Veterinary Technician Salary in Arizona
Veterinary technologists and technicians in Arizona earned a median annual wage of $46,300 in the Bureau of Labor Statistics' May 2025 estimates — $1,080, or 2%, below the national median of $47,380, a rank of 29th among the 51 jurisdictions that publish a median.
What stands out is the shape: the 25th percentile is 12% above the national 25th, while the 75th percentile is 14% below the national 75th, so Arizona's pay band compresses hard above a raised floor.
The state's technician workforce is 3,970 employed.
10th percentile
$37,870
25th percentile
$43,510
75th percentile
$49,340
90th percentile
$58,350
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 state estimates — Arizona, SOC 29-2056 (Veterinary Technologists and Technicians). Retrieved 2026-09-16 from the BLS Public Data API.
How to read these figures
Arizona vs. the national figures
The Arizona median is below the national median by 2%. Among the 51 jurisdictions (states plus DC) where BLS publishes a veterinary technician median for May 2025, it ranks 29th, and 9th by estimated employment.
Differences are whole percentages, rounded half away from zero, computed from the figures shown.
A raised floor, a squeezed ceiling
At the median, Arizona sits $1,080 below the nation: $46,300 against $47,380, a 2% gap.
The hourly median matches that gap almost exactly, at $22.26 against $22.78 nationally, also 2% lower.
Below the median the pattern reverses: the Arizona 10th percentile, $37,870, is 6% above the national $35,710, and the 25th percentile, $43,510, is 12% above the national $38,910.
Above the median it reverses again — the 75th percentile, $49,340, is 14% below the national $57,650, and the 90th percentile, $58,350, is 8% below the national $63,180.
A technician weighing an Arizona offer against national floor figures would understate what the state pays; weighing it against national ceiling figures would overstate it.
A tight band sitting on a high floor
Half of the Arizona technicians counted earned between $43,510 and $49,340 — a band $5,830 wide.
Nationally the same band runs from $38,910 to $57,650, which is $18,740 wide.
From the 10th percentile ($37,870) to the 90th ($58,350), Arizona spans $20,480, against $27,470 nationally.
The median also sits closer to the 25th percentile than to the 75th: $2,790 above the one and $3,040 below the other.
OEWS does not explain why a distribution takes this shape, so this page does not assign it a cause.
Reading an hourly posting against these figures
The data set behind this page carries Arizona's hourly wage only at the median: $22.26, against $22.78 nationally, a 2% gap that matches the gap in the annual median.
That makes it the figure to hold an hourly posting against.
For the rest of the range, the annual percentiles above are the only guide here, so before comparing a posted hourly rate against them, ask the employer how many hours a week the role is scheduled for.
Voluntary certification — the CVT route in Arizona
Arizona certifies its Certified Veterinary Technicians through the Arizona State Veterinary Medical Examining Board under A.R.S. § 32-2242, and the Board's own CVT page states that to work as a veterinary technician in Arizona, certification is not required — earning a CVT is a voluntary action.
The route runs through an AVMA-accredited two-year program, the VTNE, and Arizona's own open-book State CVT exam of 50 true/false questions on the Veterinary Practice Act and the Administrative Rules.
Certificates renew on a fixed statewide clock, with 10 continuing-education hours required in the two-year period before every certificate expires.
The data behind this page carries no split between credentialed and uncredentialed technicians, so it cannot show a pay difference between them.
Arizona State Veterinary Medical Examining Board
To work as a veterinary technician in Arizona, certification is not required; earning a CVT is a voluntary action.
Two: the VTNE, which must have been passed within five years of applying unless an employment-based exception applies, and Arizona's own open-book State CVT exam of 50 true/false questions covering the Veterinary Practice Act and the Administrative Rules.
10 credit hours of Board-approved continuing education in the two-year period preceding certificate expiration (only 5 before the first renewal if initially certified in an even-numbered year), with every certificate expiring December 31 of even-numbered years.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the median vet tech salary in Arizona?
The Bureau of Labor Statistics' May 2025 estimate puts the Arizona median annual wage for veterinary technologists and technicians at $46,300, or $22.26 an hour.
Half of those counted earned more and half earned less.
The national median in the same release is $47,380, so Arizona sits 2% below it — a small gap driven mostly by a compressed upper half rather than a low floor, which actually sits above the national one.
How much do the top-paid vet techs in Arizona earn?
The Arizona 90th percentile is $58,350, meaning one in ten technicians counted earned more than that.
Nationally the 90th percentile is $63,180, 8% higher.
The gap is wider still at the 75th percentile: $49,340 in Arizona against $57,650 nationally, a 14% difference, which is why the top of the Arizona pay range sits well below the national one even though the bottom does not.
What does the lower end of the Arizona pay range look like?
The Arizona 10th percentile is $37,870 and the 25th percentile is $43,510 — both above the national figures of $35,710 and $38,910, by 6% and 12%.
That makes Arizona's floor higher than the national floor even though its median, $46,300, sits 2% below the national median of $47,380.
The state's pay range is unusually tight above the 25th percentile.
Do you need a credential to work as a vet tech in Arizona?
Certification is not required.
The Arizona State Veterinary Medical Examining Board's own CVT page states plainly that working as a veterinary technician in Arizona does not require certification, and that earning a Certified Veterinary Technician credential is a voluntary action.
The Arizona requirements page on this site sets out what the Board asks candidates to do.
Whether a particular employer prefers the CVT is a question to ask that employer directly.
How many vet techs work in Arizona?
BLS estimates that 3,970 veterinary technologists and technicians were employed in Arizona, the 9th-largest workforce among the 51 jurisdictions that publish a median.
That is a headcount of people in jobs during the survey period, not a count of vacancies, so it describes the size of the occupation in the state rather than how quickly positions get filled.
More Arizona Veterinary Technician Resources
Sources
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 state estimates — Arizona, SOC 29-2056 Veterinary Technologists and Technicians (BLS Public Data API) (retrieved 2026-09-16)
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS May 2025 national estimates — SOC 29-2056 (via O*NET OnLine) (retrieved 2026-08-15)
- Arizona State Veterinary Medical Examining Board — CVT certification requirements, as summarised on the Arizona requirements page (retrieved 2026-09-16)
Wage figures: BLS OEWS May 2025 state and national estimates, SOC 29-2056, retrieved 2026-09-16. Page last updated 2026-09-23.