Veterinarians in Alabama
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$78,745
after federal, FICA and Alabama tax
Tax takes
$26,885
25.5% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$87,523
Alabama costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Alabama — roughly, since only five points along the band are published.
One filer, standard deduction, no dependants and nothing paid in before tax — the same household the rest of this page uses, so the comparison holds. City and school-district income taxes are not included.
Median here
$105,630
Kept after tax
$78,745
Worth in national money
$87,523
State rank
41
of 49 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Alabama is among the lower-paying states for veterinarians. The middle earner takes $105,630, ranking 41 of 49 states — about 18.81% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- This is one of the better-paid jobs in Alabama. It ranks 36 out of 482 occupations the state publishes figures for, which puts it in the top quarter locally.
- Alabama is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $105,630 the take-home is $78,745; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $87,523 would nationally. The average comes to $120,170, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Alabama ranks 41 of 49 for veterinarians, with a median of $105,630 — about 18.81% below the national figure. A nominal shortfall is not by itself a real one: lower-paying states frequently carry lower tax and lower price levels, and the adjusted figures below are where that is settled rather than assumed.
- Within Alabama, veterinarians ranks 36 of 482 occupations by median pay, placing it in the top quartile of the local distribution. This is the comparison a resident actually makes — against neighbors rather than against the same job elsewhere.
- Post-tax income for veterinarians in Alabama, on $105,630, is $78,745 — equivalent to $87,523 once regional price parity is applied. ⚠️ The adjustment uses a statewide index that describes no particular address; within-state price variation, concentrated in housing, routinely exceeds the difference between two states. At $120,170 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Veterinarians
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $65,430 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $105,630 |
| Top tenth earn over | $172,290 |
| This salary | $105,630 |
Positions between the published tenth, quarter, half, three-quarter and ninetieth points are estimated by straight line.
The same pay, somewhere else
The state median for this job
| Take-home in Alabama | $78,745 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $83,141 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,966 |
The raise and the real gain point in opposite directions here.
State income tax and state price levels only. No city income tax, and no housing market.
What you would need there
The state median for this job
| To match take-home only | $99,381 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,715 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- A median is the middle, not an offer. Half of veterinarians in Alabama earn under $105,630 and half over. The published range runs $65,430 at the tenth percentile to $172,290 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $78,745 take-home in Alabama comes from $105,630. It is the no-frills case: single filer, standard deduction, nothing set aside before tax. Real circumstances almost always reduce the tax. City and school-district taxes are not counted at all. Locally the work ranks 36 of 482.
- One number stands for prices across all of Alabama, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $87,523, the adjusted value of that $105,630 median, as a way to compare states fairly, not as a quote for any particular place. The two datasets are also from different years. This job sits at 36 of 482 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for veterinarians in Alabama, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $65,430 to $172,290; within-state dispersion of that width routinely exceeds the dispersion between states, so tenure, employer and metropolitan area predict an individual's pay better than geography does.
- Retained pay of $78,745, from $105,630, assumes a single Alabama filer with the standard deduction and no elective deferrals. Pre-tax retirement or HSA contributions, dependants and itemized deductions all reduce it further; local income taxes, excluded here, would increase it in the states that levy them. This occupation ranks 36 of 482 locally, and the state ranks 41 of 49 for it.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Alabama, so $87,523 — the adjusted value of that $105,630 median — establishes comparability between states rather than accuracy within one. The wage and parity series are dated independently, each following its own publication cycle, and neither is projected forward. This occupation sits at 36 of 482 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
No — it is the middle. Half of these workers earn more and half earn less. The average is $120,170, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
Because one job title covers very different work. The bottom tenth here earn $65,430 and the top tenth $172,290 — experience, employer and specialism separate them, and a single figure hides all three.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
More than the figure suggests. Prices in Alabama sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $87,523 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Four deductions, stacked. The federal layer and the two payroll taxes apply wherever you work; Alabama then takes its own share, leaving $78,745.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 49 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
How does the published median differ from the mean for this occupation?
The median is the midpoint of the distribution; the mean for this occupation in Alabama is $120,170. Wage distributions are right-skewed, so the mean exceeds the median wherever a minority earn substantially more. BLS publishes both because substituting one for the other misstates a typical worker's pay.
What drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($65,430) and the ninetieth ($172,290) exceeds the family median dispersion. SOC codes aggregate roles differing in seniority, industry and specialisation, and BLS does not disaggregate below the detailed occupation level, so within-title variance is not separable from the published series.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Alabama's regional price parity is at or below the national average, so nominal wages understate purchasing power. Take-home deflated by the state price level is $87,523 in national-average terms. The adjustment uses an all-items index and does not isolate housing.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $78,745 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Alabama income tax for a single filer with no adjustments. The state layer is levied in addition to the federal one; only its rate and base differ between states.
Why does this occupation lack published estimates in every state?
BLS suppresses estimates failing disclosure or reliability criteria. This occupation has published state-level estimates in 49 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.