These Are The 10 Best States For Veterinarians

Veterinarians are one of the most common jobs in America. Additionally, a significant number of people work as veterinarians in every state in the union — it’s not like they are all just concentrated in California or the South.

Since veterinarians are such a prominent occupation, we at Zippia wanted to look at where veterinarians have it the best: where there are plenty of jobs to go around, and people get paid what they deserve during every phase of their career.

To that end, we dove into the numbers from the BLS to figure out which states have the best opportunities for veterinarians. After all the numbers had been crunched, we were left with this list of the best of best for America’s veterinarians:

1. Idaho
2. Pennsylvania
3. Virginia
4. Rhode Island
5. North Carolina
6. South Dakota
7. New Mexico
8. South Carolina
9. Indiana
10. Maine

So there you have it — Idaho is the best of the best when it comes to being a veterinarians.

How did it end up here and does it really deserve this ranking? Read on to see how we completed our research on the best states for veterinarians and for more on the top ten states.

How we determined the best states to be a veterinarian

Here at Zippia, we talk to a lot of people of all different backgrounds looking for jobs. Our research has concluded that there are two common things people want in a job:

• Availability of jobs
• Pay

So in order to find out the best states for veterinarians in America we needed to figure out where the jobs are and how well veterinarians get paid. This led to the following criteria taken from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’s Occupational Employment Statistics for 2015:

• Location quotient. A measure of how common a job is a given state.
• Average annual salary.
• Average annual salary for entry level work.
• Average annual salary for experienced professionals.

To make all the salary numbers more apples to apples across states, we compared the salary data relative to the state’s cost of living from MIT’s living wage index.

Applying this standardization allows us to account for that fact that it costs more to live in certain in states. For example, the average salary for veterinarians in California is $114,870 and the average salary in Illinois is $89,180, but the Illinois salary actually goes further in paying for life’s essentials.

In order to develop and overall ranking, we ranked each state for each criteria from 1 to 50 where 1 was the best.

We then averaged all the rankings for a state into a Job Score with the state having the lowest overall Job Score earning the distinction of being the best state for veterinarians in America.

So without further ado, let’s get into just what made each state so great for veterinarians.

1. Idaho

Total Jobs: 450
Average Annual Salary: $92,290
Average Entry Level Salary: $54,000
Average Experienced Salary: $131,140
Location Quotient: 1.48

2. Pennsylvania

Total Jobs: 2,750
Average Annual Salary: $112,950
Average Entry Level Salary: $54,840
Average Experienced Salary: $171,510
Location Quotient: 1.01

3. Virginia

Total Jobs: 2,520
Average Annual Salary: $107,820
Average Entry Level Salary: $55,660
Average Experienced Salary: $180,790
Location Quotient: 1.44

4. Rhode Island

Total Jobs: 210
Average Annual Salary: $125,200
Average Entry Level Salary: $104,320
Average Experienced Salary: $154,720
Location Quotient: 0.96

5. North Carolina

Total Jobs: 2,690
Average Annual Salary: $99,520
Average Entry Level Salary: $51,530
Average Experienced Salary: $155,020
Location Quotient: 1.37

6. South Dakota

Total Jobs: 230
Average Annual Salary: $88,310
Average Entry Level Salary: $55,180
Average Experienced Salary: $129,930
Location Quotient: 1.16

7. New Mexico

Total Jobs: 400
Average Annual Salary: $95,150
Average Entry Level Salary: $56,970
Average Experienced Salary: $148,090
Location Quotient: 1.06

8. South Carolina

Total Jobs: 960
Average Annual Salary: $91,470
Average Entry Level Salary: $65,720
Average Experienced Salary: $123,770
Location Quotient: 1.05

9. Indiana

Total Jobs: 1,220
Average Annual Salary: $92,780
Average Entry Level Salary: $57,730
Average Experienced Salary: $149,880
Location Quotient: 0.87

10. Maine

Total Jobs: 350
Average Annual Salary: $96,230
Average Entry Level Salary: $57,800
Average Experienced Salary: $147,850
Location Quotient: 1.23

There You Have It

If you’re looking to start out your career as a veterinarian these are the states that should be at the top of your list. You’ll find high pay, available jobs, and chances for career advancement.

If you’re curious, here are the worst states to be a veterinarian in America:

1. Kansas
2. Louisiana
3. Minnesota

Detailed List Of The Best States For Veterinarians

Rank	State	Average Salary	Entry Level Salary	# Of People
1	Idaho	$92,290	$54,000	450
2	Pennsylvania	$112,950	$54,840	2,750
3	Virginia	$107,820	$55,660	2,520
4	Rhode Island	$125,200	$104,320	210
5	North Carolina	$99,520	$51,530	2,690
6	South Dakota	$88,310	$55,180	230
7	New Mexico	$95,150	$56,970	400
8	South Carolina	$91,470	$65,720	960
9	Indiana	$92,780	$57,730	1,220
10	Maine	$96,230	$57,800	350
11	Texas	$99,880	$55,220	4,310
12	Oklahoma	$106,230	$53,520	830
13	Delaware	$102,780	$64,370	200
14	Kentucky	$86,920	$33,420	940
15	Arizona	$92,700	$53,890	1,450
16	California	$114,870	$62,490	6,010
17	Wisconsin	$90,340	$52,620	1,620
18	Missouri	$88,250	$55,900	1,360
19	Washington	$91,510	$63,620	1,520
20	Iowa	$90,020	$48,310	1,120
21	Michigan	$94,920	$46,100	2,160
22	West Virginia	$84,470	$61,740	280
23	Maryland	$113,130	$43,810	1,330
24	New Jersey	$127,130	$72,610	1,530
25	Ohio	$88,490	$35,570	2,470
26	Wyoming	$106,180	$46,550	180
27	Arkansas	$84,730	$45,290	540
28	Vermont	$92,170	$50,340	270
29	Utah	$87,410	$54,980	390
30	Florida	$96,050	$55,410	3,570
31	Nebraska	$77,410	$48,220	710
32	New Hampshire	$97,490	$56,130	370
33	New York	$123,650	$66,330	3,120
34	Connecticut	$125,630	$58,570	780
35	Oregon	$80,040	$54,020	1,240
36	Alaska	$94,060	$59,520	170
37	North Dakota	$85,310	$48,410	210
38	Mississippi	$85,450	$46,230	470
39	Nevada	$91,950	$59,180	580
40	Alabama	$78,000	$52,550	860
41	Massachusetts	$112,040	$60,560	1,630
42	Illinois	$89,180	$55,320	2,640
43	Colorado	$87,120	$36,850	1,930
44	Georgia	$86,440	$42,110	2,040
45	Montana	$73,210	$34,390	370
46	Tennessee	$84,500	$44,600	1,300
47	Minnesota	$82,990	$52,600	1,460
48	Louisiana	$84,810	$48,650	760
49	Kansas	$72,210	$38,480	760

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