Occupation salary profile

Veterinarians

SOC 29-1131 BLS OEWS May 2025 H-1B LCAs, last 12 months

Diagnose, treat, or research diseases and injuries of animals. Includes veterinarians who conduct research and development, inspect livestock, or care for pets and companion animals.

National median · BLS
$130,100
▲ +3.66% YoY
H-1B sponsor median
$137,155
▼ -2.03% YoY · 397 LCAs
Average salary · BLS
$142,680
Mean annual wage
U.S. employment
83,900
Jobs (BLS)
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Enter your pay and a location to see where you stand against BLS and H-1B pay, your estimated take-home pay, and your purchasing power.

Pay range for Veterinarians

Annual base pay at each percentile. BLS covers all U.S. workers in this occupation; H-1B covers 397 certified Labor Condition Applications filed by sponsoring employers in the last 12 months.

Percentile All U.S. workers (BLS) H-1B sponsored
10th — entry pay$73,920$54,000
25th$101,460$92,000
Median (50th)$130,100$137,155
75th$166,120$170,000
90th — top pay$215,700$200,000
H-1B sponsors pay a median of $137,155 for Veterinarians — 5.4% above the BLS national median of $130,100.

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Based on hrs/week × weeks/year = 2,080 hrs
Projections 2025–2035

Job outlook for Veterinarians

BLS projects employment of veterinarians to grow 9.4% from 2025 to 2035, faster than the 3.5% average for all occupations. About 3,100 openings are projected each year, on average, from new jobs and from replacing workers who retire or move to other occupations.

Jobs 2025 → 2035
91,100 → 99,600
+8,600 jobs
Projected change
+9.4%
All occupations: +3.5%
Openings per year
3,100
Average, 2025–2035
Typical entry education
Doctoral or professional degree
No related experience required
Self-employed
7.2% of workers (2025)
Preparation needed (O*NET Job Zone 5)
Extensive Preparation Needed. Most of these occupations require graduate school. For example, they may require a master's degree, and some require a Ph.D., M.D., or J.D. (law degree).
Fastest-growing jobs → Best-paying jobs that need a doctoral or professional degree →

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025–2035 · BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook →

H-1B sponsored pay

Pay by H-1B wage level

Employers assign every H-1B filing a Department of Labor prevailing-wage level, from Level I (entry) to Level IV (fully competent). Pay rises steeply with level.

H-1B median $137,155
Change vs prior year -2.03%
After inflation (CPI-U) -5%
Wage level LCAs Share P25 Median P75
Level I 99 24.9% $86,892 $100,000 $120,000
Level II 185 46.6% $130,000 $147,638 $172,167
Level III 34 8.6% $158,954 $174,023 $200,000
Level IV 28 7.1% $179,250 $200,000 $241,250
H-1B job titles

Salaries by job title in Veterinarians

The 6 most-filed job titles inside SOC 29-1131, from 397 H-1B filings. Seniority words and level numbers are grouped (“Senior Data Engineer II” counts as Data Engineer). Tap a title for its full range, wage levels and the exact titles employers used.

Job title LCAs Share P25 Median P75 YoY
Veterinarian 131 33% $120,000 $147,000 $190,000 -8.12%
Associate Veterinarian 84 21.16% $114,288 $140,000 $170,000 -6.67%
Emergency Veterinarian 20 5.04% $123,989 $142,126 $168,022 -8.89%
Clinical Trainee Resident 11 2.77% $49,000 $51,000 $51,000 —
Assistant Professor 11 2.77% $142,306 $157,000 $160,000 —
Clinical Assistant Professor 10 2.52% $126,365 $141,500 $153,250 —

Titles are cleaned from the employer's own LCA text (codes and typos removed, nothing invented). Rows need 10+ filings in this SOC.

Skills & tools

Skills needed for Veterinarians

How important each skill and knowledge area is for this job, rated by O*NET on a 1–5 scale from surveys of workers and occupational analysts.

