Veterinary Assistant Salary in Washington, DC
Veterinary assistants and laboratory animal caretakers in Washington, DC — BLS publishes the two as one combined occupation, SOC 31-9096 — earned a median annual wage of $49,080 in the May 2025 estimates, $10,930 or 29% above the national median of $38,150.
That ranks 2nd of the 51 jurisdictions that publish a median.
The lead over the national figures is widest at the floor: the 10th percentile sits 55% above, and the local bottom is compressed, with the 10th and 25th percentiles about 1% apart.
What these figures cover
10th percentile
$46,570
25th percentile
$46,960
75th percentile
$60,700
90th percentile
$72,840
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 state estimates — Washington, DC, SOC 31-9096 (Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretakers). Retrieved 2026-09-16 from the BLS Public Data API.
How to read these figures
Washington, DC vs. the national figures
The Washington, DC median is above the national median by 29%. 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 2nd, and 48th by estimated employment.
Differences are whole percentages, rounded half away from zero, computed from the figures shown.
Above the national figures at every percentile, widest at the floor in percentage terms
Washington, DC sits above the national figures at every published percentile, but not by the same margin.
The 10th percentile, $46,570, is 55% above the national $30,120 — the widest percentage lead in the distribution.
The lead narrows through the middle: the 25th percentile is 32% above, the median 29%, and the 75th percentile, $60,700, is 33% above the national $45,710.
The 90th percentile, $72,840, is 48% above the national $49,150 — a $23,690 gap, the largest in dollars.
Someone holding an offer here against national figures would understate every part of the local distribution.
A wider band with a median that sits low in it
Half of the workers counted earned between $46,960 and $60,700, a band $13,740 wide — wider than the national band of $10,050.
From the 10th to the 90th percentile the distribution spans $26,270, against $19,030 nationally.
The shape inside the band is distinctive: the bottom is nearly flat, with the 10th and 25th percentiles about 1% apart, while the median sits just $2,120 above the 25th percentile and $11,620 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 Washington, DC is $23.60, against $18.34 nationally — $5.26 more, the same 29% 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, how an hourly rate converts to the annual percentiles depends on scheduled hours, which the survey does not capture.
A small employment estimate for a combined occupation
BLS estimates 240 people were employed in this combined occupation in Washington, DC, 48th 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 Washington, DC vet tech median
In the same release, Washington, DC's veterinary technologists and technicians have a median of $61,270, which is $12,190, or 25%, above the median for this occupation — 1.2 times it.
Read that as the distance between two BLS occupations in one jurisdiction, 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 Washington, DC have a median of $61,270 ($29.46/hr) — $12,190 above the veterinary assistants and laboratory animal caretakers median shown on this page. Vet tech salary in Washington, DC →
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the median veterinary assistant salary in Washington, DC?
BLS does not publish veterinary assistants on their own.
The closest figure is SOC 31-9096, Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretakers, whose Washington, DC median annual wage was $49,080 in May 2025, or $23.60 an hour.
Half of those counted earned more and half earned less.
The national median for the same occupation is $38,150, so Washington, DC sits 29% above it.
What does the low end of pay look like in Washington, DC?
The 10th percentile is $46,570, 55% above the national 10th percentile of $30,120, and the local floor is compressed: the 10th and 25th percentiles sit about 1% apart, at $46,570 and $46,960.
Because SOC 31-9096 combines veterinary assistants with laboratory animal caretakers, the figures cannot say which of the two groups makes up the low end.
How much do the top-paid workers in this occupation earn in Washington, DC?
The Washington, DC 90th percentile is $72,840, meaning one in ten workers counted in SOC 31-9096 earned more than that.
Nationally the 90th percentile is $49,150, so the local figure is $23,690, or 48%, higher.
Because the occupation combines veterinary assistants with laboratory animal caretakers, the figure cannot say which of the two groups sits at the top.
How does this compare with vet tech pay in Washington, DC?
In the same BLS release, veterinary technologists and technicians in Washington, DC have a median of $61,270, against $49,080 for veterinary assistants and laboratory animal caretakers — a difference of $12,190, or 25%.
The technician median is 1.2 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 Washington, DC?
BLS estimates 240 people employed in SOC 31-9096 in Washington, DC, 48th 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 Washington, DC Veterinary Assistant Resources
Sources
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 state estimates — Washington, DC, 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.