Veterinary Technician Salary in Rhode Island

Rhode Island's median, $45,310, sits $2,070 below the national median of $47,380 — a 4% gap.

The hourly median follows the same pattern: $21.78 against $22.78 nationally, also 4% lower.

But the median is not where Rhode Island falls behind across the board.

The 10th percentile, $37,570, is $1,860 above the national $35,710, a 5% edge, and the 75th percentile, $60,760, is $3,110 above the national $57,650, also a 5% edge.

The 90th percentile, $63,590, runs 1% above the national $63,180.

Only the 25th percentile, $38,130, sits below the national $38,910, a 2% gap.

A technician comparing a Rhode Island offer against national figures should weigh which percentile the offer sits near — the state runs ahead of the nation almost everywhere except the median and the lower-middle of the range.

Half of the Rhode Island technicians counted earned between $38,130 and $60,760 — a band $22,630 wide.

Nationally the same band runs from $38,910 to $57,650, which is $18,740 wide, so Rhode Island's middle band is wider than the nation's.

From the 10th percentile ($37,570) to the 90th ($63,590), Rhode Island spans $26,020, narrower than the national span of $27,470.

The median also sits much closer to the floor of that middle band than to its ceiling: $7,180 above the 25th percentile and $15,450 below the 75th.

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

The data set behind this page carries Rhode Island's hourly wage only at the median: $21.78, against $22.78 nationally, a 4% gap that matches the gap in the annual median.

That makes it the one figure to hold an hourly posting against directly.

For the rest of the range the annual percentiles are the only guide here, so before comparing a posted hourly rate with them, ask the employer how many hours a week the role is scheduled for.

Rhode Island issues no veterinary technician credential: the RIDOH Board of Veterinary Medicine licenses veterinarians only.

The CVT on a Rhode Island job posting is the private Certified Veterinary Technician designation of the Rhode Island Veterinary Technician Association (RIVTA), built on graduation from an AVMA-accredited program and a passing VTNE score, with a $65 first-year fee and no indirect or alternative pathway accepted for new certified members since January 1, 2024 — RIVTA still accepts transferring CVTs who were certified in another state before that date.

Keeping it current costs a $50 annual renewal and 12 continuing-education hours a year, six in-person and six online.

None of that is state-issued, and the data behind this page carries no split between credentialed and uncredentialed technicians, so it cannot show a pay difference between them.