Veterinary Assistant Salary in Indiana
Veterinary assistants and laboratory animal caretakers in Indiana — BLS publishes the two as one combined occupation, SOC 31-9096 — earned a median annual wage of $36,420 in the May 2025 estimates, $1,730 or 5% below the national median of $38,150.
That ranks 36th of the 51 jurisdictions that publish a median.
The distinctive part is where the shortfall opens up: the Indiana 10th percentile sits only 2% below national, while the 75th is 16% below.
What these figures cover
10th percentile
$29,580
25th percentile
$32,340
75th percentile
$38,470
90th percentile
$44,780
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 state estimates — Indiana, SOC 31-9096 (Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretakers). Retrieved 2026-09-16 from the BLS Public Data API.
How to read these figures
Indiana vs. the national figures
The Indiana median is below the national median by 5%. Among the 51 jurisdictions (states plus DC) where BLS publishes a Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretakers (SOC 31-9096) median for May 2025, it ranks 36th, and 18th by estimated employment.
Differences are whole percentages, rounded half away from zero, computed from the figures shown.
Below the national figures at every percentile — the gap opens above the floor
Indiana sits below the national figures at every published percentile, but not by a uniform margin.
The 10th percentile, $29,580, is only 2% below the national $30,120 — the smallest gap anywhere in the range.
The shortfall widens above the floor: the 25th percentile, $32,340, is 9% below the national $35,660, and the 75th percentile, $38,470, is 16% below the national $45,710, the widest gap in dollars and in percent.
The 90th percentile, $44,780, is 9% below the national $49,150.
Someone benchmarking an Indiana offer against national figures would therefore overstate the middle of the state's distribution by $1,730 at the median.
A much narrower band than the national one, with the median sitting high
Half of the Indiana workers counted earned between $32,340 and $38,470, a band $6,130 wide — well under the national band of $10,050.
From the 10th to the 90th percentile the state spans $15,200, against $19,030 nationally.
The median sits toward the top of that band: $4,080 above the Indiana 25th percentile and $2,050 below the 75th, whereas the national median sits low in its band, $2,490 above the national 25th percentile and $7,560 below the national 75th.
OEWS does not publish why a distribution has this shape, so this page does not assign it a cause.
Holding an hourly posting against these figures
The hourly median in Indiana is $17.51, against $18.34 nationally — $0.83 less, the same 5% gap as the annual median.
The data set carries hourly pay at the median only, so it is the one figure to hold an hourly posting against.
For the rest of the range, ask how many hours a week the role is scheduled before comparing a posted rate with the annual percentiles.
The 18th-ranked employment estimate, for a combined occupation
BLS estimates 2,810 people were employed in this combined occupation in Indiana, 18th among the jurisdictions that publish an employment figure.
That count includes laboratory animal caretakers as well as veterinary assistants, in a split BLS does not publish.
It is a headcount of people in jobs during the survey period — not a count of openings, and not a measure of how quickly positions are filled.
Against the Indiana vet tech median
In the same release, Indiana's veterinary technologists and technicians have a median of $48,720, which is $12,300, or 34%, above the median for this occupation.
The technician median is 1.3 times this occupation's median.
Read that as the distance between two BLS occupations in one state, not as a raise any one person should expect: the two rows count different groups of workers.
Same release, same state: veterinary technologists and technicians (SOC 29-2056) in Indiana have a median of $48,720 ($23.43/hr) — $12,300 above the veterinary assistants and laboratory animal caretakers median shown on this page. Vet tech salary in Indiana →
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the median veterinary assistant salary in Indiana?
BLS does not publish veterinary assistants on their own.
The closest figure is SOC 31-9096, Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretakers, whose Indiana median annual wage was $36,420 in May 2025, or $17.51 an hour.
Half of those counted earned more and half earned less.
The national median for the same occupation is $38,150, so Indiana sits 5% below it.
How much do the top-paid workers in this occupation earn in Indiana?
The Indiana 90th percentile is $44,780, meaning one in ten workers counted in SOC 31-9096 earned more than that.
Nationally the 90th percentile is $49,150, so the Indiana figure is $4,370, or 9%, lower.
Because the occupation combines veterinary assistants with laboratory animal caretakers, the figure cannot say which of the two groups sits at the top.
What does the low end of pay look like in Indiana?
The Indiana 10th percentile is $29,580, meaning one in ten workers counted in SOC 31-9096 earned less than that.
It is the point where Indiana comes closest to the national figures — just 2% below the national 10th percentile of $30,120.
A percentile is a position in the state's wage distribution, not a career stage, and the count includes laboratory animal caretakers as well as veterinary assistants.
How does this compare with vet tech pay in Indiana?
In the same BLS release, veterinary technologists and technicians in Indiana have a median of $48,720, against $36,420 for veterinary assistants and laboratory animal caretakers — a difference of $12,300, or 34%.
The technician median is 1.3 times this occupation's median.
The two figures describe different occupations counting different workers, so the gap is context for a career decision, not a promised raise.
How many veterinary assistants work in Indiana?
BLS estimates 2,810 people employed in SOC 31-9096 in Indiana, 18th among the jurisdictions that publish an employment figure.
That number combines veterinary assistants with laboratory animal caretakers, so it overstates clinic assistants alone by an amount BLS does not publish.
It is a headcount of people in jobs, not a count of vacancies.
More Indiana Veterinary Assistant Resources
Sources
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 state estimates — Indiana, SOC 31-9096 Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretakers, and SOC 29-2056 for the technician comparison (BLS Public Data API) (retrieved 2026-09-16)
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS May 2025 national estimates — SOC 31-9096 (via O*NET OnLine) (retrieved 2026-08-15)
Wage figures: BLS OEWS May 2025 state and national estimates, SOC 31-9096, retrieved 2026-09-16. Page last updated 2026-09-24.