Veterinary Technician Salary in Pennsylvania

At the median, Pennsylvania sits about $1,000 below the nation: $46,430 against $47,380, a 2% gap.

The lower end of the distribution roughly tracks the national one — the Pennsylvania 10th percentile, $36,480, is 2% above the national $35,710, and the 25th percentile, $38,060, is 2% below the national $38,910.

The gap grows sharply higher up.

The Pennsylvania 75th percentile, $50,140, is $7,510, or 13%, below the national $57,650, and the 90th percentile, $60,280, is $2,900, or 5%, below the national $63,180.

That gap narrows rather than grows at the very top: from the 75th to the 90th percentile, Pennsylvania's own range widens by $10,140, against $5,530 for the same segment nationally, which is why the 90th-percentile gap (5%) is smaller than the 75th-percentile gap (13%) even though the state trails the nation throughout the upper half.

A technician benchmarking an offer against national upper-percentile figures would need to discount them more than the median gap alone suggests.

Half of the Pennsylvania technicians counted earned between $38,060 and $50,140 — a band $12,080 wide.

Nationally the same band runs from $38,910 to $57,650, $18,740 wide.

From the 10th percentile ($36,480) to the 90th ($60,280), Pennsylvania spans $23,800, against $27,470 nationally.

The median sits closer to the 75th percentile than to the 25th: $3,710 below the one and $8,370 above the other.

OEWS does not explain why a distribution has this shape, so this page does not assign it a cause.

The data set behind this page carries Pennsylvania's hourly wage only at the median: $22.32, 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 are the only guide here, so before comparing a posted rate against them, ask the employer how many hours a week the role is scheduled for.

BLS counted 6,620 veterinary technologists and technicians employed in Pennsylvania, 4th among the 51 jurisdictions that publish a median — one of the larger technician workforces in the data set.

That size does not track with pay: Pennsylvania ranks 27th of 51 by median.

Employment is a headcount of people already working in the occupation during the survey period, not a count of open positions, so a large workforce here says something about the size of the field in Pennsylvania, not about how easy or hard a role is to fill.

Pennsylvania certifies technicians as Certified Veterinary Technicians through the PA State Board of Veterinary Medicine, and the credential is mandatory to do the work and to use the CVT title.

The route runs through a board-approved, post-high-school veterinary-technology program accredited by a USDE-recognized agency, and the VTNE.

Certification renews every two years, carrying 16 continuing-education hours documented by affidavit, with a $35 application fee and a $100 biennial renewal fee.

Performing technician duties without the certificate is a misdemeanor of the third degree.

The Pennsylvania requirements page linked below has the full statute and rule citations.