Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations
BLS May 2025 wages Wide pay band SOC 29-1131

Veterinarians

The published band from $73,920 to $215,700 is the distinctive signal for this role, not a twin of Anesthesiologists.

Full salary details → About this data

Same-major-group titles next to Veterinarians: Anesthesiologists ($391K) , Physicians, All Other ($266K) , Dermatologists ($329K) , Obstetricians and Gynecologists ($293K) . Hash-ordered per card so residual SOC siblings do not share an identical peer sentence.

What Veterinarians publish as work

O*NET task statements for SOC 29-1131 - occupation-level descriptions, not every employer's posting. Sibling cards diverge here because the task set is entity-keyed.

  1. 1. Treat sick or injured animals by prescribing medication, setting bones, dressing wounds, or performing surgery
  2. 2. Inoculate animals against various diseases, such as rabies or distemper
  3. 3. Examine animals to detect and determine the nature of diseases or injuries
  4. 4. Collect body tissue, feces, blood, urine, or other body fluids for examination and analysis
  5. 5. Operate diagnostic equipment, such as radiographic or ultrasound equipment, and interpret the resulting images
  6. 6. Educate the public about diseases that can be spread from animals to humans
  7. 7. Counsel clients about the deaths of their pets or about euthanasia decisions for their pets
  8. 8. Specialize in a particular type of treatment, such as dentistry, pathology, nutrition, surgery, microbiology, or internal medicine
  9. 9. Direct the overall operations of animal hospitals, clinics, or mobile services to farms
  10. 10. Advise animal owners regarding sanitary measures, feeding, general care, medical conditions, or treatment options
  11. 11. Euthanize animals
  12. 12. Attend lectures, conferences, or continuing education courses

Veterinarians: O*NET ranks Reading Comprehension first

Importance-ranked O*NET profile for SOC 29-1131 - lead skill Reading Comprehension at 4.1 ; lead knowledge Biology. Sibling cards diverge here even when peer titles overlap.

Top skills

  1. 1. Reading Comprehension 4.1
  2. 2. Active Listening 4.1
  3. 3. Active Learning 4.0
  4. 4. Speaking 3.9
  5. 5. Science 3.9
  6. 6. Critical Thinking 3.9
  7. 7. Complex Problem Solving 3.9
  8. 8. Judgment and Decision Making 3.9

Knowledge areas

  1. 1. Biology 4.7
  2. 2. Medicine and Dentistry 4.7
  3. 3. Customer and Personal Service 4.5
  4. 4. English Language 4.3
  5. 5. Mathematics 3.7
  6. 6. Education and Training 3.5
Published pay band (10th to 90th)
$73,920 to $215,700
median $130,100 · ~2.9× spread
$130K
National median
↑ +10%
Growth 2024-2034
3,000
Annual openings
83,900
Estimated US jobs
Anesthesiologists
Highest-pay peer · $391K

Typical Entry and Preparation Assignments

Entry education Doctoral or professional degree

Top Paying States for Veterinarians

1. New Jersey $160,140
2. Washington $160,510
3. Arizona $152,020
4. District of Columbia $134,530
5. Minnesota $133,110
6. Pennsylvania $133,520
7. California $163,920
8. Illinois $133,580
9. Maryland $163,170
10. Massachusetts $140,260

Other Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations titles

  1. 1. Dermatologists $328,730
  2. 2. Obstetricians and Gynecologists $292,910
  3. 3. Ophthalmologists, Except Pediatric $300,080
  4. 4. Anesthesiologists $391,490
  5. 5. Physicians, All Other $265,930
  6. 6. Physicians, Pathologists $312,400

The OEWS band for Veterinarians runs from $73,920 (10th) to $215,700 (90th), about 2.9× wide, with median $130,100. That spread, not the midpoint alone, is the distinctive published fact.

Employment Projections expect +10% change between 2024 and 2034 (much faster than average vs baseline 3.1%). About 3,000 annual openings are projected. BLS assigns Doctoral or professional degree as typical education needed for entry. These are occupation-level assignments, not universal requirements. BLS does not publish a separate occupation-specific safety rate for this role; its broad SOC-group rate is excluded from this career card's grade.

