, dental cleanings under anesthesia, spays and neuters, and reading x-rays, ultrasound images and lab results.

Other vets drive to farms and ranches to treat cattle, pigs, sheep and horses, often outdoors and in bad weather. Food safety vets work for government agencies, inspecting livestock, slaughterhouses and food-processing plants, and others teach, run research labs or care for zoo animals. Vets lead a team of veterinary technicians and assistants and spend much of the day talking with owners about costs, treatment choices and end-of-life decisions. Long hours, emergency calls, bites and scratches, and the emotional weight of euthanasia and money-limited care are a regular part of the job.

A typical day

Examine animals nose to tail and take a history from the owner
Vaccinate pets and livestock against diseases such as rabies
Draw blood and collect urine or tissue samples, then read the lab results
Take and interpret x-rays and ultrasound images
Perform surgery, from spays and neuters to wound repair and tumor removal
Explain treatment options and costs to owners, including euthanasia decisions
Supervise veterinary technicians and assistants and sign off on medical records

Also called: veterinarians, vets, companion animal practitioner, doctor of veterinary medicine (dvm), emergency veterinarian (emergency vet), large animal veterinarian (large animal vet), mixed animal veterinarian (mixed animal vet), small animal veterinarian (small animal vet).

How to become a veterinarian

Full guide

To become a veterinarian, you finish college science prerequisites (usually as part of a bachelor's degree), complete a 4-year Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM or VMD) program at an AVMA-accredited college, pass the North American Veterinary Licensing Examination (NAVLE), and get a state license. Most people take about 8 years after high school.

Typical time: 8 years; Fastest: About 7 years
Minimum education: Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM or VMD) from an AVMA Council on Education-accredited college
License: Required to practice in every state; some federal and state government positions do not require a state license
Typical training cost: $107K–$277K; See the guide for what it includes

Read the step-by-step guide to becoming a veterinarian: each step with its time and cost, education options, exams, licensing and advancement.

Is it worth it? Training cost against pay

Compare careers

Training time: 8 years; Typical path in our guide
Training cost: $107K–$277K; Tuition and exam fees, before aid
Median pay: $130,100; $79,120 above the all-jobs median ($50,980)
Cost vs. one year's pay: 82–213%; Training cost as a share of a year at the median

Once qualified, the pay difference over the typical US job at the median ($79,120 a year before tax) would repay the training cost in about 1.3–3.5 years after training ends (8 years in our guide). This is a rough guide: it ignores taxes, financial aid, interest, earnings given up while training and how pay changes over a career. How we calculate ROI.

Job outlook for veterinarians

BLS Employment Projections 2025–35

Projected growth: +9.4%; All occupations +3.5%
Jobs in 2025: 91,100; 99,600 projected for 2035
Openings each year: 3,100; New jobs plus replacements
Self-employed: 7.2%; Not in the pay figures above

BLS projects veterinarian jobs to rise 9.4% from 2025 to 2035, from 91,100 to 99,600, against 3.5% for all occupations. That means about 3,100 openings a year, most of them replacing vets who retire or leave the field. The growth comes from people spending more on their pets, more treatment options such as cancer care and advanced surgery, and a larger, older pet population.

Vets can now offer care that resembles human medicine, from cancer treatment to kidney transplants, and that range of services keeps demand rising. Still, the field is small, so 3,100 openings a year are spread thinly across the country.

Related careers and their pay

Vet Tech$47,380
Pathologist$312,400
Dermatologist$328,730
Pediatrician$210,040
OB-GYN$292,910
Nurse Practitioner$132,300
Anesthesiologist$391,490
Neurologist$248,560

Related occupations from O*NET 31.0; median annual pay from BLS OEWS, May 2025.

Veterinarian salary FAQ

How much do veterinarians make an hour?

The median hourly wage for veterinarians was $62.55 in May 2025. The lowest-paid 10% earned less than $35.54 an hour and the highest-paid 10% more than $103.70. Hourly figures are BLS estimates for all workers in the occupation, full-time and part-time.

Which state pays veterinarians the most?

California has the highest median pay for veterinarians, $163,920 a year, followed by Maryland ($163,170) and Washington ($160,510). After adjusting for each state's price level, Maryland comes out ahead at about $155,461 in national-average dollars.

Do veterinarians make $200,000 a year?

Some do: based on the BLS percentiles, between 10% and 25% of veterinarians earn more than $200,000 a year. The median is $130,100, and the top 10% earn more than $215,700. Pay generally rises with experience, specialization and location.

Do vets earn more in private practice or government jobs?

In our data, private employers pay a median of $130,380; state government pays $115,490; and the federal government is lowest at $110,590. Local government is the exception, with a median of $140,160. However, only about 460 vets work there. Government vets often handle food safety, disease control or public health, with regular hours and benefits that can offset a lower salary.

Has veterinarian pay kept up with inflation?

Yes. The median rose from $88,490 in 2015 to $130,100 in 2025. Converted to 2025 dollars, the 2015 median comes to $119,621 and so, after inflation, vets earn about 9% more than they did a decade earlier. Most of the nominal increase was inflation, but there was a real gain on top of it. These medians cover employed vets only, not self-employed practice owners.

Which states employ the most veterinarians?

California has the most, with 9,170 vets, followed by Texas with 6,270, Florida with 5,360, Pennsylvania with 3,490, and Ohio with 3,430. These are large states with many pets and, in Texas and Pennsylvania, large livestock industries. Remember that each state licenses its own vets, so moving across state lines usually means applying for a new license.

Sources

Data updated October 28, 2026 · Text checked against its sources October 28, 2026

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 estimates, released April 30, 2026, SOC 29-1131
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025–2035, released September 2026
O*NET 31.0 Database (29-1131.00), U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under CC BY 4.0; tasks rewritten by Careers and Salaries
U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities by state and metro area, 2024
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), US city average, May values
U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard field-of-study and institution data, most recent cohorts, released 2026-10-15
Veterinarians, Occupational Outlook Handbook, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · checked October 28, 2026
Veterinary specialty FAQs, American Veterinary Medical Association · checked October 28, 2026
FAQs for Candidates (NAVLE), International Council for Veterinary Assessment · checked October 28, 2026
Getting Your License; VAULT Transfer Services, American Association of Veterinary State Boards · checked October 28, 2026
DVM Tuition and Fees, University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine · checked October 28, 2026
Cost of Attendance, Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine · checked October 28, 2026
Pre-Vet Students: VMCAS and VMSAR, American Association of Veterinary Medical Colleges · checked October 28, 2026
License Finder, CareerOneStop (U.S. Department of Labor) · checked October 28, 2026
NAVLE testing windows, International Council for Veterinary Assessment · checked October 28, 2026

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