Veterinarian Assistant Schools, Salaries, and Job Data

Job Numbers and Growth

Veterinarian assistants hold about 75,000 positions nationally. As an occupation, this career is ranked low for unemployment rate. About 4% of employees could not obtain a job in 2008.

Area Job Conditions

Jobs in this career are most numerous in Blacksburg (Virginia), Raleigh (North Carolina), and Billings (Montana), and least common in Charlotte (North Carolina), Providence (Rhode Island), and Denver (Colorado).

Salaries vary the US, with the highest being found in New Haven (Connecticut), Boston (Massachusetts), and Bethesda (Maryland). The lowest salaries for this job are in Las Cruces (New Mexico), Shreveport (Louisiana), and Midland (Texas).

Training and Education

Getting short-term on-the-job training will improve one'schance of landing a job in this field. Veterinarian assistants with at least a bachelor's degree are 10% of the total. Approximately 59% of workers started college, but did not pursue a bachelor's degree. High school was sufficient education for 31% of people in this field. Recommended schools are shown in the column to the right; request information from them to help you decide which if any could help you with this career.

Part-Time Work and Self-Employment

Approximately, 23% of veterinarian assistants work part-time. In this field, about 3% work for themselves.

Veterinarian Assistants: An Introductory Video

Veterinarian Assistants Around the Country

In the list below, each metro area is rated for the relative popularity of veterinarian assistants compared to other locations (that is, jobs per population). Single or double up or down arrows indicate the relative popularity in that location. Within each state listing, metro areas are sorted by the actual number of jobs for veterinarian assistants.

Alabama

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Birmingham	$22,000	480
Montgomery	$20,000	170
Huntsville	$18,000	120
Mobile	$20,000	110
Auburn	$20,000	70
Decatur	$20,000	40

Alaska

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Anchorage	$25,000	40

Arizona

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Phoenix	$21,000	590
Tucson	$20,000	330
Kingman	$19,000	80
Flagstaff	$21,000	30

Arkansas

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Little Rock	$19,000	260
Fayetteville	$22,000	220
Fort Smith	$18,000	90
Hot Springs	$22,000	40

California

Location	Median Pay	Workers
San Diego		1,160
Riverside	$26,000	680
Santa Ana	$22,000	650
Sacramento	$24,000	530
Oakland	$26,000	520
San Francisco	$34,000	520
San Jose	$30,000	370
Fresno	$23,000	220
Santa Barbara	$26,000	180
Bakersfield	$19,000	140
Santa Rosa	$27,000	140
San Luis Obispo	$22,000	140
Modesto	$24,000	110
Vallejo	$24,000	110
Chico	$23,000	110
Santa Cruz	$29,000	100
Stockton	$26,000	90
Salinas	$31,000	50
Visalia	$25,000	50
Redding	$20,000	40
Napa	$21,000	30

Colorado

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Denver	$22,000	240

Connecticut

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Hartford	$25,000	340
Bridgeport	$28,000	340
New Haven	$34,000	180

Delaware

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Wilmington	$24,000	180
Dover	$22,000	50

District of Columbia

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Washington	$24,000	1,880

Florida

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Tampa	$20,000	860
Orlando	$19,000	540
Fort Lauderdale	$19,000	350
Jacksonville	$21,000	340
Miami	$20,000	300
West Palm Beach	$21,000	270
Sarasota	$20,000	210
Pensacola	$20,000	170
Cape Coral	$23,000	140
Ocala	$19,000	130
Tallahassee	$18,000	120
Gainesville	$18,000	110
Palm Bay	$20,000	110
Deltona	$20,000	90
Port St Lucie	$22,000	80
Naples	$20,000	80
Sebastian	$19,000	50
Punta Gorda	$20,000	40
Fort Walton Beach	$25,000	40

Georgia

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Athens	$23,000	90

Hawaii

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Honolulu	$22,000	170

Idaho

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Boise	$21,000	150

Illinois

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Chicago	$25,000	1,570
Champaign	$21,000	90
Springfield	$26,000	70
Rockford	$18,000	50
Bloomington	$25,000	30

Indiana

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Indianapolis	$23,000	520
Gary	$19,000	210
South Bend	$22,000	130
Lafayette	$24,000	110
Evansville	$21,000	80
Fort Wayne	$21,000	70
Bloomington	$20,000	50
Anderson	$24,000	50
Muncie	$18,000	40
Terre Haute	$19,000	30

Iowa

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Davenport	$19,000	140
Des Moines	$20,000	130

Kansas

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Wichita	$18,000	210
Topeka	$19,000	130
Lawrence	$21,000	40

Kentucky

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Louisville	$21,000	250
Lexington	$21,000	210

Louisiana

Location	Median Pay	Workers
New Orleans	$24,000	480
Baton Rouge	$21,000	280
Shreveport	$18,000	200
Lafayette	$24,000	100
Monroe	$20,000	60
Lake Charles	$18,000	50

Maine

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Portland	$26,000	100

Maryland

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Baltimore	$25,000	1,500
Bethesda	$32,000	630
Cumberland	$17,000	50
Hagerstown	$19,000	40

