Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretakers in Alabama
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$29,426
after federal, FICA and Alabama tax
Tax takes
$6,374
17.8% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$32,707
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
$35,800
Kept after tax
$29,426
Worth in national money
$32,707
State rank
41
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for this job is on the low side in Alabama. The middle earner gets $35,800. That is 41 of 51 states, and about 6.16% under the national figure. Whether that matters depends on what things cost here.
- Against 482 occupations Alabama publishes, this job lands at 411. That is the lower quarter. That is the comparison people actually feel, more than any national table.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $35,800 you keep $29,426 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $32,707 at national prices. Here the average runs under the middle, at $34,780.
- For veterinary assistants and laboratory animal caretakers, Alabama sits in the lower band at $35,800, ranking 41 of 51 and trailing the national median by about 6.16%. Nominal rankings routinely invert once tax and regional price level are applied, so this position should not be read as the conclusion.
- Within Alabama, this work ranks 411 of 482 occupations by median pay, in the bottom quartile. The within-state position is the more salient one for anyone weighing this job against alternatives available to them locally.
- Retained pay in Alabama is $29,426 after the full tax stack, from $35,800. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $32,707 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $34,780 sits under the median, so the lower tail is the longer one.
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Pay band: Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretakers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $27,970 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $35,800 |
| Top tenth earn over | $43,360 |
| This salary | $35,800 |
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 | $29,426 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $30,945 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$862 |
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 | $33,909 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,042 |
| 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 veterinary assistants and laboratory animal caretakers in Alabama earn under $35,800 and half over. The published range runs $27,970 at the tenth percentile to $43,360 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $29,426 take-home in Alabama comes from $35,800. 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 411 of 482.
- Two cautions on $32,707, the adjusted value of that $35,800 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of Alabama. No actual address matches that. The wage figures and price figures are also from different years. Each is published on its own timetable. This work sits at 411 of 482 locally.
- Figures are distribution medians for veterinary assistants and laboratory animal caretakers in Alabama, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $27,970 to $43,360; 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 $29,426, from $35,800, 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 411 of 482 locally, and the state ranks 41 of 51 for it.
- This $32,707 adjusted figure, worked from $35,800, rests on a state-level price parity averaging over within-state dispersion larger than much of the between-state dispersion. Wage and price vintages differ by publication schedule. The result is directionally sound and not address-specific, for work at 411 of 482 in the state. The occupation ranks 411 of 482 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $27,970 at the tenth percentile, $43,360 at the ninetieth.
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 $32,707 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Three of them are federal and one is not. After income tax, Social Security, Medicare and Alabama's own levy, $29,426 remains.
Can I compare this job across every state?
Yes for this one. Pay is published in all 51 jurisdictions, so a state-to-state comparison here rests on the same survey everywhere rather than on a patchwork.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($27,970 to $43,360) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Alabama rather than a national figure.
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 $32,707 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 $29,426 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.
Is this occupation's state coverage complete?
State-level estimates are published for all 51 jurisdictions for this occupation, so cross-state comparison is not confounded by suppression. ⚠️ Estimates remain survey-based and carry sampling error; small differences between adjacent states should not be over-read.