Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretakers in Oklahoma
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$29,114
after federal, FICA and Oklahoma tax
Tax takes
$5,736
16.5% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$32,977
Oklahoma costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Oklahoma — 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
$34,850
Kept after tax
$29,114
Worth in national money
$32,977
State rank
44
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- The nominal figure here is modest. Oklahoma pays this job a middle wage of $34,850, 44 of 51 states and about 8.65% below the national middle. Hold that thought until the adjusted numbers.
- Within Oklahoma this is lower-paid work. Of 492 occupations the state publishes figures for, this job ranks 434. That is the bottom quarter locally, whatever the national comparison says.
- Here is where Oklahoma does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $34,850 you keep $29,114, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $32,977 would elsewhere. The average is lower, $34,200, so pay clusters nearer the top than usual.
- Oklahoma's $34,850 median for veterinary assistants and laboratory animal caretakers places it 44 of 51 states, about 8.65% below national. Because both the tax and price adjustments tend to favor lower-nominal states, this ranking is the least stable of the three reported here.
- Against every occupation Oklahoma reports, veterinary assistants and laboratory animal caretakers ranks 434 of 492, 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 Oklahoma income tax, retained pay for veterinary assistants and laboratory animal caretakers on $34,850 is $29,114. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $32,977 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 $34,200 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 | $23,170 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $34,850 |
| Top tenth earn over | $46,810 |
| This salary | $34,850 |
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 Oklahoma | $29,114 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $30,182 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,918 |
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 | $33,521 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,319 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 88 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Oklahoma earn less than $34,850. The published range is $23,170 up to $46,810, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- That $29,114 take-home in Oklahoma comes from $34,850. 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 434 of 492.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $32,977 uses one figure for the whole of Oklahoma. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 492 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 434.
- Reported values are medians; for veterinary assistants and laboratory animal caretakers in Oklahoma the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $23,170 to $46,810. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Retained pay of $29,114, from $34,850, assumes a single Oklahoma 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 434 of 492 locally, and the state ranks 44 of 51 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $32,977, worked from $34,850, 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 Oklahoma address, on work sitting at 434 of 492 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $23,170 and the top tenth $46,810, so most people doing this work in Oklahoma sit within a fairly tight band.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
More than the figure suggests. Prices in Oklahoma sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $32,977 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
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 Oklahoma adds its own income tax on top — which is why $29,114 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 ($23,170 to $46,810) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Oklahoma rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Oklahoma'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 $32,977 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 $29,114 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Oklahoma 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.