Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretakers in Idaho
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$31,200
after federal, FICA and Idaho tax
Tax takes
$6,330
16.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$34,126
Idaho costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Idaho — 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
$37,530
Kept after tax
$31,200
Worth in national money
$34,126
State rank
22
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Idaho is 22 of 51 states for this job, with a middle wage of $37,530. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Within Idaho this is lower-paid work. Of 476 occupations the state publishes figures for, this job ranks 416. That is the bottom quarter locally, whatever the national comparison says.
- Here is where Idaho does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $37,530 you keep $31,200, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $34,126 would elsewhere. The average is lower, $36,520, so pay clusters nearer the top than usual.
- Idaho ranks 22 of 51 for veterinary assistants and laboratory animal caretakers at $37,530. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Against every occupation Idaho reports, veterinary assistants and laboratory animal caretakers ranks 416 of 476, in the lowest quartile of the state's distribution. That position is set by the local labor market and is independent of how the state compares nationally for this work.
- After federal, FICA and Idaho income tax, retained pay for veterinary assistants and laboratory animal caretakers on $37,530 is $31,200. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $34,126 in national-average terms. ⚠️ That figure is purchasing power, not a wage, and nobody is paid it; it is what the take-home buys. The mean of $36,520 falls below the median, a left skew that is uncommon in wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretakers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $24,230 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $37,530 |
| Top tenth earn over | $44,730 |
| This salary | $37,530 |
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 Idaho | $31,200 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $32,335 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$850 |
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 | $36,116 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,029 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 91 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Idaho earn less than $37,530. The published range is $24,230 up to $44,730, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- That $31,200 take-home in Idaho comes from $37,530. 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 416 of 476.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $34,126 uses one figure for the whole of Idaho. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 476 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 416.
- Reported values are medians; for veterinary assistants and laboratory animal caretakers in Idaho the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $24,230 to $44,730. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Retained pay of $31,200, from $37,530, assumes a single Idaho 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 416 of 476 locally, and the state ranks 22 of 51 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $34,126, worked from $37,530, 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 Idaho address, on work sitting at 416 of 476 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $24,230 and the top tenth $44,730, so most people doing this work in Idaho sit within a fairly tight band.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
A smaller wage in a cheaper place is not automatically less. Adjusted for local prices, this is worth $34,126.
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 Idaho's own levy, $31,200 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 ($24,230 to $44,730) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Idaho rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Idaho'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 $34,126 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 $31,200 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Idaho 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.