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Pay by state · 52 areas

Veterinary Assistant and Laboratory Animal Caretaker Salary by State (2026)

Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretakers earn the most in Rhode Island at $49,770 a year and the least in Mississippi at $30,360 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). The national median is $38,150. The table below covers all 50 states, DC and Puerto Rico, with a cost-of-living adjusted column.

Highest median
$49,770Rhode Island
National median
$38,150BLS OEWS, May 2025
Lowest median
$30,360Mississippi
Areas reporting
52of 54 OEWS areas

Top and bottom

Highest- and lowest-paying states for veterinary assistants and laboratory animal caretakers

Ranked on the state median among the 50 states and DC. Territories are in the full table but not ranked here.

Highest median pay

  1. 1Rhode Island$49,770
  2. 2District of Columbia$49,080
  3. 3Massachusetts$46,670
  4. 4California$46,260
  5. 5New Jersey$46,160

Lowest median pay

  1. 1Mississippi$30,360
  2. 2Louisiana$30,480
  3. 3West Virginia$32,350
  4. 4Kentucky$34,140
  5. 5Arkansas$34,570

All states

Veterinary Assistant and Laboratory Animal Caretaker salary in every state

Sort by any column. Employment is the number of veterinary assistants and laboratory animal caretakers OEWS estimates in that state; blank cells are estimates BLS suppressed because the sample was too small.

Annual wages by state, sortable by median, quartiles, employment and cost-of-living adjusted median
#
1RIRhode Island
$49,770
$37,440$49,930380$48,661
2DCDistrict of Columbia
$49,080
$46,960$60,700240$44,658
3MAMassachusetts
$46,670
$37,440$59,2902,130$44,129
4CACalifornia
$46,260
$39,760$49,29016,080$41,781
5NJNew Jersey
$46,160
$39,700$48,1903,270$42,425
6MEMaine
$45,510
$39,640$47,260690$46,893
7MNMinnesota
$45,280
$38,000$46,5001,450$45,913
8MDMaryland
$44,770
$39,440$49,2302,220$42,655
9NYNew York
$44,750
$38,610$46,5605,790$41,466
10OROregon
$44,370
$38,570$46,9503,170$42,927
11CTConnecticut
$44,250
$36,720$51,4701,390$42,708
12WAWashington
$44,150
$39,930$47,2204,380$41,257
13HIHawaii
$44,070
$36,330$45,120570$40,081
14COColorado
$38,900
$37,020$45,0302,910$37,748
15DEDelaware
$38,610
$37,070$46,850N/A$38,684
16MTMontana
$38,340
$35,680$40,270550$40,509
17AZArizona
$38,250
$37,010$45,9003,340$37,993
18MIMichigan
$37,960
$35,720$43,9304,420$39,452
19WYWyoming
$37,880
$31,050$38,570150$40,867
20FLFlorida
$37,830
$36,160$44,9306,790$36,581
21UTUtah
$37,560
$35,810$45,760580$37,992
22IDIdaho
$37,530
$35,360$39,160680$39,301
23NMNew Mexico
$37,500
$35,430$39,620520$40,667
24ILIllinois
$37,480
$35,110$43,4203,270$37,496
25VAVirginia
$37,450
$35,660$45,2704,810$37,041
26VTVermont
$37,290
$35,670$39,250370$38,067
27NDNorth Dakota
$37,160
$35,800$43,880270$41,772
28PAPennsylvania
$37,140
$34,940$42,9903,760$38,064
29NCNorth Carolina
$37,070
$35,250$39,0806,910$39,300
30SCSouth Carolina
$36,980
$30,530$40,6001,720$39,446
31NVNevada
$36,920
$36,330$42,4701,380$36,928
32NHNew Hampshire
$36,910
$31,050$44,510770$35,434
33WIWisconsin
$36,850
$35,370$38,6302,200$39,163
34MOMissouri
$36,660
$34,150$41,6502,010$40,367
35AKAlaska
$36,490
$28,230$46,760130$35,649
36INIndiana
$36,420
$32,340$38,4702,810$39,023
37OHOhio
$36,340
$34,070$38,6604,640$39,170
38TNTennessee
$36,320
$34,520$38,2303,530$39,534
39NENebraska
$36,100
$34,130$37,750900$40,065
40GAGeorgia
$35,850
$33,560$38,2404,570$37,230
41ALAlabama
$35,800
$29,010$37,9701,240$40,305
42IAIowa
$35,720
$30,590$39,0201,380$40,701
43KSKansas
$35,680
$30,800$38,4601,570$39,615
44OKOklahoma
$34,850
$29,810$36,3801,740$39,673
45TXTexas
$34,850
$29,340$43,2708,440$35,907
46SDSouth Dakota
$34,700
$29,320$36,100250$39,171
47ARArkansas
$34,570
$29,500$36,8301,460$39,764
48KYKentucky
$34,140
$29,350$36,5201,840$37,866
49WVWest Virginia
$32,350
$28,250$35,740730$36,146
50LALouisiana
$30,480
$28,880$35,8301,230$34,555
51MSMississippi
$30,360
$27,880$36,840560$34,915
52PRPuerto Rico
$23,310
$22,040$25,430430N/A

Method

How the cost-of-living adjustment works

The adjusted column divides each state median by that state's BEA Regional Price Parity (RPP) and multiplies by 100. RPPs measure how much a fixed basket of goods, services and rents costs in one state relative to the national average, so the result restates local pay in national-average dollars.

For veterinary assistants and laboratory animal caretakers, the adjustment does not change the leader: Rhode Island is first on raw pay and still first once prices are taken into account, at $48,661.

Source: BEA Regional Price Parities by State, 2024 (public domain). The adjustment is NueCareer's calculation, not a BLS or BEA published statistic.

Questions

Veterinary Assistant and Laboratory Animal Caretaker pay by state: FAQ

Which state pays veterinary assistants and laboratory animal caretakers the most?

Rhode Island reports the highest median wage for veterinary assistants and laboratory animal caretakers at $49,770 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025), followed by District of Columbia ($49,080) and Massachusetts ($46,670).

Which state pays veterinary assistants and laboratory animal caretakers the least?

Among the 50 states and DC, Mississippi reports the lowest median for veterinary assistants and laboratory animal caretakers at $30,360 a year, $19,410 below the highest-paying state (BLS OEWS, May 2025). Among the territories, Puerto Rico reports $23,310.

Is the highest-paying state the best for veterinary assistants and laboratory animal caretakers after cost of living?

Yes. Rhode Island stays first after dividing each state median by its BEA Regional Price Parity, at $48,661 in national-average dollars from a raw $49,770. BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024; the adjustment is NueCareer's calculation.

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