Rhode Island, Massachusetts, California, New Jersey and Maine posted the five highest state median veterinary assistant salaries in the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' May 2025 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics release (SOC 31-9096), each running 19% to 30% above the $38,150 national median.
Washington, D.C. — not a state, but published in the same release — actually reports a higher median than four of those five.
Every figure below comes from that same BLS state-level release.
The five highest-paying states for veterinary assistants
The BLS OEWS May 2025 release covers veterinary assistants (SOC 31-9096) in all 50 states plus Washington, D.C. Ranked by median annual wage among the 50 states, five stand out:
| Rank | State | Median | 25th–75th percentile | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rhode Island | $49,770 | $37,440–$49,930 | +30% |
| 2 | Massachusetts | $46,670 | $37,440–$59,290 | +22% |
| 3 | California | $46,260 | $39,760–$49,290 | +21% |
| 4 | New Jersey | $46,160 | $39,700–$48,190 | +21% |
| 5 | Maine | $45,510 | $39,640–$47,260 | +19% |
All five sit between 19% and 30% above the $38,150 national median.
These are all-industry figures — this occupation isn't broken out by industry at the state level the way it is nationally.
For the full national percentile breakdown and the veterinary-services-specific figure, see the national veterinary assistant salary page.
Washington, D.C., and the combined-occupation caveat
Washington, D.C. isn't a state, so it's reported separately from the ranking above — but at a $49,080 median (+29% vs. national), it would land in second place if it were included, ahead of Massachusetts, California and New Jersey.
D.C.'s employment base for this occupation is small (240 workers, per BLS), so treat the figure as directionally high rather than as stable a benchmark as a larger state's number.
A second caveat applies to every figure on this page, not just D.C.'s.
BLS reports this occupation as SOC 31-9096, "Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretakers" — a single combined code.
Laboratory animal caretakers work in research facilities and universities, not veterinary clinics, so every state figure above and below describes both groups together.
There's no state-level breakout that isolates clinic assistants the way the national release does with its veterinary-services-specific figure — see the national salary page for that industry-specific number.
The five lowest published state medians, for contrast
At the other end of the same release, five states post the lowest published veterinary assistant medians:
| Rank | State | Median | 25th–75th percentile | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mississippi | $30,360 | $27,880–$36,840 | −20% |
| 2 | Louisiana | $30,480 | $28,880–$35,830 | −20% |
| 3 | West Virginia | $32,350 | $28,250–$35,740 | −15% |
| 4 | Kentucky | $34,140 | $29,350–$36,520 | −11% |
| 5 | Arkansas | $34,570 | $29,500–$36,830 | −9% |
Unlike some occupations on this site, every one of the 50 states plus D.C. has a published median for veterinary assistants — there's no data-suppression gap to flag here.
The spread is still wide: Rhode Island's median runs roughly 64% above Mississippi's.
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 combines two different jobs. As covered above, SOC 31-9096 folds veterinary assistants in clinics together with laboratory animal caretakers in research settings — two states with the same median can have very different mixes of the two underneath it.
- It doesn't isolate credential status. Whether an employer distinguishes assistant pay from a credentialed technician's, or from NAVTA's optional Approved Veterinary Assistant designation, varies by practice and isn't visible in a single state number.
- 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 clearest, best-sourced lever for pay in this role isn't geography — it's credentialing.
Credentialed veterinary technicians carry a national median of $47,380, roughly $9,000 above the $38,150 assistant figure, a gap tied to an accredited program and the VTNE rather than to which state you work in — see assistant vs. credentialed technician for the full comparison.
Within any given state, that credentialing gap will typically move an individual's income more than the state-to-state spread shown above.