Veterinarian Salary in Maine
Veterinarians in Maine earned a median annual wage of $130,600 in the Bureau of Labor Statistics' May 2025 estimates, a 0% difference from the national median of $130,100 and 16th of the 49 jurisdictions that publish a median — the two medians are effectively level.
That near-match hides a differently shaped distribution: Maine's floor sits well above the national floor, while the top of the range falls well short of the national top.
BLS counted 600 veterinarians in the state, 36th by employment among those same jurisdictions.
10th percentile
$81,780
25th percentile
$104,620
75th percentile
$155,000
90th percentile
$194,680
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 state estimates — Maine, SOC 29-1131 (Veterinarians). Retrieved 2026-09-16 from the BLS Public Data API.
How to read these figures
Maine vs. the national figures
The Maine median is in line with the national median. Among the 49 jurisdictions (states plus DC) where BLS publishes a veterinarian median for May 2025, it ranks 16th, and 36th by estimated employment.
Differences are whole percentages, rounded half away from zero, computed from the figures shown.
A flat median that hides a different shape
At the median, Maine and the nation are almost identical: $130,600 against $130,100.
The hourly median tells the same story at $62.79 against $62.55, also a 0% difference.
Move away from the middle and the gap opens.
The Maine 10th percentile is 11% above the national 10th percentile and the 25th is 3% above, while the 75th is 7% below and the 90th is 10% below.
A veterinarian benchmarking an offer against the national 90th percentile of $215,700 is measuring against a figure the Maine distribution does not reach; the Maine 90th percentile is $194,680.
A tighter band than the national distribution
The middle half of Maine veterinarians — everyone between the 25th and 75th percentiles — earned between $104,620 and $155,000, a band $50,380 wide.
The same band nationally is $64,660 wide, so the Maine middle is noticeably tighter.
From the 10th percentile ($81,780) to the 90th ($194,680), Maine spans $112,900, against $141,780 nationally.
A narrower spread leaves less room for a Maine offer to sit far from the median in either direction.
OEWS publishes the shape of the distribution, not the reasons behind it, so this page does not attribute the narrower band to any particular kind of employer.
A modest workforce, counted as people in jobs
BLS estimates that 600 veterinarians were employed in Maine, 36th of the 49 jurisdictions that publish a median, so the percentiles on this page summarise a comparatively small group.
The figure is a headcount of people in jobs during the survey period, not a count of open positions, and it says nothing about how quickly any employer fills a role.
A smaller count can also make each percentile more sensitive to a handful of individual wages, so read the shape of the Maine distribution as a description of the surveyed workforce, not a guarantee about any one offer.
What it takes to practise in Maine
Practising veterinary medicine in Maine takes a license from the Maine Board of Veterinary Medicine.
Every applicant certifies a passing national-exam score through AAVSB — the NAVLE for a recent graduate, or, depending on the year of original licensure, the legacy NBE and CCT or the NBE alone — and the written jurisprudence exam still on the books has, per the board's own licensing page, been replaced with an attestation statement on the application.
A veterinarian licensed elsewhere can apply by endorsement or through Maine's universal-recognition route, and continuing education runs 24 hours every two years alongside an annual license renewal each September 30.
Those steps are the same wherever a job sits in the wage distribution; the full Maine license requirements page covers each one with its citation.
Maine Board of Veterinary Medicine
Maine licenses veterinarians through the Maine Board of Veterinary Medicine.
the applicant submits proof from AAVSB of a passing score on the NAVLE
24 hours of board-approved CE per two-year cycle ending September 30 of an even-numbered year, while the license itself renews annually on September 30
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the median veterinarian salary in Maine?
The Bureau of Labor Statistics' May 2025 estimate puts the Maine median annual wage for veterinarians at $130,600, or $62.79 an hour.
Half of the veterinarians counted earned more and half earned less.
The national median in the same release is $130,100, a 0% difference — close enough that the median alone says little about whether Maine pays differently than the country as a whole.
How much do the highest-paid veterinarians in Maine earn?
The Maine 90th percentile is $194,680, meaning one in ten veterinarians counted earned more than that.
Nationally the 90th percentile is $215,700, so the top of the Maine distribution sits 10% below the national top even though the Maine median matches the national median.
At the 75th percentile the gap is similar: $155,000 in Maine against $166,120 nationally, a 7% difference.
What does a veterinarian at the lower end of the Maine range earn?
The Maine 10th percentile is $81,780 and the 25th percentile is $104,620 — 11% and 3% 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 lower end of the Maine range sits higher than the national one.
How many veterinarians work in Maine?
BLS estimates 600 veterinarians employed in Maine, 36th of the 49 jurisdictions that publish a median, and 16th by median wage.
That figure is a headcount of people in jobs during the May 2025 survey period, not a count of open positions, so it describes the size of the surveyed workforce rather than how easy or hard any one role is to fill.
Do I need a Maine license to work as a veterinarian there?
To practise veterinary medicine in Maine you need a license from the Maine Board of Veterinary Medicine, which includes a passing national-exam score (the NAVLE for a recent graduate) certified through AAVSB and, per the board's own licensing page, an attestation statement in place of the written jurisprudence exam still on the books.
The Maine license requirements page on this site sets out each step and its citation; confirm current rules with the board before you apply.
More Maine Veterinarian Resources
Sources
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 state estimates — Maine, 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)
- Maine Board of Veterinary Medicine — licensing pages, as summarised on the Maine 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.