Veterinarian Salary 2026: Mars/VCA, DVM ROI, Specialty, by State

TL;DR — Veterinarian Salary national + state, real-wage adjusted

National distribution where the spread is

Where the spread is.

FIG. 02 · National distribution · SOC 29-1131 n = $80,630 workers

P50 $125,510

$70,350P10 P25 $98,420 P75 $161,610 P90$212,890

The amber band is the 10th-to-90th percentile. The thicker inner band is the central half — half of all Vets in the federal sample earn between $98,420 and $161,610 in nominal W-2 wages.

State-by-state — ranked by real P50 P50 wage from BLS OEWS · real wage divides nominal by state RPP

The same job, fifty-one wages.

Sorted by real P50 descending. Real wage is the BLS nominal P50 divided by the state's BEA RPP — the dollar that buys the same basket as the national average. Each row links to the full state page.

Rank	ST	State	Real P50	Nom. P50	RPP	Emp
01	WV	West Virginia	$149,822▲12%	$134,290	89.6	0K
02	WA	Washington	$143,084▼8%	$155,060	108.4	2K
03	CA	California	$141,673▼11%	$158,950	112.2	9K
04	NM	New Mexico	$139,271▲10%	$126,710	91	0K
05	DC	District of Columbia	$138,376▼10%	$153,200	110.7	0K
06	VT	Vermont	$138,189▲3%	$134,240	97.1	0K
07	NJ	New Jersey	$136,358▼8%	$148,550	108.9	2K
08	TN	Tennessee	$136,187▲9%	$125,420	92.1	2K
· · · · · 35 states omitted · · · · ·
44	SD	South Dakota	$102,066▲13%	$89,970	88.1	0K
45	OR	Oregon	$98,185▼5%	$102,910	104.8	2K
46	HI	Hawaii	$93,644▼9%	$102,730	109.7	0K
47	NE	Nebraska	$92,714▲11%	$83,710	90.3	1K
48	MT	Montana	$90,470▲10%	$82,340	91	1K
RPP source: BEA Regional Price Parities, 2023 release. P10–P90 from BLS OEWS May 2024.				Real P50 = Nominal P50 × (100 / RPP)

All 51 state pages P10–P90 + RPP per state

FIG. · VETERINARIAN · REAL P50 BY STATE n = 51 jurisdictions · darker = higher

AK —

ME 127K VT 138K NH 122K WA 143K ID 115K MT 90K ND 113K MN 119K WI 112K MI 119K NY 122K MA 122K RI 124K OR 98K NV 124K WY 104K SD 102K IA 114K IL 130K IN 129K OH 134K PA 133K NJ 136K CT 125K CA 142K UT 127K CO 121K NE 93K MO 131K KY 109K WV 150K VA 122K

MD —

DE —

DC 138K AZ 132K NM 139K KS 114K AR 116K TN 136K NC 131K SC 136K HI 94K TX 125K OK 109K LA 136K MS 117K AL 110K GA 119K FL 127K

Real P50 (BLS ÷ RPP)

Top 20% $138K+

60–80% $126K

40–60% $114K

20–40% $102K

Bottom 20% $90K

Each tile shows the BLS OEWS P50 wage divided by that state's BEA Regional Price Parity (real take-home, normalized to US-100). Darker amber = higher real wage. Click any tile for the full state page with P10–P90 percentiles, RPP, and rank. Source: BLS OEWS May 2024 + BEA RPP 2023.

Reader questions profession-specific FAQ

Veterinarian Salary 2026 — Corporate Consolidation, DVM Tuition ROI, Specialty Premium, by State

Where the spread is.

The same job, fifty-one wages.