Vet Tech Salary by State

The national picture

The Bureau of Labor Statistics counted 129,140 veterinary technologists and technicians in May 2025. Half of them earned more than $47,380 and half earned less. The spread is wide: the lowest-paid tenth earned under $35,710, roughly $17.17 an hour, while the top tenth earned more than $63,180, or about $30.38 an hour. The mean (average) wage of $49,120 sits above the median because a smaller number of high earners pull it up, which is why the median is the better figure to compare a job offer against.

Only 22 of the 51 jurisdictions have a median above the national one. That is normal for an occupation concentrated in a few high-wage, high-cost states. If your state is below the national median, it does not mean clinics near you are underpaying relative to their market; it means the market itself is lower, usually alongside lower housing costs.

Where vet techs earn the most

The ten highest state medians in May 2025:

These are also high-cost states. A $61,270 median in District of Columbia buys less housing than a $39,410 median in Texas in many metros, so treat the ranking as a starting point and read our highest paying states for vet techs guide for the cost-of-living side.

The lowest five medians are Louisiana ($35,530), Mississippi ($36,380), Alabama ($36,590), West Virginia ($37,700), Arkansas ($38,360). Even in those states the 90th percentile is $46,710 or more, so experienced and credentialed techs in emergency and specialty settings can still earn well above the state median.

Where the jobs are

Employment follows population. Texas has 16,730 vet techs, Florida has 11,380 vet techs, California has 11,310 vet techs, Pennsylvania has 6,620 vet techs, New York has 5,350 vet techs. Between them, those five states employ about 40 percent of the country's vet techs. Our job board reflects the same pattern: the states with the most open support-staff postings are usually California, Texas, New York.

Texas is the clearest example of the size-versus-pay gap. It employs more vet techs than any other state, 16,730, but its median of $39,410 ($18.95 an hour) is below the national figure. California employs 11,310 at a median of $60,630. Florida (11,380 employed, $46,380 median) and New York (5,350 employed, $59,010 median) round out the big four.

Every state: 10th, median and 90th percentile

Click a column heading to sort. Hourly figures are annual estimates divided by 2,080 hours, the BLS convention. "Open jobs" links to our live listings for that state when it has enough to warrant a page.

n/a means BLS did not publish that figure for the state. Source: BLS OEWS May 2025, occupation 29-2056.

How to read the percentiles

The 10th percentile is the wage that 10 percent of techs in the state earn less than; it is close to what a new graduate or an uncredentialed tech in a rural general practice can expect. The median is the middle of the whole workforce, including people with ten or twenty years of experience. The 90th percentile is where lead techs, specialty and emergency techs, and techs with a Veterinary Technician Specialist (VTS) credential tend to sit.

The widest spreads between the 10th and 90th percentiles are in Virginia ($35,590 to $75,770), Alaska ($37,010 to $75,820), Oregon ($39,920 to $77,710). A wide spread means experience and setting matter more there, and that the difference between a low and a high offer can be worth tens of thousands of dollars a year.

What moves pay within a state

The survey does not break pay down by credential, setting or shift, but postings and clinic pay scales follow consistent patterns:

• Credential. Clinics in regulated states usually pay a credentialed CVT, RVT or LVT more than an on-the-job tech because of what state law lets them do. See credentials by state.
• Setting. Emergency, specialty and university teaching hospitals generally post higher ranges than general practice, and they more often list shift differentials for nights and weekends.
• Metro versus rural. Within Texas, the Austin, Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston metros post medians around $21 to $22 an hour against a statewide $18.95 (see the Texas guide). The same gap shows up in most large states.
• Specialty credential. A VTS in anesthesia, emergency and critical care, dentistry or internal medicine is the clearest route to the 90th percentile.
• Corporate versus independent. Hospital groups tend to publish pay bands and benefits; independents vary more in both directions.

Job outlook

The BLS projects employment of veterinary technologists and technicians to grow 9% from 2025 to 2035, faster than the average for all occupations, with about 13,400 openings a year on average. Many of those openings come from people leaving the field, which is why turnover and retention bonuses show up in so many postings. Demand is strongest where pet ownership and spending on veterinary care are growing, which in practice means the suburbs of large metros.

How this compares with veterinary assistants

The May 2025 median for veterinary assistants and laboratory animal caretakers was $38,150, so the credential gap at the median is about $9,230 a year nationally. It is larger in states with strong title protection. Our vet assistant salary by state guide has the full table, and vet tech vs vet assistant explains what the extra schooling buys. If you are preparing to ask for a raise or weigh two offers, negotiating pay as a vet tech walks through how to use these percentiles in the conversation.