Veterinarians

Add Comparison

Total Workforce

83.4k

Average Age

44.5

Average Salary

$107,870

Average Male Salary

$128,699

Average Female Salary

$96,610

About

Veterinarians are most often employed by the Veterinary services industry. The average yearly wage for Veterinarians was $107,870 in 2016. The top 3 most similar occupations to Veterinarians by wage are Chemical engineers, Aerospace engineers, and Geoscientists and hydrologists, except geographers.

Veterinarians are part of the Healthcare practitioners & technical occupations, along with Chiropractors, Dentists, Dietitians & nutritionists, Optometrists, Pharmacists, and 37 more.

The top 3 locations that employ the most Veterinarians are Brazos CountyCollege Station & Bryan Cities PUMA, TX, Lexington-Fayette County (Outer) PUMA, KY, and Fort Collins City PUMA, CO. The top 3 locations with a relatively high concentration of Veterinarians are Brazos CountyCollege Station & Bryan Cities PUMA, TX, Lake Stevens & Monroe Cities PUMA, WA, and Ingham County (South & East) PUMA, MI.

Photo by Army Medicine

Management, business, science, & arts occupations Healthcare practitioners & technical occupations Healthcare practitioners & technical occupations

Employment

Information on the businesses and industries that employ Veterinarians and on wages and locations for those in the field. Veterinary services is the industry that employs the most Veterinarians, both by share and by number, though the highest paid industry for Veterinarians, by average wage, is General medical and surgical hospitals, and specialty (except psychiatric and substance abuse) hospitals. Veterinarians are paid most in Olney, Damascus, Clarksburg & Darnestown PUMA, MD but are relatively concentrated in Brazos CountyCollege Station & Bryan Cities PUMA, TX.

Wages

Yearly Wage

$107,870

AVERAGE SALARY

± $7,279

In 2018, Veterinarians earned an average of $107,870, $53,981 more than than the average national salary of $53,888.

Aerospace engineers make somewhat more than Veterinarians while Chemical engineers make somewhat less. This chart shows the various occupations closest to Veterinarians as measured by average annual salary in the US.

Wage Distribution

0.358

WAGE GINI

In 2018, Veterinarians had a wage GINI coefficient of 0.358, which is lower than than the national average of 0.479. In other words, wages are distributed more evenly for Veterinarians (shown in red) than for the overall labor force (shown in gray).

Wage by Location

HIGHEST PAYING PUMAS

This map shows the Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMAs) in the United States shaded by average annual wage for Veterinarians.

Spatial Concentration

PUMAs with a Relatively High Concentration of Veterinarians

This map displays which Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMAs) in the United States have a relatively high population of Veterinarians.

Industries

Most Common

The most common industries employing Veterinarians, by number of employees, are Veterinary services, Colleges, universities & professional schools, including junior colleges, and Legal services.

Highest Paying

The highest paying industries for Veterinarians, by average wage, are Scientific research & development services, Administration of economic programs & space research, Pharmaceutical & medicine manufacturing, General medical and surgical hospitals, and specialty (except psychiatric and substance abuse) hospitals, Veterinary services, and Colleges, universities & professional schools, including junior colleges.

Industries by Share

83.4k

2018 Workforce

± 7,088

13.9%

1 YEAR GROWTH

± 10.9%

The number of people employed as Veterinarians has been growing at a rate of 13.9%, from 73,235 people in 2017 to 83,394 people in 2018.

This graphic shows the share of Veterinarians employed by various industries. Veterinary services employs the largest share of Veterinarians at 90.9%, followed by Colleges, universities & professional schools, including junior colleges with 2.64% and Legal services with 1.23%.

Diversity

Demographic information on Veterinarians in the US. The average age of male Veterinarians in the workforce is 49.9 and of female Veterinarians is 41.5, and the most common race/ethnicity for Veterinarians is White (Non-Hispanic).

Gender Composition

29.3k

MALE WORKFORCE

± 4,199

54.1k

FEMALE WORKFORCE

± 5,711

64.9% of Veterinarians are Female, making them the more common gender in the occupation. This chart shows the gender breakdown of Veterinarians.

Race & Ethnicity

Most Common Race or Ethnicity of Veterinarians

White (Non-Hispanic)
Asian (Non-Hispanic)
White (Hispanic)

85.9% of Veterinarians are White (Non-Hispanic), making that the most common race or ethnicity in the occupation. Representing 6.18% of Veterinarians, Asian (Non-Hispanic) is the second most common race or ethnicity in this occupation. This chart shows the racial and ethnic breakdown of Veterinarians.

Age by Gender

49.9

AVERAGE MALE AGE

± 1.93

41.5

AVERAGE FEMALE AGE

± 1.13

The median age of Veterinarians is 44.5, and Male employees are generally 8.36 years older than than their Female counterparts.

Education

Data on higher education choices for Veterinarians from The Department of Education and Census Bureau. The most common major for Veterinarians is Biology but a relatively high number of Veterinarians hold a major in Agriculture.

Majors

ACS PUMS data only shows the major for bachelor's degree-majorss. However, we can filter the data based on highest degree-majors obtained.

MOST COMMON MAJORS

MOST SPECIALIZED MAJORS

Skills

Data on the critical and distinctive skills necessary for Veterinarians from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Veterinarians need many skills, but most especially Science, Reading Comprehension, and Critical Thinking. The revealed comparative advantage (RCA) shows that Veterinarians need more than the average amount of Science, Operations Analysis, and Management of Financial Resources.