Massachusetts

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Boston	$32,000	820
Springfield	$24,000	130
Lowell	$28,000	70
Barnstable Town	$26,000	60
New Bedford	$30,000	40
Leominster	$23,000	30
Lawrence	$25,000	30
Haverhill	$26,000	30

Michigan

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Warren	$22,000	740
Detroit	$25,000	550
Lansing	$19,000	170
Grand Rapids	$22,000	120
Kalamazoo	$23,000	100
Ann Arbor	$24,000	80
Flint	$22,000	70
Niles	$23,000	50
Saginaw	$25,000	50
Holland	$25,000	40
Battle Creek	$25,000	30
Jackson	$19,000	30
Monroe	$22,000	30

Minnesota

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Minneapolis	$23,000	780
Duluth	$23,000	70
Rochester	$24,000	30

Mississippi

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Jackson	$20,000	150
Pascagoula	$21,000	40

Missouri

Location	Median Pay	Workers
St Louis	$20,000	1,280
Kansas City	$20,000	660
Columbia	$22,000	50
Jefferson City	$22,000	40

Montana

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Billings	$21,000	140
Great Falls	$21,000	40
Missoula	$21,000	30

Nevada

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Las Vegas	$21,000	480
Reno	$18,000	60

New Hampshire

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Nashua	$19,000	40
Manchester	$22,000	40

New Jersey

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Newark	$22,000	370
Edison	$22,000	340
Camden	$22,000	270
Trenton	$24,000	90
Ocean City	$19,000	40
Atlantic City	$20,000	40
Vineland	$22,000	30

New Mexico

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Albuquerque	$26,000	360
Las Cruces	$17,000	80
Santa Fe	$27,000	50
Farmington	$21,000	40

New York

Location	Median Pay	Workers
New York	$28,000	1,410
Nassau	$26,000	620
Poughkeepsie	$24,000	290
Rochester	$25,000	170
Binghamton	$20,000	60
Utica	$24,000	40
Ithaca	$29,000	40
Kingston	$23,000	30

North Carolina

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Raleigh	$22,000	1,040
Durham	$24,000	290
Asheville	$25,000	230
Charlotte	$22,000	200
Winston Salem	$22,000	190
Greensboro	$24,000	170
Fayetteville	$20,000	80
Wilmington	$20,000	60
Hickory	$21,000	50
Goldsboro	$18,000	40
Burlington	$23,000	40

Ohio

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Cleveland	$21,000	470
Cincinnati	$24,000	440
Akron	$27,000	330
Columbus	$24,000	290
Toledo	$20,000	120

Oklahoma

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Lawton	$18,000	40

Oregon

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Portland	$23,000	650
Eugene	$24,000	200
Salem	$24,000	100
Medford	$24,000	80
Bend	$25,000	40

Pennsylvania

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Philadelphia	$25,000	940
Pittsburgh	$25,000	460
Allentown	$21,000	160
Lancaster	$22,000	150
Reading	$22,000	70
Erie	$21,000	70
State College	$29,000	70
Lebanon	$29,000	40

Rhode Island

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Providence	$25,000	110

South Carolina

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Greenville	$21,000	250
Charleston	$19,000	170
Spartanburg	$21,000	50

South Dakota

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Sioux Falls	$20,000	30

Tennessee

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Memphis	$20,000	340
Nashville	$21,000	270
Knoxville	$22,000	220
Kingsport	$18,000	80
Clarksville	$16,000	80
Johnson City	$19,000	50
Jackson	$22,000	50
Morristown	$18,000	50

Texas

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Houston	$20,000	1,340
San Antonio	$20,000	550
Dallas	$20,000	520
Austin	$21,000	460
Fort Worth	$19,000	230
Killeen	$18,000	90
Corpus Christi	$17,000	70
Waco	$19,000	40
Midland	$15,000	40

Utah

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Salt Lake City	$19,000	180
Provo	$20,000	80
Ogden	$21,000	70

Vermont

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Burlington	$23,000	40

Virginia

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Richmond	$22,000	820
Virginia Beach	$20,000	380
Lynchburg	$20,000	170
Roanoke	$18,000	150
Blacksburg	$26,000	120
Charlottesville	$21,000	90
Winchester	$23,000	80

Washington

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Seattle	$26,000	820
Spokane	$22,000	260
Tacoma	$20,000	140
Kennewick	$22,000	70
Olympia	$23,000	70
Bellingham	$22,000	70
Yakima	$24,000	50
Bremerton	$21,000	50
Mount Vernon	$26,000	30

West Virginia

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Huntington	$20,000	110
Charleston	$19,000	90
Wheeling	$26,000	60

Wisconsin

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Milwaukee	$21,000	370
Racine	$23,000	80
Appleton	$22,000	70
Janesville	$23,000	50
Sheboygan	$21,000	50
Oshkosh	$20,000	40
La Crosse	$19,000	30

Our veterinarian assistant career and school information is provided by CTI Career Search.