Research Summary. After extensive research by the Zippia data science team, we identified these details of veterinary technician salary by state for the United States:
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California has the highest veterinary technician salary of $50,580
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Arkansas has the lowest veterinary technician salary of $29,370
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The national average salary for veterinary technicians is $38,441
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The national hourly pay for veterinary technicians is $18.48
You can read more on the specific methodology.
Background
Without fail, in surveys across basically every demographic, the number one most important aspect of a job for most people is the salary — how much do veterinary technicians get paid where I live?
And while there are many things to go into how much you, specifically, can expect to make, there’s really good data for average salaries for veterinary technician by state across America broken down by seniority level. So while your city may be slightly different than the state average, these averages give you a rough sense of what to expect for your salary.
The state with the best salary for veterinary technicians after this adjustment? That would be California.
Here’s a quick snapshot of the top ten states for veterinary technician salaries:
Let’s take a look at how we got here and a full ranking of all the states.
Highest-Paid Veterinary Technicians By State
| Rank | State | Average Veterinary Technician Salary | 10th Percentile | 90th Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | California | $50,580 | $38,000 | $66,000 |
| 2 | Massachusetts | $45,920 | $36,000 | $58,000 |
| 3 | Alaska | $45,718 | $40,000 | $51,000 |
| 4 | New York | $45,309 | $34,000 | $58,000 |
| 5 | Virginia | $45,131 | $34,000 | $58,000 |
| 6 | Washington | $44,539 | $35,000 | $55,000 |
| 7 | North Dakota | $43,848 | $35,000 | $53,000 |
| 8 | Idaho | $42,988 | $34,000 | $53,000 |
| 9 | Nevada | $42,415 | $32,000 | $55,000 |
| 10 | Oregon | $42,057 | $33,000 | $52,000 |
| 11 | Connecticut | $41,874 | $32,000 | $53,000 |
| 12 | Maine | $41,492 | $33,000 | $51,000 |
| 13 | Vermont | $41,409 | $33,000 | $51,000 |
| 14 | Nebraska | $40,507 | $32,000 | $50,000 |
| 15 | Rhode Island | $40,476 | $31,000 | $51,000 |
| 16 | Arizona | $40,201 | $30,000 | $52,000 |
| 17 | Delaware | $40,153 | $30,000 | $52,000 |
| 18 | New Hampshire | $39,719 | $31,000 | $49,000 |
| 19 | Hawaii | $39,714 | $33,000 | $47,000 |
| 20 | Colorado | $39,613 | $31,000 | $50,000 |
| 21 | Mississippi | $39,532 | $31,000 | $50,000 |
| 22 | Wisconsin | $38,715 | $31,000 | $48,000 |
| 23 | Minnesota | $38,554 | $31,000 | $47,000 |
| 24 | Wyoming | $37,880 | $30,000 | $47,000 |
| 25 | New Jersey | $37,669 | $28,000 | $49,000 |
| 26 | Illinois | $37,194 | $29,000 | $46,000 |
| 27 | Kansas | $37,174 | $29,000 | $46,000 |
| 28 | West Virginia | $37,130 | $29,000 | $47,000 |
| 29 | Michigan | $36,513 | $29,000 | $45,000 |
| 30 | Pennsylvania | $36,374 | $27,000 | $47,000 |
| 31 | Kentucky | $36,340 | $29,000 | $45,000 |
| 32 | Alabama | $36,127 | $28,000 | $45,000 |
| 33 | Indiana | $35,974 | $28,000 | $44,000 |
| 34 | Ohio | $35,835 | $28,000 | $45,000 |
| 35 | North Carolina | $35,699 | $28,000 | $45,000 |
| 36 | Maryland | $35,471 | $27,000 | $46,000 |
| 37 | Utah | $34,426 | $27,000 | $43,000 |
| 38 | Florida | $34,370 | $26,000 | $44,000 |
| 39 | South Carolina | $34,008 | $26,000 | $42,000 |
| 40 | Montana | $33,563 | $27,000 | $41,000 |
| 41 | Georgia | $33,363 | $26,000 | $41,000 |
| 42 | Iowa | $33,265 | $26,000 | $41,000 |
| 43 | Texas | $33,128 | $25,000 | $43,000 |
| 44 | South Dakota | $32,642 | $26,000 | $40,000 |
| 45 | Missouri | $32,476 | $25,000 | $40,000 |
| 46 | Oklahoma | $32,158 | $25,000 | $40,000 |
| 47 | Louisiana | $32,032 | $24,000 | $41,000 |
| 48 | New Mexico | $31,667 | $24,000 | $41,000 |
| 49 | Tennessee | $30,226 | $24,000 | $37,000 |
| 50 | Arkansas | $29,370 | $23,000 | $36,000 |
Methodology: Veterinary Technician Salary By State
To better understand veterinary technician pay by state, Zippia has aggregated data across a multitude of channels including the BLS, FLC, and OPM. We then supplement that data with actual listed salaries from job posts. Finally, the data science team calculates a weighted average of these inputs to create an average pay for veterinary technicians by state.
We took the average annual salary data for veterinary technicians from these estimates and ranked every state on this criteria with the state with the highest salary ranking as highest average salary for veterinary technicians.
Veterinary Technician Salary By State FAQs
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What is the highest-paid state for veterinary technicians?
The highest-paid state for veterinary technicians is California with an average salary of $50,580 per year.
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What city pays veterinary technicians the most?
San Rafael, CA pays veterinary technicians the most with an average salary of $50,900 per year.
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What is the worst state for veterinary technicians?
The worst state for veterinary technicians is Arkansas with an average salary of $29,370 per year.
Author
Chris Kolmar is a co-founder of Zippia and the editor-in-chief of the Zippia career advice blog. He has hired over 50 people in his career, been hired five times, and wants to help you land your next job. His research has been featured on the New York Times, Thrillist, VOX, The Atlantic, and a host of local news. More recently, he's been quoted on USA Today, BusinessInsider, and CNBC.
