Highest-paying Cities for Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretakers

The top 100 highest paying cities for veterinary assistants and laboratory animal caretakers (ranked by average annual salary) are listed in Table 1. The entry level salary (as measured by the salary of the lowest 10% paid earners) and the number of employment of veterinary assistants and laboratory animal caretakers in those cities are also shown in the table. As shown in the table, with a annual salary of $50,520, New Haven, Connecticut is the highest paying city for veterinary assistants and laboratory animal caretakers. It is followed by Ames, Iowa (average annual salary $50,360). The salary and employment information is computed from data published by U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) in April 2023 [1]. For more salary information of veterinary assistants and laboratory animal caretakers in a specific city, use the links in the table.

Table 1. 100 Highest-paying cities/areas for Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretakers

Rank	City/Area	Average Salary i	Entry Level Salary i	# of Empl. i
1	New Haven, Connecticut	$50,520	$30,370	300
2	Ames, Iowa	$50,360	$29,720	110
3	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, California	$44,500	$36,900	600
4	San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, California	$43,190	$36,810	1,800
5	Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, Massachusetts	$40,890	$31,820	1,640
6	Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, Massachusetts	$39,700	$24,900	1,020
7	Ithaca, New York	$39,590	$32,730	160
8	Providence-Fall River-Warwick, Rhode Island	$39,180	$29,040	410
9	Worcester, Massachusetts	$39,070	$31,850	210
10	Bangor, Maine	$38,770	$30,970	60
11	Santa Rosa-Petaluma, California	$38,660	$31,610	320
12	Portland-South Portland-Biddeford, Maine	$38,500	$30,180	190
13	Santa Cruz-Watsonville, California	$38,400	$36,490	170
14	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, Washington	$38,360	$36,640	2,220
15	New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, New York	$38,210	$30,940	3,790
16	Vallejo-Fairfield, California	$38,090	$32,570	170
17	Napa, California	$37,980	$34,100	40
18	Southwest Maine nonmetropolitan area, Maine	$37,930	$29,610	140
19	Urban Honolulu, Hawaii	$37,540	$32,260	350
20	Hawaii-Maui-Kauai nonmetropolitan area, Hawaii	$37,520	$28,630	60
21	Salinas, California	$37,520	$35,810	150
22	Anchorage, Alaska	$37,520	$37,240	150
23	Denver-Aurora-Broomfield, Colorado	$37,500	$29,060	1,260
24	San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, California	$37,470	$31,280	1,590
25	Massachusetts nonmetropolitan area, Massachusetts	$37,460	$30,230	40
26	Alaska nonmetropolitan area, Alaska	$37,400	$36,490	40
27	Fairbanks, Alaska	$37,380	$33,330	40
28	Sacramento-Arden-Arcade-Roseville, California	$37,340	$31,490	1,130
29	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, District of Columbia	$37,300	$29,970	2,480
30	Minneapolis-St Paul-Bloomington, Wisconsin	$37,190	$30,700	960
31	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, California	$37,190	$35,310	4,550
32	North Valley-Northern Mountains Region of California nonmetropolitan area, California	$37,100	$30,660	140
33	Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, California	$36,940	$31,410	220
34	Northwestern Connecticut nonmetropolitan area, Connecticut	$36,930	$28,970	30
35	Bremerton-Silverdale, Washington	$36,920	$31,470	150
36	Kennewick-Pasco-Richland, Washington	$36,880	$31,810	100
37	Olympia, Washington	$36,860	$31,650	180
38	Springfield, Massachusetts	$36,840	$29,640	140
39	Boulder, Colorado	$36,790	$29,670	210
40	Kahului-Wailuku-Lahaina, Hawaii	$36,770	$30,660	40
