Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretakers in Maryland
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$36,390
after federal, FICA and Maryland tax
Tax takes
$8,380
18.7% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$35,002
Maryland costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Maryland — 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
$44,770
Kept after tax
$36,390
Worth in national money
$35,002
State rank
8
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- This is a good state for the work. Maryland pays this job a middle wage of $44,770, ranking 8 of 51 states and sitting about 17.35% above the national middle.
- Measured against other jobs in Maryland, this one sits low: 399 of 489 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Costs eat into it here. Of $44,770, tax leaves $36,390 — and because Maryland is dearer than average, that stretches only as far as $35,002 would nationally. Averages run higher here, $45,950, since top earners drag the number up.
- Maryland's median for veterinary assistants and laboratory animal caretakers is $44,770, about 17.35% above the national figure and 8 of 51 states reporting. Whether that premium reaches the worker depends on the two adjustments below, which is the part a wage table cannot tell you.
- Veterinary assistants and laboratory animal caretakers occupies position 399 of 489 in Maryland's occupational wage distribution, in the bottom quartile. National ranking and local ranking answer different questions and frequently disagree; this is the one a resident experiences.
- After tax, $36,390 remains from the Maryland median of $44,770 for this occupation. Applying the state's above-average price parity yields $35,002 in national-average terms — the quantity relevant to a relocation decision, and the one absent from essentially every published wage comparison. Mean pay of $45,950 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
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 | $37,150 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $44,770 |
| Top tenth earn over | $60,710 |
| This salary | $44,770 |
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 Maryland | $36,390 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $38,153 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$4,260 |
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 | $42,576 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$5,152 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 104 |
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 Maryland earn under $44,770 and half over. The published range runs $37,150 at the tenth percentile to $60,710 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Maryland's $36,390, worked from $44,770. 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 399 of 489.
- One number stands for prices across all of Maryland, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $35,002, the adjusted value of that $44,770 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 399 of 489 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for veterinary assistants and laboratory animal caretakers in Maryland, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $37,150 to $60,710; 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.
- The Maryland take-home of $36,390, on $44,770 for work ranking 399 of 489 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 399 of 489 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Maryland, so $35,002 — the adjusted value of that $44,770 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 399 of 489 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $37,150 at the tenth percentile, $60,710 at the ninetieth.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
Not on its own. Prices in Maryland run above the national level, so the same dollars buy less here. Adjusted for that, this pay is worth $35,002 — the wage did not change, only what it covers.
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 Maryland adds its own income tax on top — which is why $36,390 of this wage survives to your account.
Can I compare this job across every state?
This occupation is published everywhere — all 51 of them — so comparing states measures real differences rather than gaps in the data.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($37,150 to $60,710) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Maryland rather than a national figure.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
Maryland's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $35,002 in national-average terms. ⚠️ RPPs are an all-items index; housing parities vary far more widely than the headline figure.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $36,390 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Maryland 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.