Veterinary Technician Salary in New York
Veterinary technologists and technicians in New York earned a median annual wage of $59,010 in the Bureau of Labor Statistics' May 2025 estimates — $11,630, or 25%, above the national median of $47,380, and 4th among the 51 jurisdictions that publish a median for the role.
New York leads the national figures at every percentile, but that lead narrows sharply at the 75th percentile, up only 15%, before widening again at the top.
The state's workforce is large: 5,350 technicians employed, 5th by that measure.
10th percentile
$47,640
25th percentile
$50,410
75th percentile
$66,310
90th percentile
$78,760
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 state estimates — New York, SOC 29-2056 (Veterinary Technologists and Technicians). Retrieved 2026-09-16 from the BLS Public Data API.
How to read these figures
New York vs. the national figures
The New York median is above the national median by 25%. Among the 51 jurisdictions (states plus DC) where BLS publishes a veterinary technician median for May 2025, it ranks 4th, and 5th by estimated employment.
Differences are whole percentages, rounded half away from zero, computed from the figures shown.
Ahead of the nation everywhere, with a dip at the 75th percentile
New York's median, $59,010, sits $11,630 above the national median of $47,380 — a 25% lead.
That lead is not even across the distribution.
At the 10th percentile New York is $11,930 higher, a 33% gap, and at the 25th percentile it is $11,500 higher, a 30% gap.
The lead narrows at the 75th percentile: New York's $66,310 is $8,660 above the national $57,650, a smaller 15% gap.
It widens again at the 90th percentile, where New York's $78,760 is $15,580, or 25%, above the national $63,180.
A technician using national upper-middle figures to benchmark a New York offer would understate what the New York 75th percentile actually shows, and understate the top end even more.
A narrower middle band, but a wider full span
Half of New York's technicians counted earned between $50,410 and $66,310 — a band $15,900 wide.
Nationally the same band runs from $38,910 to $57,650, $18,740 wide, so New York's middle band is narrower than the national one.
The full range tells a different story: from the 10th percentile ($47,640) to the 90th ($78,760), New York spans $31,120, against $27,470 nationally — a wider span than the nation's.
The median sits $8,600 above the 25th percentile and $7,300 below the 75th, closer to the top of the band than to the bottom.
OEWS does not explain what produces this shape, so this page does not assign it a cause.
Reading an hourly posting against the New York figures
The data behind this page carries New York's hourly wage only at the median: $28.37, against $22.78 nationally — a $5.59, or 25%, difference that matches the size of the gap in the annual median.
That makes the hourly median the figure to hold a posted hourly rate against here.
The rest of the range is only available as annual percentiles, so before comparing a posted hourly rate with the 10th, 25th, 75th or 90th percentile figures, ask the employer how many hours a week the role is scheduled for.
A large workforce, high on both employment and median
BLS estimates 5,350 veterinary technologists and technicians employed in New York, 5th among the 51 jurisdictions that publish a median for the role — close to the state's 4th-place rank by median.
That is a headcount of people counted in the job during the survey period, not a count of open positions, so it describes how large the occupation is in New York, not how easy or hard a role is to fill.
A large workforce and a high median are separate measurements; nothing in this row from OEWS connects them.
The route to New York's veterinary technician license
New York licenses veterinary technicians through the New York State Education Department's Office of the Professions, and the license is mandatory both to practice veterinary technology and to use the title veterinary technician.
The route runs through a college-level veterinary-technology program of at least eighteen months — one NYSED registers as licensure-qualifying or one accredited by AVMA's CVTEA committee — followed by the VTNE, then registration on a three-year cycle carrying 24 hours of continuing education per period.
None of this data distinguishes pay by credential status: OEWS does not split technicians by whether they hold the license, so this page cannot show a pay difference tied to it.
The New York vet tech requirements page on this site covers the full route, including exam and renewal details.
New York State Education Department, Office of the Professions
Mandatory to do the work and to use the title — Education Law §6709 allows only a person licensed under the article, or exempted by §6712, to practice veterinary technology or use the title veterinary technician.
The VTNE — the Office of the Professions calls it the current examination required for licensure; no New York-specific jurisprudence exam was found in the sources read.
Registration runs on a three-year (triennial) cycle, and each triennial period carries 24 hours of acceptable formal continuing education, at most 12 of them self-instructional; the first triennial period is exempt. In force since January 2012.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the median vet tech salary in New York?
The Bureau of Labor Statistics' May 2025 estimate puts the New York median annual wage for veterinary technologists and technicians at $59,010, or $28.37 an hour.
Half of those counted earned more and half earned less.
The national median in the same release is $47,380, so New York sits 25% above it, 4th among the 51 jurisdictions that publish a median for the role.
How much do the top-paid vet techs in New York earn?
The New York 90th percentile is $78,760, meaning one in ten technicians counted earned more than that.
Nationally the 90th percentile is $63,180, so New York is $15,580, or 25%, higher.
That lead is wider than at the 75th percentile, where New York's $66,310 is only 15% above the national $57,650.
What does the lower end of the New York vet tech pay range look like?
The New York 10th percentile is $47,640, which is $11,930, or 33%, above the national 10th percentile of $35,710 — the largest percentage gap anywhere in the distribution.
In dollar terms, though, that same $47,640 sits just above the national median itself, $47,380, a much smaller distance than the 33% figure suggests.
The 25th percentile, $50,410, is $11,500, or 30%, above the national 25th percentile of $38,910, and clears the national median by a wider margin.
How many vet techs work in New York?
BLS estimates that 5,350 veterinary technologists and technicians were employed in New York, 5th 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.
Do you need a license to work as a vet tech in New York?
Yes.
New York's Education Law §6709 makes a license from the State Education Department's Office of the Professions mandatory both to practice veterinary technology and to use the title veterinary technician, with only narrow exemptions.
The route runs through an eighteen-month NYSED-registered or AVMA-accredited program, the VTNE, and a three-year renewal cycle.
The New York requirements page on this site covers the full route.
More New York Veterinary Technician Resources
Sources
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 state estimates — New York, 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)
- NYSED Office of the Professions, License Requirements for Veterinary Technician, as summarised on the New York 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.