Top skills
  • Active Listening4.1
  • Reading Comprehension4.1
  • Active Learning4.0
  • Complex Problem Solving3.9
  • Critical Thinking3.9
  • Judgment and Decision Making3.9
  • Science3.9
  • Speaking3.9
  • Writing3.5
  • Service Orientation3.4
Top knowledge areas
  • Biology4.7
  • Medicine and Dentistry4.7
  • Customer and Personal Service4.5
  • English Language4.3
  • Mathematics3.7
  • Education and Training3.5
  • Chemistry3.4
  • Personnel and Human Resources3.3
Software and technology used
Adobe AcrobatMicrosoft AccessMicrosoft ExcelMicrosoft Office softwareMicrosoft OutlookMicrosoft PowerPointMicrosoft WordAmerican Data Systems PAWS Veterinary Practice ManagementComplete ClinicEklin Information Systems VIAHenry Schein ImproMedIDEXX Laboratories IDEXX CornerstoneIDEXX Laboratories IDEXX VPMImproMed InfinityInformaVet ALIS-VETIntraVetMobile Data Software VetInfoSneakers Software DVMax Practice

Highlighted = in demand: frequently listed in employer job postings for this occupation (O*NET).

Source: O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.

About the job

What veterinarians do

  • 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.
  • Operate diagnostic equipment, such as radiographic or ultrasound equipment, and interpret the resulting images.
  • Educate the public about diseases that can be spread from animals to humans.
  • Counsel clients about the deaths of their pets or about euthanasia decisions for their pets.
  • Advise animal owners regarding sanitary measures, feeding, general care, medical conditions, or treatment options.
Also called
Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM)Emergency Veterinarian (Emergency Vet)Small Animal Veterinarian (Small Animal Vet)Veterinary Medicine Doctor (DVM)Companion Animal PractitionerLarge Animal Veterinarian (Large Animal Vet)Mixed Animal Veterinarian (Mixed Animal Vet)Veterinary Surgeon (Vet Surgeon)Veterinary Surgical Specialist (Vet Surgical Specialist)Zoo Veterinarian (Zoo Vet)
More job titles for this occupation (38)
Animal AnatomistAnimal ChiropractorAnimal DoctorAnimal PathologistAnimal PhysiologistAnimal SurgeonEquine DentistEquine Vet (Equine Veterinarian)Horse DoctorLaboratory Animal Care Veterinarian (Lab Animal Care Vet)Laboratory Veterinarian (Lab Vet)Managing VeterinarianPoultry Veterinarian (Poultry Vet)Professional Services Veterinarian (PSV)Public Health Veterinarian (Public Health Vet)Relief Veterinarian (Relief Vet)Technical Services Veterinarian (Technical Services Vet)Treatment CoordinatorVeterinarian Epidemiologist (Vet Epidemiologist)Veterinary Anatomist (Vet Anatomist)Veterinary Bacteriologist (Vet Bacteriologist)Veterinary CardiologistVeterinary Dentist (Vet Dentist)Veterinary Epidemiologist (Vet Epidemiologist)Veterinary Inspector (Vet Inspector)Veterinary Laboratory Diagnostician (Vet Lab Diagnostician)Veterinary Livestock Inspector (Vet Livestock Inspector)Veterinary Meat Inspector (Vet Meat Inspector)Veterinary Medicine Scientist (Vet Medicine Scientist)Veterinary Microbiologist (Vet Microbiologist)Veterinary Parasitologist (Vet Parasitologist)Veterinary Pathologist (Vet Pathologist)Veterinary Pharmacologist (Vet Pharmacologist)Veterinary Physiologist (Vet Physiologist)Veterinary Radiologist (Vet Radiologist)Veterinary Toxicologist (Vet Toxicologist)Veterinary Virus Serum Inspector (Vet Virus Serum Inspector)Wildlife Veterinarian (Wildlife Vet)

Source: O*NET 31.0 (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0). These are general job titles, not H-1B filings; for titles employers actually filed, see “Job titles” above.