Veterinary Technician Salary by State (2026)

Veterinary Technologists and Technicians earn the most in District of Columbia at $61,270 a year and the least in Puerto Rico at $27,970 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). The national median is $47,380. All 52 states and territories with reported data are ranked below, with a cost-of-living adjusted column.

Highest median
$61,270

District of Columbia

National median
$47,380

BLS OEWS, May 2025

Lowest median
$27,970

Puerto Rico

States reporting
52

of 54 OEWS areas

Top 5 states for Veterinary Technologists and Technicians

  1. 1. District of Columbia$61,270 median · $55,750 adjusted · 120 employed
  2. 2. California$60,630 median · $54,760 adjusted · 11,310 employed
  3. 3. Washington$59,740 median · $55,825 adjusted · 2,290 employed
  4. 4. New York$59,010 median · $54,679 adjusted · 5,350 employed
  5. 5. Minnesota$57,270 median · $58,071 adjusted · 3,560 employed

Lowest-paying states for Veterinary Technologists and Technicians

  1. 52. Puerto Rico$27,970 median · no price parity · 480 employed
  2. 51. Louisiana$35,530 median · $40,280 adjusted · 2,220 employed
  3. 50. Mississippi$36,380 median · $41,839 adjusted · 650 employed
  4. 49. Alabama$36,590 median · $41,194 adjusted · 1,880 employed
  5. 48. West Virginia$37,700 median · $42,124 adjusted · 400 employed

Veterinary Technician salary in every state

Sort by any column. Employment is the number of veterinary technologists and technicians 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
#
1District of Columbia$61,270$50,390$80,030120$55,750
2California$60,630$51,570$64,10011,310$54,760
3Washington$59,740$50,700$64,4802,290$55,825
4New York$59,010$50,410$66,3105,350$54,679
5Minnesota$57,270$49,080$60,5603,560$58,071
6Oregon$55,810$48,360$62,4601,120$53,995
7Virginia$52,090$46,030$62,0402,790$51,521
8Connecticut$50,950$48,220$61,7801,690$49,175
9Maine$50,810$48,610$56,110910$52,354
10Nevada$50,250$47,460$63,6001,120$50,261
11Michigan$49,710$45,180$58,9802,550$51,664
12Colorado$49,650$46,580$59,3403,720$48,180
13Massachusetts$49,540$47,670$60,2403,990$46,843
14Vermont$49,490$48,430$54,290390$50,522
15New Jersey$49,050$45,160$58,6002,910$45,081
16North Dakota$48,790$39,530$55,440340$54,845
17New Hampshire$48,780$45,550$59,040870$46,830
18Indiana$48,720$41,330$56,3701,820$52,202
19Hawaii$48,550$45,930$54,950270$44,156
20Delaware$48,370$39,040$56,340530$48,463
21Ohio$47,990$40,560$53,1104,790$51,728
22North Carolina$47,620$38,520$55,0202,580$50,484
23Maryland$47,350$44,520$60,4602,540$45,113
24Wisconsin$47,020$44,390$52,3102,590$49,971
25Alaska$46,480$37,630$60,510380$45,409
26Illinois$46,440$45,140$57,5005,040$46,460
27Pennsylvania$46,430$38,060$50,1406,620$47,585
28Florida$46,380$39,140$49,60011,380$44,849
29Arizona$46,300$43,510$49,3403,970$45,989
30Kansas$45,810$38,650$51,6101,270$50,862
31Iowa$45,560$38,150$49,2101,220$51,913
32Rhode Island$45,310$38,130$60,760530$44,300
33South Dakota$45,300$37,430$47,040300$51,137
34New Mexico$44,790$37,370$47,360890$48,573
35Nebraska$43,680$39,120$46,910690$48,478
36Missouri$43,520$37,670$46,4902,040$47,921
37Georgia$43,060$37,200$47,4502,410$44,718
38Tennessee$42,810$37,170$51,0601,640$46,598
39Idaho$42,120$37,270$46,810790$44,107
40Montana$41,170$37,380$47,990480$43,499
41Utah$40,560$36,350$47,8501,550$41,026
42Kentucky$39,590$36,300$46,5601,670$43,911
43Texas$39,410$36,040$46,78016,730$40,605
44Oklahoma$39,100$36,070$46,7201,060$44,511
45South Carolina$39,020$36,310$47,3102,540$41,622
46Wyoming$38,650$37,410$46,300310$41,698
47Arkansas$38,360$32,360$43,940320$44,124
48West Virginia$37,700$31,330$44,860400$42,124
49Alabama$36,590$30,210$38,9401,880$41,194
50Mississippi$36,380$31,220$39,250650$41,839
51Louisiana$35,530$30,320$38,2402,220$40,280
52Puerto Rico$27,970$23,850$39,830480N/A

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 Technologists and Technicians, that changes the ranking: District of Columbia leads on raw pay at $61,270, while Minnesota leads once prices are taken into account at $58,071.

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

Veterinary Technician pay by state: FAQ

Which state pays Veterinary Technologists and Technicians the most?

District of Columbia reports the highest median wage for Veterinary Technologists and Technicians at $61,270 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025), followed by California ($60,630) and Washington ($59,740).

Which state pays Veterinary Technologists and Technicians the least?

Puerto Rico reports the lowest median for Veterinary Technologists and Technicians at $27,970 a year, $33,300 below the highest-paying state (BLS OEWS, May 2025).

Where do Veterinary Technologists and Technicians earn the most after cost of living?

Dividing each state median by that state's BEA Regional Price Parity puts Minnesota first at $58,071 in national-average dollars, from a raw median of $57,270. BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024.

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