Veterinarian Salary in Rhode Island
Veterinarians in Rhode Island earned a median annual wage of $126,570 in the Bureau of Labor Statistics' May 2025 estimates — $3,530, or 3%, below the national median of $130,100.
The near-match at the middle hides a very different shape: the Rhode Island 10th percentile sits 44% above the national 10th percentile, while the 75th and 90th percentiles sit 16% and 9% below their national counterparts.
The state counts 430 veterinarians, 42nd of the 49 jurisdictions that publish a median.
10th percentile
$106,730
25th percentile
$108,820
75th percentile
$139,730
90th percentile
$196,300
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 state estimates — Rhode Island, SOC 29-1131 (Veterinarians). Retrieved 2026-09-16 from the BLS Public Data API.
How to read these figures
Rhode Island vs. the national figures
The Rhode Island median is below the national median by 3%. Among the 49 jurisdictions (states plus DC) where BLS publishes a veterinarian median for May 2025, it ranks 25th, and 42nd by estimated employment.
Differences are whole percentages, rounded half away from zero, computed from the figures shown.
Close at the median, far apart at the floor and ceiling
At the median, Rhode Island sits close to the nation: $126,570 against $130,100, a difference of $3,530, or 3%.
The hourly median tells the same story at $60.85 against $62.55, also 3% below.
The percentiles away from the middle move in opposite directions.
The Rhode Island 10th percentile is $106,730, 44% above the national 10th percentile of $73,920, and the 25th percentile is $108,820, 7% above the national 25th percentile of $101,460.
The top of the range moves the other way: the 75th percentile is $139,730, 16% below the national 75th percentile of $166,120, and the 90th percentile is $196,300, 9% below the national 90th percentile of $215,700.
A veterinarian benchmarking an offer against the national 90th percentile would be aiming at a figure the Rhode Island distribution rarely reaches.
A narrower band than the national one, weighted toward the top
The middle half of Rhode Island veterinarians — those between the 25th and 75th percentiles — earned between $108,820 and $139,730, a band $30,910 wide.
The same band nationally is $64,660 wide, so the Rhode Island band is much narrower.
Within that band, the median sits $17,750 above the 25th percentile but only $13,160 below the 75th percentile, closer to the top of the range than the bottom.
From the 10th percentile ($106,730) to the 90th ($196,300), Rhode Island spans $89,570, against $141,780 nationally.
OEWS publishes the shape of the distribution, not the reasons behind it, so this page does not assign the narrower Rhode Island band to any particular kind of practice.
A small workforce, counted as people in jobs
BLS estimates that 430 veterinarians were employed in Rhode Island, 42nd of the 49 jurisdictions that publish a median, so the percentiles on this page summarise a small group.
The state's median itself ranks higher, 25th of the same 49 jurisdictions, so a small workforce and a mid-pack median can sit side by side.
The employment 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 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 Rhode Island
Rhode Island licenses veterinarians through the Board of Veterinary Medicine within the Department of Health, which reviews applicants and forwards recommendations for the Department's final approval.
The NAVLE is the licensing exam for anyone examined after April 30, 2000, and Rhode Island sets no passing score of its own; the national criterion-referenced standard applies.
There is no state jurisprudence exam layered on top.
A veterinarian licensed by examination in another state can be endorsed without retesting, and foreign graduates qualify through ECFVG, with PAVE accepted at the Department's discretion.
Licenses renew every two years, each May 1, against 24 hours of continuing education.
Those steps are the same wherever a job sits in the wage distribution; the full Rhode Island license requirements page covers each one with its citation.
RI Board of Veterinary Medicine (RI Dept. of Health)
Rhode Island licenses veterinarians through the Board of Veterinary Medicine within the Department of Health.
The NAVLE is the licensing exam for anyone examined after April 30, 2000, and Rhode Island sets no passing score of its own; the national criterion-referenced standard applies. There is no state jurisprudence exam.
Licenses renew biennially each May 1 against 24 hours of continuing education.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the median veterinarian salary in Rhode Island?
The Bureau of Labor Statistics' May 2025 estimate puts the Rhode Island median annual wage for veterinarians at $126,570, or $60.85 an hour.
Half of the veterinarians counted earned more and half earned less.
The national median in the same release is $130,100, so Rhode Island sits 3% below it — a small gap at the middle that does not reflect how differently the rest of the distribution is shaped.
How much do the highest-paid veterinarians in Rhode Island earn?
The Rhode Island 90th percentile is $196,300, meaning one in ten veterinarians counted earned more than that.
Nationally the 90th percentile is $215,700, so the top of the Rhode Island distribution sits 9% below the national top.
At the 75th percentile the gap is wider: $139,730 in Rhode Island against $166,120 nationally, a difference of 16%.
What does the lower end of the Rhode Island range look like?
The Rhode Island 10th percentile is $106,730, 44% above the national 10th percentile of $73,920, and the 25th percentile is $108,820, 7% above the national 25th percentile of $101,460.
Those percentiles are positions in the wage distribution, not particular jobs or career stages, so they cannot tell you what any one employer will offer.
They do show that the floor of the Rhode Island range sits well above the national floor.
How many veterinarians work in Rhode Island?
BLS estimates 430 veterinarians employed in Rhode Island, 42nd of the 49 jurisdictions that publish a veterinarian median.
That figure counts people in jobs during the survey period; it is not a count of open positions and says nothing about how easy or hard a role is to fill.
Rhode Island's median itself ranks 25th of the same 49 jurisdictions.
Do I need a Rhode Island license to work as a veterinarian there?
To practise veterinary medicine in Rhode Island you need a license granted by the Department of Health, on the recommendation of its Board of Veterinary Medicine.
The route runs through the NAVLE, with no separate state jurisprudence exam, and a veterinarian licensed elsewhere can be endorsed without retesting.
The Rhode Island license requirements page on this site sets out each step and its citation; confirm current rules with the Board before you apply.
More Rhode Island Veterinarian Resources
Sources
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 state estimates — Rhode Island, 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)
- Rhode Island Department of Health — Veterinary Medicine licensing page, as summarised on the Rhode Island 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.