Veterinary Assistant Salary in Washington
Veterinary assistants and laboratory animal caretakers in Washington — BLS publishes the two as one combined occupation, SOC 31-9096 — earned a median annual wage of $44,150 in the May 2025 estimates, $6,000 or 16% above the national median of $38,150.
That ranks 12th of the 51 jurisdictions that publish a median.
The distinctive part is the shape: a compressed bottom and middle, with an upper tail that stretches past the national one.
What these figures cover
10th percentile
$38,470
25th percentile
$39,930
75th percentile
$47,220
90th percentile
$55,050
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 state estimates — Washington, 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 vs. the national figures
The Washington median is above the national median by 16%. 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 12th, and 10th by estimated employment.
Differences are whole percentages, rounded half away from zero, computed from the figures shown.
Above the national figures at every percentile, most of all at the floor
Washington sits above the national figures at every published percentile, but not by the same margin.
The 10th percentile, $38,470, is $8,350 or 28% above the national $30,120 — the largest lead of the five.
Through the middle the gap is 12% at the 25th percentile and 16% at the median, and at the 75th percentile it collapses to $1,510, or 3%, before widening again to $5,900, or 12%, at the 90th.
Benchmarking a Washington offer against national figures therefore understates the lower half of the distribution most, and the part of the distribution just under the 75th percentile least.
A compressed bottom and middle, an upper tail that stretches
The middle band runs from $39,930 at the 25th percentile to $47,220 at the 75th — $7,290 wide, against the national band of $10,050, and tighter relative to the median as well.
The full 10th-to-90th span is $16,580, against $19,030 nationally, but the narrowing is not even: the segment from the 10th to the 25th percentile is $1,460 wide against $5,540 nationally, the middle band is $7,290 wide against $10,050, and the segment above the 75th is actually wider — $7,830 against $3,440.
Inside the band the median sits high, $4,220 above the 25th percentile and $3,070 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 is $21.23, against $18.34 nationally — $2.89 more, the same 16% 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 — and what it does not
BLS estimates 4,380 people were employed in this combined occupation in Washington, 10th 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 vet tech median
In the same release, Washington's veterinary technologists and technicians have a median of $59,740, which is $15,590, or 35%, above the median for this occupation.
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 Washington have a median of $59,740 ($28.72/hr) — $15,590 above the veterinary assistants and laboratory animal caretakers median shown on this page. Vet tech salary in Washington →
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the median veterinary assistant salary in Washington?
BLS does not publish veterinary assistants on their own.
The closest figure is SOC 31-9096, Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretakers, whose Washington median annual wage was $44,150 in May 2025, or $21.23 an hour.
Half of those counted earned more and half earned less.
The national median for the same occupation is $38,150, so Washington sits 16% above it.
How much do the top-paid workers in this occupation earn in Washington?
The Washington 90th percentile is $55,050, meaning one in ten workers counted in SOC 31-9096 earned more than that.
Nationally the 90th percentile is $49,150, so the Washington figure is $5,900, or 12%, higher.
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 Washington?
The Washington 10th percentile is $38,470 — one in ten workers counted in the combined occupation earned less than that.
It is $8,350, or 28%, above the national 10th percentile of $30,120, the largest relative lead of any percentile in the state's distribution.
By the 75th percentile the lead over the national figure narrows to 3%.
How does this compare with vet tech pay in Washington?
In the same BLS release, veterinary technologists and technicians in Washington have a median of $59,740, against $44,150 for veterinary assistants and laboratory animal caretakers — a difference of $15,590.
The technician median is 1.4 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?
BLS estimates 4,380 people employed in SOC 31-9096 in Washington, 10th 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 Veterinary Assistant Resources
Sources
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 state estimates — Washington, 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.