Veterinary Technician Salary in Colorado
Veterinary technologists and technicians in Colorado earned a median annual wage of $49,650 in the Bureau of Labor Statistics' May 2025 estimates — $2,270, or 5%, above the national median of $47,380, ranking 12th among the 51 jurisdictions that publish a median.
What sets Colorado apart is a high floor: the 25th percentile sits 20% above the national one.
The ceiling is lower, though — the 90th percentile runs 4% below the national figure — narrowing the state's overall pay band.
Colorado employs 3,720 technicians.
10th percentile
$37,820
25th percentile
$46,580
75th percentile
$59,340
90th percentile
$60,380
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 state estimates — Colorado, SOC 29-2056 (Veterinary Technologists and Technicians). Retrieved 2026-09-16 from the BLS Public Data API.
How to read these figures
Colorado vs. the national figures
The Colorado median is above the national median by 5%. Among the 51 jurisdictions (states plus DC) where BLS publishes a veterinary technician 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.
A higher floor than the nation, but a lower ceiling
At the median, Colorado sits $2,270 above the nation: $49,650 against $47,380, a 5% gap.
The hourly median tells the same story, $23.87 against $22.78 nationally, also a 5% gap.
Colorado's advantage is widest at the 25th percentile, 20% above the national figure; the 10th percentile is 6% above, close to the median gap.
That advantage does not hold at the top.
The Colorado 75th percentile, $59,340, is only 3% above the national $57,650, and the 90th percentile, $60,380, is 4% below the national $63,180.
A technician comparing an offer against national upper-percentile figures should not expect Colorado's top end to lead the way the 25th percentile does.
A tighter band, anchored close to the floor
Half of Colorado's technicians earned between $46,580 and $59,340 — a band $12,760 wide.
Nationally the same band runs from $38,910 to $57,650, a wider $18,740.
From the 10th percentile ($37,820) to the 90th ($60,380), Colorado spans $22,560, against $27,470 nationally.
The median also sits much closer to the 25th percentile than to the 75th: $3,070 above the one and $9,690 below the other, a much shorter reach down to the floor than up to the ceiling.
OEWS does not explain why a distribution takes this shape, so this page does not assign it a cause.
Reading an hourly rate posting against these figures
The dataset behind this page carries Colorado's hourly wage only at the median: $23.87, against $22.78 nationally, a 5% gap that matches the gap in the annual median.
That makes it the one figure to hold an hourly posting against.
For every other point in the range, the annual percentiles 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.
A state registration built on the private CACVT credential
Colorado requires a state registration with the Board of Veterinary Medicine inside the Department of Regulatory Agencies, and since January 1, 2024 that registration has been mandatory to practice as a technician, not just to use the title.
An applicant meets the standard by holding a current credential from the Colorado Association of Certified Veterinary Technicians (CACVT), which confirms graduation from an AVMA-accredited program and a passing score on the national examination; no on-the-job route remains open to new applicants.
Renewal stays tied to keeping that CACVT credential active — CACVT itself requires 20 continuing-education hours per cycle, at least 10 of them medical — rather than a separate state CE rule.
The full requirements page on this site covers the provisional registration that let existing staff bridge into the new system.
Colorado State Board of Veterinary Medicine (Division of Professions and Occupations, DORA)
A state registration with the Colorado State Board of Veterinary Medicine under C.R.S. 12-315, built on a current credential from the Colorado Association of Certified Veterinary Technicians (CACVT) — the statute protects the titles veterinary technician and registered veterinary technician and the initials VT and RVT.
The national veterinary technician examination, required through the CACVT credential; no separate state jurisprudence exam for technicians was found in the sources read.
The state imposes no separate CE of its own — renewal is gated on maintaining active CACVT credentialing. CACVT requires 20 continuing-education hours per credentialing cycle, at least 10 of them medical, and its cycles run July 1 of an even year through June 30 of the following even year.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the median vet tech salary in Colorado?
The Bureau of Labor Statistics' May 2025 estimate puts the Colorado median annual wage for veterinary technologists and technicians at $49,650, or $23.87 an hour.
Half of those counted earned more and half earned less.
The national median in the same release is $47,380, so Colorado sits 5% above it, ranking 12th among the 51 jurisdictions that publish a median.
How much do the top-paid vet techs in Colorado earn?
The Colorado 90th percentile is $60,380, meaning one in ten technicians counted earned more than that — 4% below the national 90th percentile of $63,180.
The 75th percentile tells a different story: $59,340 in Colorado against $57,650 nationally, 3% higher.
So the very top of Colorado's range trails the nation even though the rest of the upper half runs slightly ahead of it.
What does the lower end of the pay range look like in Colorado?
The Colorado 10th percentile is $37,820, 6% above the national 10th percentile of $35,710, and the 25th percentile is $46,580, fully 20% above the national $38,910.
That gives Colorado a notably higher floor than the nation.
Higher up, the gap narrows and eventually reverses — the 75th percentile is only 3% above the national figure, and the 90th percentile is 4% below it.
How many vet techs work in Colorado?
BLS estimates that 3,720 veterinary technologists and technicians were employed in Colorado.
That is a headcount of people in jobs during the survey period, not a count of open positions, so it describes the size of the occupation in the state rather than how easily a role there gets filled.
It does not measure how many positions are open at any one time.
Do you need a credential to work as a vet tech in Colorado?
Yes.
Since January 1, 2024, Colorado requires anyone practicing as a veterinary technician to hold a state registration with the Board of Veterinary Medicine, built on a current credential from the Colorado Association of Certified Veterinary Technicians.
The Colorado requirements page on this site sets out the full registration and CACVT credential process.
Practicing without an active registration carries its own penalty.
More Colorado Veterinary Technician Resources
Sources
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 state estimates — Colorado, 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)
- Colorado DORA, Division of Professions and Occupations — Veterinary Licensing Guide: How the Veterinary Profession Is Organized in Colorado (February 2025) (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.