Veterinarian Salary in Colorado
Veterinarians in Colorado earned a median annual wage of $130,840 in the Bureau of Labor Statistics' May 2025 estimates — 1% above the national median of $130,100, a rank of 15th among the 49 jurisdictions that publish one.
The near-match at the middle hides a different shape underneath it: a higher floor and a lower ceiling than the national distribution, across a workforce of 2,340 veterinarians.
10th percentile
$77,710
25th percentile
$102,090
75th percentile
$162,110
90th percentile
$211,930
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 state estimates — Colorado, SOC 29-1131 (Veterinarians). Retrieved 2026-09-16 from the BLS Public Data API.
How to read these figures
Colorado vs. the national figures
The Colorado median is above the national median by 1%. Among the 49 jurisdictions (states plus DC) where BLS publishes a veterinarian median for May 2025, it ranks 15th, and 11th by estimated employment.
Differences are whole percentages, rounded half away from zero, computed from the figures shown.
Near the national median, but not through the whole range
At the median, Colorado sits close to the nation: $130,840 against $130,100, a difference of 1%.
The hourly figures tell the same story at $62.91 against $62.55, also a 1% gap.
Move away from the middle and the shape changes.
The Colorado 10th percentile is 5% above the national 10th percentile and the 25th is 1% above, while the 75th is 2% below and the 90th is also 2% below.
A veterinarian benchmarking an offer against the national 90th percentile of $215,700 is measuring against a ceiling the Colorado distribution does not reach; the Colorado 90th percentile is $211,930.
A narrower band than the national distribution
The middle half of Colorado veterinarians — everyone between the 25th and 75th percentiles — earned between $102,090 and $162,110, a band $60,020 wide.
The same band nationally is $64,660 wide.
From the 10th percentile ($77,710) to the 90th ($211,930), Colorado spans $134,220, against $141,780 nationally.
Both bands are narrower than the national ones even though the median itself is a close match.
OEWS publishes the distribution, not the reasons for it, so this page does not assign the shape to any particular kind of practice.
A mid-sized workforce, counted as people in jobs
BLS estimates that 2,340 veterinarians were employed in Colorado, 11th among the 49 jurisdictions that publish a median, so the percentiles on this page summarise a mid-sized workforce rather than a small one.
The figure is a headcount of people in jobs during the survey period.
It is not a count of open positions, and it says nothing about how quickly any one employer fills a role, so read it as the size of the profession in the state and nothing more.
What it takes to practise in Colorado
Practising veterinary medicine in Colorado takes a license from the State Board of Veterinary Medicine (DORA/DPO).
The route runs through the NAVLE, and Colorado has no separate pass/fail state law exam — the jurisprudence requirement instead sits inside continuing education.
Licenses renew every two years, with 32 hours of continuing education per cycle, including 2 hours on the Colorado Veterinary Practice Act.
Those steps are the same wherever a job sits in the wage distribution; the full Colorado license requirements page covers each one with its citation.
State Board of Veterinary Medicine (DORA/DPO)
Licensure by examination requires an AVMA-accredited veterinary degree — or an ECFVG or PAVE certificate for graduates of non-approved schools — plus successful completion of the NAVLE, and a showing of current clinical competency.
Successfully completed the North American Veterinary Licensing Examination (NAVLE) administered by the International Council for Veterinary Assessment (ICVA) after November of 2000.
32 hours every two-year renewal period, including 2 hours of Colorado Practice Act jurisprudence, 1 hour of substance-use-prevention training and 2 hours of supervision training; licenses renew biennially, and the first cycle is prorated.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the median veterinarian salary in Colorado?
The Bureau of Labor Statistics' May 2025 estimate puts the Colorado median annual wage for veterinarians at $130,840, or $62.91 an hour.
Half of the veterinarians counted earned more and half earned less.
The national median in the same release is $130,100, so Colorado sits 1% above it — close enough that the median alone says little about whether Colorado pays more or less than the country as a whole.
How much do the highest-paid veterinarians in Colorado earn?
The Colorado 90th percentile is $211,930, meaning one in ten veterinarians counted earned more than that.
Nationally the 90th percentile is $215,700, so the top of the Colorado distribution sits 2% below the national top even though the Colorado median is slightly above the national median.
At the 75th percentile the gap is also 2%: $162,110 in Colorado against $166,120 nationally.
What does a veterinarian at the lower end of the Colorado range earn?
The Colorado 10th percentile is $77,710 and the 25th percentile is $102,090 — 5% and 1% above the national figures of $73,920 and $101,460.
Those percentiles are positions in the wage distribution, not particular jobs or career stages, so they cannot tell you what a given employer will offer.
They do show that the floor of the Colorado range sits higher than the national one.
How many veterinarians work in Colorado?
BLS estimates 2,340 veterinarians were employed in Colorado in the May 2025 release, 11th among the 49 jurisdictions that publish a veterinarian median.
That figure is a headcount of people in jobs during the survey period, not a count of open positions or a signal of how easy or hard any role is to fill.
It describes the size of the profession in the state, alongside the percentiles drawn from the same survey.
Do I need a Colorado license to work as a veterinarian there?
To practise veterinary medicine in Colorado you need a license from the State Board of Veterinary Medicine.
The route runs through the NAVLE, and Colorado has no separate pass/fail state law exam — two hours of jurisprudence continuing education on the Practice Act arrive inside each renewal cycle instead.
The Colorado license requirements page on this site sets out each step and its citation; confirm current rules with the Board before you apply.
More Colorado Veterinarian Resources
Sources
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 state estimates — Colorado, SOC 29-1131 Veterinarians (BLS Public Data API) (retrieved 2026-09-16)
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS May 2025 national estimates — SOC 29-1131 Veterinarians (via O*NET OnLine) (retrieved 2026-08-15)
- Colorado State Board of Veterinary Medicine — licensing pages, as summarised on the Colorado license requirements page (retrieved 2026-09-16)
Wage figures: BLS OEWS May 2025 state and national estimates, SOC 29-1131, retrieved 2026-09-16. Page last updated 2026-09-22.