Veterinary Assistant Salary in Michigan
Veterinary assistants and laboratory animal caretakers in Michigan — BLS publishes the two as one combined occupation, SOC 31-9096 — earned a median annual wage of $37,960 in the May 2025 estimates, level with the national median of $38,150 at 0% and 18th of the 51 jurisdictions that publish a median.
The distinctive part is the shape: Michigan sits 1% above the national 10th percentile, even at the 25th, then falls behind — 4% below the national 75th, 5% below the 90th.
Posted pay in Michigan veterinary assistant listings
$17.50/hrmedian
The middle half of posted pay runs $16–$18.50/hr, from 7 distinct pay ranges at 6 employers (Westland Veterinary Hospital, Grayling Hospital For Animals, Hartrick Veterinary Clinic).
From VeterinaryHires' live job listings as of November 9, 2026. See the listings
What these figures cover
10th percentile
$30,410
25th percentile
$35,720
75th percentile
$43,930
90th percentile
$46,730
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 state estimates — Michigan, SOC 31-9096 (Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretakers).
Retrieved 2026-09-16 from the BLS Public Data API.
How to read these figures
Michigan vs. the national figures
The Michigan median is in line with the national median; 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 18th, between Arizona ($38,250) and Wyoming ($37,880), and 9th by estimated employment (see the highest-paying states for veterinary assistants). In the same release, kennel attendant pay in Michigan has a $30,320 median, 37th of 51, between South Dakota ($30,390) and Nevada ($30,320).
Differences are whole percentages, rounded half away from zero, computed from the figures shown.
Even with the nation through the lower half, behind at the top
Michigan and the national distribution track each other closely for most of the range.
The 10th percentile, $30,410, is 1% above the national $30,120, and the 25th percentile, $35,720, is even with the national $35,660.
At the median the table computes a 0% difference — the national figure sits fractionally higher before rounding.
From there Michigan falls behind: the 75th percentile, $43,930, is 4% below the national $45,710, and the 90th, $46,730, is 5% below the national $49,150.
An offer near the Michigan middle is a national-middle offer; the state's shortfalls live in the upper half.
A band narrower than the national one
Half of the Michigan workers counted earned between $35,720 and $43,930, a band $8,210 wide, against $10,050 nationally.
From the 10th to the 90th percentile the state spans $16,320, against $19,030 nationally.
Inside the band the median sits in the lower half: $2,240 above the 25th percentile and $5,970 short of the 75th, a bottom-heavy position similar to the national one.
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 Michigan is $18.25, against $18.34 nationally — a difference of $0.09, which rounds to the same 0% 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.
What the employment estimate covers
BLS estimates 4,420 people were employed in this combined occupation in Michigan, 9th among the jurisdictions that publish an employment figure.
The 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 Michigan vet tech median
In the same release, Michigan's veterinary technologists and technicians have a median of $49,710, which is $11,750, or 31%, above the median for this occupation — 1.3 times it.
On hourly figures the gap is $23.90 against $18.25, or $5.65 an hour.
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, and neither row says anything about how someone moves between them.
The $11,750 step from the veterinary assistants and laboratory animal caretakers median on this page up to vet tech pay in Michigan ($49,710, or $23.90/hr, ranked 11th of 51, between Nevada and Colorado) is wider than the $9,230 between the two national medians.
What Veterinary Assistant Job Listings in Michigan Show Right Now
From the 42 active veterinary assistant listings on VeterinaryHires as of November 9, 2026.
Employers with the most openings
- VCA Animal Hospitals9
- Banfield Pet Hospital7
- AmeriVet Veterinary Partners5
- Associated Veterinary Partners3
- MedVet3
- Lakeview Animal Hospital2
Pay employers post
- 17% of veterinary assistant listings in Michigan state any pay at all.
Benefits listings name
- Dental & Visionnamed in 86%
- Health Insurancenamed in 76%
- PTO / Paid Time Offnamed in 67%
- Pet Care Discountnamed in 57%
- 401k Matchnamed in 55%
Source: active veterinary assistant listings on VeterinaryHires, updated daily. Pay figures use only listings that state pay (midpoint of each posted range). Benefits count listings that name the benefit; a listing that doesn’t mention one may still offer it.
Browse 42 jobs →Frequently Asked Questions
What is the median veterinary assistant salary in Michigan?
BLS does not publish veterinary assistants on their own.
The closest figure is SOC 31-9096, Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretakers, whose Michigan median annual wage was $37,960 in May 2025, or $18.25 an hour.
Half of those counted earned more and half earned less.
The national median for the same occupation is $38,150, which the table rounds to a 0% difference.
How much do the top-paid workers in this occupation earn in Michigan?
The Michigan 90th percentile is $46,730, meaning one in ten workers counted in SOC 31-9096 earned more than that.
Nationally the 90th percentile is $49,150, so Michigan sits 5% below at the top of the range.
Because the occupation combines veterinary assistants with laboratory animal caretakers, the figures cannot say which of the two groups sits at the top.
What does the low end of the range look like in Michigan?
The Michigan 10th percentile is $30,410 — one in ten workers counted earned less — and that is 1% above the national 10th percentile of $30,120.
The 25th percentile, $35,720, is level with the national $35,660.
The low end of Michigan's distribution matches the national one almost exactly; the state's gaps appear higher up.
How does this compare with vet tech pay in Michigan?
In the same BLS release, veterinary technologists and technicians in Michigan have a median of $49,710, against $37,960 for veterinary assistants and laboratory animal caretakers — a difference of $11,750, or 31% on this occupation's median.
The technician median is 1.3 times this occupation's median.
The two figures describe different occupations, so the gap is context for a career decision, not a promised raise.
How many veterinary assistants work in Michigan?
BLS estimates 4,420 people employed in SOC 31-9096 in Michigan, 9th 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 Michigan Veterinary Assistant Resources
Sources
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 state estimates — Michigan, 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.