Veterinary Assistant Salary in 2026: What Veterinary Assistants Earn
25th percentile
$35,660
Median (50th)
$38,150
75th percentile
$45,710
90th percentile
$49,150
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 national release — SOC 31-9096, Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretakers (a combined occupation).
Veterinary Assistant Compensation Structure
Compensation for veterinary assistantsvaries significantly by employment type. Here's how the most common structures break down:
Bottom 10%
Typically new hires with no prior animal-care experience and lower-cost-of-living markets.
$30,120 or less
Middle 50%
The band most postings fall in — roughly $17 to $22 per hour.
$35,660–$45,710
Median
About $18.34/hr. Half of workers in this occupation earn more than this, half less.
$38,150
Top 10%
Concentrated in higher-cost metros and settings that pay above the clinic norm, such as research/laboratory animal care.
$49,150 or more
Veterinary Assistant Salary by Setting
Both figures are BLS OEWS May 2025 medians for the same occupation code (SOC 31-9096); the veterinary-services row isolates workers employed in veterinary clinics specifically, while the all-industries row also includes laboratory animal caretakers working outside clinical practice.
What Affects Veterinary Assistant Salary?
Two caveats matter more here than for most roles on this site, and both push in the same direction: read this figure as a directional benchmark, not a precise read on clinic pay.
The first is the occupation itself. The Bureau of Labor Statistics groups veterinary assistants together with laboratory animal caretakers under a single code, SOC 31-9096. Laboratory animal caretakers work in research facilities and universities, not veterinary clinics, so the national figures above describe both groups combined — not clinic assistants alone.
The second is industry mix. Look at the same occupation filtered to veterinary services specifically (NAICS 541940) and the median comes in slightly lower, at $37,930 rather than $38,150 — see the setting breakdown below. That is the more representative number if you work, or plan to work, in a clinic rather than a lab.
Beyond those two caveats, the usual drivers apply: practice type, region, and whether the employer distinguishes assistant pay from credentialed veterinary technician pay, which sits meaningfully higher at a national median of $47,380. Wages also vary substantially by state; per-state data is not published on this page yet.