Veterinarians in Washington
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$120,975
after federal, FICA and Washington tax
Tax takes
$39,535
24.6% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$111,434
Washington costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Washington — 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
$160,510
Kept after tax
$120,975
Worth in national money
$111,434
State rank
3
of 49 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- This is a good state for the work. Washington pays veterinarians a middle wage of $160,510, ranking 3 of 49 states and sitting about 23.37% above the national middle.
- Within Washington this is well-paid work. Of 493 occupations with published figures in the state, veterinarians ranks 24 — in the top quarter of everything people do there.
- The wage here flatters the reality. From $160,510 the take-home is $120,975. But Washington costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $111,434 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is higher, $163,010, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Washington's median for veterinarians is $160,510, about 23.37% above the national figure and 3 of 49 states reporting. Whether that premium reaches the worker depends on the two adjustments below, which is the part a wage table cannot tell you.
- Ranked against every occupation Washington publishes a median for, veterinarians sits 24 of 493 — the upper quartile of the state's wage distribution. National standing and within-state standing are separate questions, and a job can occupy very different positions on each.
- Retained pay after federal, FICA and Washington income tax is $120,975 for veterinarians, from $160,510. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $111,434. ⚠️ This is purchasing power and not a wage; cross-state offer comparisons that stop at the nominal figure systematically overvalue high-cost states. The mean of $163,010 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Veterinarians
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $97,140 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $160,510 |
| Top tenth earn over | $265,600 |
| This salary | $160,510 |
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 Washington | $120,975 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $120,975 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$13,058 |
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 | $160,510 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$18,565 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 109 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Washington earn less than $160,510. The published range is $97,140 up to $265,600, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In Washington the take-home figure of $120,975, from $160,510, assumes one filer, no dependants, and nothing paid into a pension before tax. Each of those lowers the bill, so treat it as the plain case. City and school-district income taxes are not included either, and in a few states those are real money. It ranks 24 of 493 occupations here.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $111,434 uses one figure for the whole of Washington. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 493 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 24.
- Reported values are medians; for veterinarians in Washington the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $97,140 to $265,600. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Take-home for Washington is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $120,975 from $160,510. Each omitted item reduces taxable income, so the figure is a lower bound on retained pay for this household shape. Municipal and school-district income taxes are excluded, which understates the burden materially in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Maryland. The occupation ranks 24 of 493 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $111,434, worked from $160,510, deflates by a statewide parity that conceals substantial intra-state variation, concentrated in housing — so it supports comparison between states rather than the pricing of a move to a particular Washington address, on work sitting at 24 of 493 locally.
Questions people ask
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
Because one job title covers very different work. The bottom tenth here earn $97,140 and the top tenth $265,600 — experience, employer and specialism separate them, and a single figure hides all three.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
A larger wage in a dearer place is not automatically more. Adjusted for local prices, this pay behaves like $111,434 of national purchasing power.
Is most of this wage taxed away?
Most of it arrives. $120,975 lands after tax, since there is no state income tax on wages here — though the federal floor is identical in every state.
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.
What drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($97,140) and the ninetieth ($265,600) 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.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
Washington's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $111,434 in national-average terms. ⚠️ RPPs are an all-items index; housing parities vary far more widely than the headline figure.
Why is the take-home ratio comparatively high in this state?
Washington levies no personal income tax on wages, so take-home of $120,975 reflects the federal layer and FICA alone. Federal income tax and FICA are unchanged; states without a wage income tax generally recover revenue through consumption and property bases instead.
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.