Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretakers in Kansas
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$29,146
after federal, FICA and Kansas tax
Tax takes
$6,534
18.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$32,398
Kansas costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Kansas — 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
$35,680
Kept after tax
$29,146
Worth in national money
$32,398
State rank
43
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for this job is on the low side in Kansas. The middle earner gets $35,680. That is 43 of 51 states, and about 6.47% under the national figure. Whether that matters depends on what things cost here.
- Against 488 occupations Kansas publishes, this job lands at 436. That is the lower quarter. That is the comparison people actually feel, more than any national table.
- Here is where Kansas does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $35,680 you keep $29,146, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $32,398 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $36,490, because the best-paid pull it up.
- For veterinary assistants and laboratory animal caretakers, Kansas sits in the lower band at $35,680, ranking 43 of 51 and trailing the national median by about 6.47%. Nominal rankings routinely invert once tax and regional price level are applied, so this position should not be read as the conclusion.
- Within Kansas, this work ranks 436 of 488 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.
- After federal, FICA and Kansas income tax, retained pay for veterinary assistants and laboratory animal caretakers on $35,680 is $29,146. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $32,398 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 $36,490 sits above the median, the right skew typical of 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 | $28,720 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $35,680 |
| Top tenth earn over | $47,930 |
| This salary | $35,680 |
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 Kansas | $29,146 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $30,849 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$652 |
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 | $33,561 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$788 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Kansas earn less than $35,680. The published range is $28,720 up to $47,930, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Kansas's $29,146, worked from $35,680. That is on purpose. It lets states be compared with each other, not with each other's family circumstances. Local city taxes are left out. Locally this work ranks 436 of 488.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $32,398 uses one figure for the whole of Kansas. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 488 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 436.
- Reported values are medians; for veterinary assistants and laboratory animal caretakers in Kansas the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $28,720 to $47,930. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The Kansas take-home of $29,146, on $35,680 for work ranking 436 of 488 locally, models the simplest household deliberately: holding it constant is what makes the interstate comparison meaningful. It also means the absolute figure overstates liability for most real filers, and municipal income taxes are outside the model entirely. The occupation ranks 436 of 488 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $32,398, worked from $35,680, 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 Kansas address, on work sitting at 436 of 488 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $28,720 and the top tenth $47,930, so most people doing this work in Kansas sit within a fairly tight band.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. Kansas is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $32,398 in national terms.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Into four separate taxes, not one. Federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare apply everywhere, and Kansas adds its own income tax on top — which is why $29,146 of this wage survives to your account.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like one.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($28,720 to $47,930) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Kansas rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Kansas'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 $32,398 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 $29,146 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Kansas 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.