Veterinary Assistant Salary in North Carolina
Veterinary assistants and laboratory animal caretakers in North Carolina — BLS publishes the two as one combined occupation, SOC 31-9096 — earned a median annual wage of $37,070 in the May 2025 estimates, $1,080 or 3% below the national median of $38,150, ranking 29th of the 51 jurisdictions that publish a median.
The distinctive part is the middle band: half of the workers counted earned between $35,250 and $39,080, less than half as wide as the national band.
What these figures cover
10th percentile
$28,830
25th percentile
$35,250
75th percentile
$39,080
90th percentile
$46,470
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 state estimates — North Carolina, SOC 31-9096 (Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretakers). Retrieved 2026-09-16 from the BLS Public Data API.
How to read these figures
North Carolina vs. the national figures
The North Carolina median is below the national median by 3%. 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 29th, and 3rd by estimated employment.
Differences are whole percentages, rounded half away from zero, computed from the figures shown.
Below the national figures at every percentile, most of all in the upper middle
North Carolina sits below the national figures at every published percentile, but not by the same margin.
The 10th percentile, $28,830, is 4% below the national $30,120, and the 25th percentile is only 1% below.
At the median the gap is 3%, and then it widens sharply: the 75th percentile, $39,080, is 15% below the national $45,710, while the 90th is 5% below at $46,470.
An offer near the middle of this distribution benchmarks close to national figures; the shortfall concentrates in the upper middle, where the 75th percentile falls $6,630 short.
A middle band less than half as wide as the national one
Half of the North Carolina workers counted earned between $35,250 and $39,080, a band $3,830 wide — well under the national band of $10,050.
From the 10th to the 90th percentile the state spans $17,640, against $19,030 nationally.
The compression is almost entirely above the middle: the 25th percentile sits within 1% of the national one, while the 75th is 15% below.
Inside the band the median sits close to the middle, $1,820 above the 25th percentile and $2,010 below the 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 North Carolina is $17.82, against $18.34 nationally — $0.52 less, the same 3% 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 3rd-largest employment estimate — for a combined occupation
BLS estimates 6,910 people were employed in this combined occupation in North Carolina, 3rd 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 North Carolina vet tech median
In the same release, North Carolina's veterinary technologists and technicians have a median of $47,620, which is $10,550, or 28%, above the median for this occupation — 1.3 times it.
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 North Carolina have a median of $47,620 ($22.89/hr) — $10,550 above the veterinary assistants and laboratory animal caretakers median shown on this page. Vet tech salary in North Carolina →
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the median veterinary assistant salary in North Carolina?
BLS does not publish veterinary assistants on their own.
The closest figure is SOC 31-9096, Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretakers, whose North Carolina median annual wage was $37,070 in May 2025, or $17.82 an hour.
Half of those counted earned more and half earned less.
The national median for the same occupation is $38,150, so North Carolina sits 3% below it.
How much do the top-paid workers in this occupation earn in North Carolina?
The North Carolina 90th percentile is $46,470, meaning one in ten workers counted in SOC 31-9096 earned more than that.
Nationally the 90th percentile is $49,150, so the state figure is $2,680 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 North Carolina?
The North Carolina 10th percentile is $28,830, meaning one in ten workers counted in the state earned less than that.
The national 10th percentile is $30,120, so the state floor sits $1,290 lower, 4% below.
A percentile is a position in the state's wage distribution, not a job title or a career stage.
How does this compare with vet tech pay in North Carolina?
In the same BLS release, veterinary technologists and technicians in North Carolina have a median of $47,620, against $37,070 for veterinary assistants and laboratory animal caretakers — a difference of $10,550.
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 North Carolina?
BLS estimates 6,910 people employed in SOC 31-9096 in North Carolina, 3rd 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 North Carolina Veterinary Assistant Resources
Sources
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 state estimates — North Carolina, 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.