How much does a Vet make in Maine?

BLS reports a median annual wage of $124,070 for Vets in Maine as of the latest OES release. That is the 50th-percentile figure — half earn more, half earn less. The 25th-percentile is $106,880 and the 75th-percentile is $153,420.

How are Maine Vet salaries calculated on this page?

Nominal wages come from BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES) — annual employer surveys, May 2026 reference period. Real-wage figures use BEA Regional Price Parities (2023 vintage) to adjust for state-level cost of living. No self-report or jobs-board data is mixed in.

What does the top of the Vet pay scale look like in Maine?

The 90th percentile lands at $207,990. That tier typically reflects senior roles, specialty certifications, high-cost-of-living metros within the state, or union-negotiated rate cards. Below that, the P75 quartile is $153,420.

How many Vets does Maine employ?

BLS OES counts 540 Vets employed in Maine in the most recent release. Employment density relative to population determines whether wage tiers reflect a robust competitive market or a thinner labor pool.

What are the limits of these Vet salary numbers?

BLS OES is an employer survey of W-2 wages — it excludes contractor pay, bonuses outside the base wage definition, equity compensation, and tip income. Self-employed practitioners and gig workers are not represented. For occupations with significant non-W-2 income, the BLS figure is a floor, not a complete picture.

Should I negotiate based on the BLS median for Maine?

The BLS median is a calibration anchor, not a ceiling. Use it to validate that an offer is in-band — anything well below the P25 in this state is a flag, anything above the P75 typically requires demonstrable specialty depth, niche credentials, or a high-COL metro within Maine.

When does this data update?

BLS OES releases a new May reference set roughly each spring; we re-run the ETL pipeline within two weeks of release. BEA RPP refreshes annually. The last-synced timestamp at the top of this page reflects the most recent build.

Maine Veterinarian Salary: BLS $124K Median, Real $127K (2026)

TL;DR

Maine pays Vets a BLS median of $124,070 — the more useful number is $126,649, what that paycheck buys after rent and services.
Bottom quartile $106,880, top quartile $153,420. The P90 ($207,990) is roughly 2.6× the P10 ($80,630).
Cost adjustment is small — neither an arbitrage state nor a high-cost penalty.
Nominal: #20/51 · Real: #19/51 — ranking shifts by 1 positions after RPP.

Wage breakdown — Maine

Percentile	Nominal (BLS)	Real (BEA RPP-adjusted)
P10 (entry tier)	$80,630	$82,306
P25 (lower quartile)	$106,880	$109,101
P50 (median)	$124,070	$126,649
P75 (upper quartile)	$153,420	$156,609
P90 (top tier)	$207,990	$212,313
Mean	$136,960	$139,806
Employment	540 Vets in Maine

Cost of living — BEA Regional Price Parity

Component	Maine index (US = 100)
All-items RPP	98.0
Goods	98.3
Services	148.2
Rents	80.4

Maine's overall RPP (98.0) is close to the national 100 baseline; nominal and real wage move roughly together.

After-tax take-home — Maine (2024 BLS · 2024 tax year, single filer)

Layer-by-layer take-home math at the BLS median

Layer	Amount	Note
Gross BLS P50 (Vet)	$124,070	nominal median
Federal income tax	−$18,595	15.0% effective; std deduction $15,750 applied
State income tax	−$7,333	5.8–7.15% (graduated)
FICA (SS 6.2% + Medicare 1.45%)	−$9,491	SS capped at $183,600 wage base
Take-home (after-tax)	$88,651	71.5% of gross
Real take-home (RPP-adjusted)	$90,493	÷ (98.0 / 100) BEA cost-of-living

What the Maine state-tax burden means for Vet take-home

Mid-band state-tax burden at 5.9% effective. Combined with federal and FICA, take-home is $88,651 (71.5% of gross). After the 98.0 RPP, real take-home is $90,493.

Computed from 2026 IRS federal brackets (Rev. Proc. 2025-32), 2026 state DOR brackets, and 2026 FICA rates. Single filer, standard deduction, no other adjustments. See methodology · tax for limitations (married filers, ITM/SALT itemizers, retirement deferrals, HSA, dependent credits, etc.).

National context

Across the United States, BLS reports a national median of $125,510 for Vets with mean pay of $140,270 and total employment of 80,630. Maine sits at #20 on nominal pay and #19 on real (cost-adjusted) pay among the 51 states and DC. After cost adjustment, Maine climbs 1 positions — the cost of living is favorable relative to the wage.

Frequently asked questions

How much does a Vet make in Maine?: BLS reports a median annual wage of $124,070 for Vets in Maine as of the latest OES release. That is the 50th-percentile figure — half earn more, half earn less. The 25th-percentile is $106,880 and the 75th-percentile is $153,420.
How are Maine Vet salaries calculated on this page?: Nominal wages come from BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES) — annual employer surveys, May 2026 reference period. Real-wage figures use BEA Regional Price Parities (2023 vintage) to adjust for state-level cost of living. No self-report or jobs-board data is mixed in.
What does the top of the Vet pay scale look like in Maine?: The 90th percentile lands at $207,990. That tier typically reflects senior roles, specialty certifications, high-cost-of-living metros within the state, or union-negotiated rate cards. Below that, the P75 quartile is $153,420.
How many Vets does Maine employ?: BLS OES counts 540 Vets employed in Maine in the most recent release. Employment density relative to population determines whether wage tiers reflect a robust competitive market or a thinner labor pool.
What are the limits of these Vet salary numbers?: BLS OES is an employer survey of W-2 wages — it excludes contractor pay, bonuses outside the base wage definition, equity compensation, and tip income. Self-employed practitioners and gig workers are not represented. For occupations with significant non-W-2 income, the BLS figure is a floor, not a complete picture.
Should I negotiate based on the BLS median for Maine?: The BLS median is a calibration anchor, not a ceiling. Use it to validate that an offer is in-band — anything well below the P25 in this state is a flag, anything above the P75 typically requires demonstrable specialty depth, niche credentials, or a high-COL metro within Maine.
When does this data update?: BLS OES releases a new May reference set roughly each spring; we re-run the ETL pipeline within two weeks of release. BEA RPP refreshes annually. The last-synced timestamp at the top of this page reflects the most recent build.

Sources & methodology

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES), SOC 29-1131, 2024 reference period.
U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis — Regional Price Parities, 2023 vintage (all-items, goods, services, rents).
Real-wage figures = nominal BLS wage ÷ (state RPP / 100).
See the methodology page for full computation details and limitations.

By Marcus Liang · Founder & Editor · Last synced 2026-05-07.

Cross-comparison: see how Maine Vet pay ranks against the other 254 state × occupation pages on the Real Wage Atlas → — four-way ranking by real wage, after-tax take-home, state-tax savings, and cost-of-living arbitrage.