41	North Coast Region of California nonmetropolitan area, California	$36,720	$30,110	120
42	Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, California	$36,660	$31,530	400
43	Bellingham, Washington	$36,660	$31,400	100
44	San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, California	$36,490	$30,640	190
45	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, Washington	$36,470	$34,540	1,540
46	Barnstable Town, Massachusetts	$36,390	$34,520	80
47	Mount Vernon-Anacortes, Washington	$36,360	$31,770	60
48	Greeley, Colorado	$36,190	$28,100	120
49	Eastern Sierra-Mother Lode Region of California nonmetropolitan area, California	$36,180	$30,890	90
50	Durham-Chapel Hill, North Carolina	$36,140	$23,380	370
51	Western Washington nonmetropolitan area, Washington	$36,130	$31,070	190
52	Capital-Northern New York nonmetropolitan area, New York	$36,100	$29,880	130
53	Central East New York nonmetropolitan area, New York	$35,980	$30,560	80
54	Modesto, California	$35,970	$31,240	230
55	Yuba City, California	$35,920	$32,970	60
56	Colorado Springs, Colorado	$35,900	$29,160	380
57	Corvallis, Oregon	$35,900	$29,240	90
58	Baltimore-Towson, Maryland	$35,890	$30,340	1,150
59	Fort Collins-Loveland, Colorado	$35,880	$30,360	240
60	Phoenix-Mesa-Glendale, Arizona	$35,880	$28,640	2,090
61	Bend, Oregon	$35,860	$32,200	150
62	Naples-Marco Island, Florida	$35,790	$28,570	140
63	Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, Connecticut	$35,740	$30,860	240
64	Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, California	$35,740	$30,790	1,180
65	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, Pennsylvania	$35,720	$28,510	1,920
66	Spokane, Washington	$35,650	$30,610	270
67	Norwich-New London, Rhode Island	$35,630	$29,730	50
68	Eastern Washington nonmetropolitan area, Washington	$35,450	$31,180	130
69	Southwest New York nonmetropolitan area, New York	$35,420	$30,000	90
70	Chicago-Joliet-Naperville (IL-IN-WI Area), Illinois	$35,380	$30,170	2,640
71	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, Florida	$35,330	$28,480	1,770
72	Fresno, California	$35,320	$30,170	200
73	Central New York nonmetropolitan area, New York	$35,290	$20,430	100
74	Salem, Oregon	$35,260	$30,950	190
75	Medford, Oregon	$35,190	$30,160	90
76	Albany-Schenectady-Troy, New York	$35,120	$30,780	400
77	Punta Gorda, Florida	$35,110	$28,280	60
78	Redding, California	$35,080	$30,480	100
79	Rochester, Minnesota	$35,070	$28,740	50
80	Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, Wisconsin	$34,980	$24,030	630
81	Gettysburg, Pennsylvania	$34,940	$23,190	30
82	Grants Pass, Oregon	$34,880	$31,410	40
83	Salisbury, Maryland	$34,870	$26,200	70
84	Central Oregon nonmetropolitan area, Oregon	$34,850	$28,080	70
85	Eugene-Springfield, Oregon	$34,810	$31,200	190
86	Appleton, Wisconsin	$34,760	$22,660	90
87	Leominster-Fitchburg-Gardner, Massachusetts	$34,690	$28,790	40
88	Visalia-Porterville, California	$34,680	$30,300	110
89	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, Georgia	$34,600	$24,000	2,150
90	Champaign-Urbana, Illinois	$34,560	$26,430	120
91	Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, Texas	$34,540	$22,810	870
92	Southwest Minnesota nonmetropolitan area, Minnesota	$34,510	$27,980	30
93	Kingston, New York	$34,480	$29,880	60
94	Flagstaff, Arizona	$34,430	$30,210	40
95	Rochester, New York	$34,430	$29,920	310
96	Detroit-Warren-Livonia, Michigan	$34,350	$29,550	1,500
97	Coast Oregon nonmetropolitan area, Oregon	$34,300	$29,070	100
98	Yakima, Washington	$34,190	$31,140	110
99	San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City, California	$34,180	$26,230	560
100	Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Florida	$34,130	$28,110	260

See also: 💰 Highest paying industries for veterinary assistants and laboratory animal caretakers.