Best States for Veterinarians

Where you live can make all the difference when it comes to finding a great job in the veterinary field. Some states offer higher wages for veterinarians, some states offer more opportunity, and other states just have it all.

Financial news website Insider Monkey compiled a list of the 25 best states for veterinarians to call home. The list takes into account the total number of veterinarians working in each state (in private practice and other areas), the average veterinarian salary per state (both from the Bureau of Labor Statistics) and the cost of living in each state (data from the Missouri Economic Research and Information Center). These data were then averaged to come up with the a list of the top 25 states for veterinarians.

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Of the states that made the list, New Jersey offers the highest annual wage for veterinarians and Connecticut has the highest cost of living. The state with the most working veterinarians? Texas. Note that the following list mentions how many veterinarians work in some states, but other states did not have this information available.

Where does your state fit in?

25. Tennessee

• Cost of living index: 89.8
• Average annual wage: $84,500
• Hourly wage: $40.62
• More than 1,300 veterinarians work in Tennessee

24. Utah

• Cost of living index: 92.8
• Average annual wage: $87,410

• Hourly wage: $42.02
• More than 390 veterinarians work in Utah

23. Arizona

• Cost of living index: 98.1
• Average annual wage: $92,700
• Hourly wage: $44.56
• More than 1,450 veterinarians work in Arizona

22. Georgia

• Cost of living index: 91.4
• Average annual wage: $86,440
• Hourly wage: $41.55
• More than 2,040 veterinarians work in Georgia

21. Ohio

• Cost of living index: 93
• Average annual wage: $88,490
• Hourly wage: $42.54
• More than 2,470 veterinarians work in Ohio

20. Kentucky

• Cost of living index: 90.8
• Average annual wage: $86,920
• Hourly wage: $41.78
• More than 940 veterinarians work in Kentucky

Continue to the next page for states 19 through 15.

19. Arkansas

• Cost of living index: 88.5
• Average annual wage: $84,730
• Hourly wage: $40.73
• More than 540 veterinarians work in Arkansas

18. Connecticut

• Cost of living index: 130.7
• Average annual wage: $125,630
• Hourly wage: $60.39

17. Florida

• Cost of living index: 99
• Average annual wage: $96,050
• Hourly wage: $46.17
• More than 3,570 veterinarians work in Florida

16. Missouri

• Cost of living index: 90.8
• Average annual wage: $88,250
• Hourly wage: $42.42

15. Iowa

• Cost of living index: 91.7
• Average annual wage: $90,020
• Hourly wage: $43.27
• More than 1,120 veterinarians work in Iowa

Continue to the next page for states 14 through 10.

14. Mississippi

• Cost of living index: 86
• Average annual wage: $85,450
• Hourly wage: $41.08
• More than 470 veterinarians work in Mississippi

13. New Mexico

• Cost of living index: 95.7
• Average annual wage: $95,150
• Hourly wage: $45.74

12. Delaware

• Cost of living index: 102.6
• Average annual wage: $102,780
• Hourly wage: $49.41
• More than 200 veterinarians work in Delaware

11. Rhode Island

• Cost of living index: 122.1
• Average annual wage: $125,200
• Hourly wage: $60.19
• More than 210 veterinarians work in Rhode Island

10. Idaho

• Cost of living index: 89.6
• Average annual wage: $92,290
• Hourly wage: $44.37
• More than 40 veterinarians work in Idaho

Continue to the next page for states 9 through 5.

9. New Jersey

• Cost of living index: 121
• Average annual wage: $127,130
• Hourly wage: $61.12

8. Indiana

• Cost of living index: 87.9
• Average annual wage: $92,780
• Hourly wage: $44.60

7. North Carolina

• Cost of living index: 94.2
• Average annual wage: $99,520
• Hourly wage: $47.84
• More than 960 veterinarians work in North Carolina

6. Virginia

• Cost of living index: 100.2
• Average annual wage: $107,820
• Hourly wage: $51.83
• More than 2,520 veterinarians work in Virginia

5. Michigan

• Cost of living index: 88.2
• Average annual wage: $94,920
• Hourly wage: $45.63

Continue to the next page for top five states for veterinarians.

4. Pennsylvania

• Cost of living index: 102.8
• Average annual wage: $112,950
• Hourly wage: $54.30
• More than 2,750 veterinarians work in Pennsylvania

3. Texas

• Cost of living index: 90.7
• Average annual wage: $99,880
• Hourly wage: $48,01
• More than 4,310 veterinarians work in Texas

2. Wyoming

• Cost of living index: 91.7
• Average annual wage: $106,180
• Hourly wage: $51.04

1. Oklahoma

• Cost of living index: 88.6
• Average annual wage: $106,230
• Hourly wage: $51.07
• More than 830 veterinarians work in Oklahoma