Veterinary Technician Salary in Texas
Veterinary technologists and technicians in Texas earned a median annual wage of $39,410 in the Bureau of Labor Statistics' May 2025 estimates — $7,970, or 17%, below the national median of $47,380.
The gap is uneven across the range: the 25th percentile is only 7% below the national figure, while the 75th percentile is 19% below it, so the state's middle-to-upper pay band is far narrower than the national one.
Texas employed 16,730 technicians, the most of any jurisdiction, though its median ranks 43rd of 51.
10th percentile
$30,320
25th percentile
$36,040
75th percentile
$46,780
90th percentile
$54,610
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 state estimates — Texas, SOC 29-2056 (Veterinary Technologists and Technicians). Retrieved 2026-09-16 from the BLS Public Data API.
How to read these figures
Texas vs. the national figures
The Texas median is below the national median by 17%. Among the 51 jurisdictions (states plus DC) where BLS publishes a veterinary technician median for May 2025, it ranks 43rd, and 1st by estimated employment.
Differences are whole percentages, rounded half away from zero, computed from the figures shown.
Below the national figure at every percentile, most sharply above the middle
Every percentile in the Texas distribution sits below the national one, but not by an even margin.
At the median, Texas is $7,970 below the nation: $39,410 against $47,380, a 17% gap.
The 25th percentile is comparatively close to the national figure, only 7% below it, while the 10th percentile is already 15% below.
The range above the median falls further behind: the 75th percentile, $46,780, is 19% below the national $57,650, the widest gap in the table.
The 90th percentile narrows back to 14% below, at $54,610 against $63,180.
A technician using national upper-percentile figures to gauge a strong Texas offer would set the bar too high.
A narrower band than the national one, and a median closer to the floor
Half of the Texas technicians counted earned between $36,040 and $46,780 — a band $10,740 wide.
Nationally the same band runs from $38,910 to $57,650, which is $18,740 wide.
From the 10th percentile ($30,320) to the 90th ($54,610), Texas spans $24,290, against $27,470 nationally.
The median also sits much closer to the 25th percentile than to the 75th: $3,370 above the one and $7,370 below the other.
OEWS does not explain why a distribution has this shape, so this page does not assign it a cause.
Reading an hourly posting against the Texas figures
The data set behind this page carries the Texas hourly wage only at the median: $18.95, against $22.78 nationally, a 17% 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 with them, ask the employer how many hours a week the role is scheduled for.
Optional licensure, but the LVT title is reserved
Texas licenses veterinary technicians as Licensed Veterinary Technicians (LVTs) through the Texas Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners, but licensure itself is optional in the Board's own words — what the law reserves is the title, which only license-holders may use.
The route runs through graduation from an AVMA-accredited program, the Veterinary Technician National Exam, then the Texas State Board Exam, and ten hours of continuing education every year afterward.
None of that shows up in this page's wage figures: OEWS does not separate credentialed LVTs from other technicians working in Texas, so this page cannot show a pay difference tied to holding the license or the title.
Texas Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners (TBVME)
Voluntary to obtain in the Board's own words — "licensure is optional" — but the LVT title itself is legally reserved: only individuals with an LVT license may use the title Licensed Veterinary Technician in Texas.
The Veterinary Technician National Exam (VTNE) first, then the Texas State Board Exam (SBE); the research row reads the SBE as required before an applicant may practice under the LVT title.
Ten hours of acceptable continuing education every year under Rule 573.66, with caps by course format and certificates kept four years for audit; the renewal cycle itself is not stated on the page read.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the median vet tech salary in Texas?
The Bureau of Labor Statistics' May 2025 estimate puts the Texas median annual wage for veterinary technologists and technicians at $39,410, or $18.95 an hour.
Half of those counted earned more and half earned less.
The national median in the same release is $47,380, so Texas sits 17% below it — and the gap widens further up the range, not here.
How much do the top-paid vet techs in Texas earn?
The Texas 90th percentile is $54,610, meaning one in ten technicians counted earned more than that.
Nationally the 90th percentile is $63,180, 14% higher.
The gap is widest at the 75th percentile: $46,780 in Texas against $57,650 nationally, a 19% difference, which is why the upper half of the Texas range falls further behind the national one than the lower half does.
Do you need a license to work as a vet tech in Texas?
Not to work, according to the sources read: the Texas Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners licenses veterinary technicians as LVTs, but licensure is optional in the Board's own words — only license-holders may use the Licensed Veterinary Technician title.
What tasks an unlicensed technician may perform is a separate scope-of-practice question this page does not cover.
The route to the LVT runs through an AVMA-accredited program, the VTNE, then the Texas State Board Exam, and ten hours of CE every year.
The Texas requirements page on this site covers the full route.
How many vet techs work in Texas?
BLS estimates that 16,730 veterinary technologists and technicians were employed in Texas, the most of any of 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 are filled.
More Texas Veterinary Technician Resources
Sources
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 state estimates — Texas, 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)
- Texas Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners — "Licensed Veterinary Technician (LVT)" page, as summarised on the Texas 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.