Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretakers in New Jersey
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$38,267
after federal, FICA and New Jersey tax
Tax takes
$7,893
17.1% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$35,145
New Jersey costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in New Jersey — 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
$46,160
Kept after tax
$38,267
Worth in national money
$35,145
State rank
5
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- New Jersey is one of the better-paying states for this job. The middle earner takes $46,160, which ranks 5 of 51 states with published figures. That is about 21% above the national middle.
- Within New Jersey this is lower-paid work. Of 490 occupations the state publishes figures for, this job ranks 393. That is the bottom quarter locally, whatever the national comparison says.
- The wage here flatters the reality. From $46,160 the take-home is $38,267. But New Jersey costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $35,145 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is lower, $46,060, so pay clusters nearer the top than usual.
- New Jersey ranks 5 of 51 states publishing a median for veterinary assistants and laboratory animal caretakers, at $46,160 — about 21% above the national median. A state's position on nominal pay is the figure wage tables report and the least informative of the three on this page, because it survives neither the tax adjustment nor the price adjustment intact for most occupations.
- Against every occupation New Jersey reports, veterinary assistants and laboratory animal caretakers ranks 393 of 490, 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.
- Retained pay after federal, FICA and New Jersey income tax is $38,267 for veterinary assistants and laboratory animal caretakers, from $46,160. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $35,145. ⚠️ 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 $46,060 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 | $36,720 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $46,160 |
| Top tenth earn over | $57,670 |
| This salary | $46,160 |
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 New Jersey | $38,267 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $39,270 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$5,266 |
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 | $44,912 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$6,369 |
| 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 New Jersey earn less than $46,160. The published range is $36,720 up to $57,670, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- That $38,267 take-home in New Jersey comes from $46,160. 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 393 of 490.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $35,145 uses one figure for the whole of New Jersey. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 490 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 393.
- Reported values are medians; for veterinary assistants and laboratory animal caretakers in New Jersey the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $36,720 to $57,670. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Retained pay of $38,267, from $46,160, assumes a single New Jersey 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 393 of 490 locally, and the state ranks 5 of 51 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $35,145, worked from $46,160, 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 New Jersey address, on work sitting at 393 of 490 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $36,720 and the top tenth $57,670, so most people doing this work in New Jersey sit within a fairly tight band.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
The number and the value are different things. New Jersey costs more than the national average, so this take-home stretches like $35,145 rather than its face figure.
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 New Jersey's own levy, $38,267 remains.
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 ($36,720 to $57,670) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to New Jersey rather than a national figure.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
New Jersey's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $35,145 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 $38,267 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and New Jersey 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.