Highest published state median in this ranking: New Jersey at $160,140. The table records differences without proving causes. Highest-pay peer shown here: Anesthesiologists at $391,490. Compare the same statistic in the relevant local wage area before treating the national median as a personal benchmark; OEWS excludes employer benefits.

Veterinarians pay-rank #31 in Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations

Veterinarians sits at pay-rank #31 of 71 detailed Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations, the middle third of the major-group median table. ROW_NUMBER on median; title breaks ties.

Other mid-table titles · closest medians

Full Salary Details Compare this role

Data from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025. Projections from BLS Employment Projections program, 2024-2034.

The 10th-to-90th percentile spread for Veterinarians is unusually wide, so the state map and peer comparison carry more signal than the median alone.

Veterinarians salary map

State, metro, and percentile for SOC 29-1131

New Jersey · top state for Veterinarians

$160K published median

Washington · #2 state pay

$161K · behind New Jersey

Anesthesiologists

Highest-pay peer vs Veterinarians · $391K

Physicians, All Other

Lower-pay peer beside Veterinarians · $266K

Compare Veterinarians

Head-to-head OEWS medians with another SOC
Compare Veterinarians with another occupation →

Pay-band next reads

Entry-Level vs Experienced Pay

What percentile bands reveal

Using Salary Data for Negotiation

Leverage BLS percentiles

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Veterinarians mid-table among Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations? ▼
Yes: pay-rank #31 of 71 detailed Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations, the middle third. Mid-table neighbors: Nurse Practitioners ($132K), Nurse Midwives ($134K), Physician Assistants ($136K), Optometrists ($137K). ROW_NUMBER on median; title breaks ties.
What do veterinarians do day to day? ▼
O*NET lists published task statements for Veterinarians. Leading ones include: Treat sick or injured animals by prescribing medication, setting bones, dressing wounds, or performing surgery; Inoculate animals against various diseases, such as rabies or distemper; Examine animals to detect and determine the nature of diseases or injuries; Collect body tissue, feces, blood, urine, or other body fluids for examination and analysis. These are occupation-level task descriptions, not every employer's job description.
Which O*NET skills rank highest for veterinarians? ▼
For SOC 29-1131, O*NET importance scores lead with Reading Comprehension (4.1), Active Listening (4.1), Active Learning (4.0), Speaking (3.9). Knowledge areas emphasize Biology, Medicine and Dentistry, Customer and Personal Service. These are occupation-level profiles, not a hiring checklist for every employer.
How wide is the published pay band for Veterinarians? ▼
OEWS places the 10th percentile at $73,920 and the 90th at $215,700 for Veterinarians (2.9× spread). The national median is $130,100. OEWS does not isolate experience, employer, or geography as the cause of that spread.
What employment change does BLS publish for Veterinarians? ▼
The 2024-2034 projection for Veterinarians is +10%. Projected annual openings: about 3,000. Relative to the current all-occupations baseline of 3.1%: much faster than average.
What typical entry education does BLS assign to Veterinarians? ▼
BLS assigns Doctoral or professional degree as the typical-education-needed-for-entry category for Veterinarians. These are occupation-level labels, not every employer's hiring rule.
Which three states show the highest OEWS medians for Veterinarians? ▼
New Jersey ($160,140), Washington ($160,510), Arizona ($152,020) lead this ranking. The table does not identify why those state estimates differ.

Source data and WageDex calculations are identified in context on this page. Wage and state figures use BLS OEWS May 2025; growth and education use BLS Employment Projections for 2024-2034; safety fields cite BLS CFOI/SOII; task statements cite O*NET where shown. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.

Disclaimer: Wage and outlook figures on this page are provided for informational purposes only and do not constitute career, financial, or salary-negotiation advice. Actual pay varies by employer, experience, and local conditions; consult a career counselor or the hiring employer for guidance specific to your situation.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OES Occupational wage estimates by area and industry · 2025

Federal sources on this Veterinarians card
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS / OES) - national median and percentiles for SOC 29-1131. bls.gov/oes
  • O*NET OnLine - task and skill statements for Veterinarians. onetcenter.org
  • BLS Employment Projections - 2024-2034 change and openings for this occupation. bls.gov/emp
  • U.S. Census Bureau ACS - demographic and labor-force context for state and metro geography. census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
  • IRS Statistics of Income (SOI) - payroll-tax aggregate context for wage comparisons. irs.gov/statistics