California, Maryland, Washington, New Jersey and Arizona posted the five highest state median veterinarian salaries in the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' May 2025 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics release (SOC 29-1131), each landing well above the $130,100 national median.
Two states — Alaska and Delaware — have no published estimate for this occupation at all.
Every figure below comes from that same BLS state-level release.
The five highest-paying states for veterinarians
The BLS OEWS May 2025 release covers veterinarians (SOC 29-1131) in 49 of 51 reporting jurisdictions — the 50 states plus Washington, D.C. Ranked by median annual wage, five states clear every other state by a wide margin:
| Rank | State | Median | 25th–75th percentile | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | California | $163,920 | $125,460–$211,840 | +26% |
| 2 | Maryland | $163,170 | $133,040–$189,450 | +25% |
| 3 | Washington | $160,510 | $124,990–$197,370 | +23% |
| 4 | New Jersey | $160,140 | $126,480–$202,930 | +23% |
| 5 | Arizona | $152,020 | $125,210–$205,030 | +17% |
All five sit between 17% and 26% above the $130,100 national median.
For the full national percentile breakdown and what drives the spread within any single state — compensation model, ownership, and practice setting — see the national veterinarian salary page.
Alaska and Delaware: why two states are missing
Alaska and Delaware are the only two of the 51 reporting jurisdictions with no published BLS estimate for veterinarians in the May 2025 release.
That is a data-suppression outcome, not a zero: the Bureau withholds an estimate when a state's employment sample for an occupation is too thin to report reliably, rather than publishing an unreliable number.
It does not mean there are no working veterinarians in either state, and it should not be read as a below-average or above-average signal.
It means BLS has nothing to publish for that state and occupation in this release — full stop.
The lowest published state medians, for contrast
At the other end of the same release, five states post the lowest published veterinarian medians:
| Rank | State | Median | 25th–75th percentile | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | South Dakota | $88,650 | $74,860–$114,400 | −32% |
| 2 | Wyoming | $97,240 | $80,230–$132,890 | −25% |
| 3 | Oklahoma | $98,090 | $71,560–$129,300 | −25% |
| 4 | Montana | $99,390 | $66,830–$130,870 | −24% |
| 5 | North Dakota | $102,180 | $88,610–$115,210 | −21% |
The spread between the top and bottom published states is substantial — California's median runs roughly 85% above South Dakota's.
BLS does not publish a reason for the gap alongside the wage tables, so this page reports the numbers rather than assigning a cause.
What a state median doesn't tell you
A state median is a useful starting point and a poor stand-in for what any specific job pays.
A few limits are worth keeping in view:
- It's a statewide aggregate. A high-cost metro and a rural county in the same state can sit far apart, and BLS's state-level figure doesn't separate them.
- It doesn't isolate compensation structure. A large share of veterinarians are paid on a production formula rather than a flat salary — see ProSal and production pay, explained — and two states with the same median can have very different mixes of production-based and flat-salary jobs underneath it.
- It isn't adjusted for cost of living. A higher headline number in a higher-cost state doesn't automatically mean more purchasing power.
- It's a single point-in-time snapshot from one BLS release, not a forecast or a guarantee for any individual offer.
Source and scope
How geography fits into the bigger pay picture
State is one input among several, and on this site it isn't the biggest one.
The number most veterinarians actually track is the ratio between pay and educational debt, not a state ranking — see veterinary school debt and the debt-to-income ratio for why that comparison matters more to most career decisions than which state pays the highest median.
Within any given state, how an associate is paid — base salary, ProSal, or straight production — typically moves an individual's income more than the state-to-state gap shown above.