Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretakers in Oregon
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$34,499
after federal, FICA and Oregon tax
Tax takes
$9,871
22.2% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$32,944
Oregon costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Oregon — 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
$44,370
Kept after tax
$34,499
Worth in national money
$32,944
State rank
10
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- This is a good state for the work. Oregon pays this job a middle wage of $44,370, ranking 10 of 51 states and sitting about 16.3% above the national middle.
- Against 489 occupations Oregon publishes, this job lands at 433. That is the lower quarter. That is the comparison people actually feel, more than any national table.
- The wage here flatters the reality. From $44,370 the take-home is $34,499. But Oregon costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $32,944 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is lower, $43,630, so pay clusters nearer the top than usual.
- Oregon's median for veterinary assistants and laboratory animal caretakers is $44,370, about 16.3% above the national figure and 10 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.
- Within Oregon, this work ranks 433 of 489 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.
- Retained pay after federal, FICA and Oregon income tax is $34,499 for veterinary assistants and laboratory animal caretakers, from $44,370. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $32,944. ⚠️ 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 $43,630 falls below the median, a left skew that is uncommon in wage data.
Compare this career across states
Choose your filing status and local taxes, compare pay, and keep a shortlist.Compare wage and personal-pay outcomes by state, with selected resident local taxes and saved career choices.
Pay band: Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretakers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $36,480 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $44,370 |
| Top tenth earn over | $49,470 |
| This salary | $44,370 |
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 Oregon | $34,499 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $37,831 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$5,987 |
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 | $40,223 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$7,241 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 105 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $44,370 as a midpoint for Oregon, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $36,480 and the ninetieth is $49,470 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Oregon's $34,499, worked from $44,370. 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 433 of 489.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $32,944 uses one figure for the whole of Oregon. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 489 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 433.
- The Oregon median of $44,370 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $36,480 to $49,470. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- The Oregon take-home of $34,499, on $44,370 for work ranking 433 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 433 of 489 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $32,944, worked from $44,370, 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 Oregon address, on work sitting at 433 of 489 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $36,480 and the top tenth $49,470, so most people doing this work in Oregon sit within a fairly tight band.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
The number and the value are different things. Oregon costs more than the national average, so this take-home stretches like $32,944 rather than its face figure.
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 Oregon adds its own income tax on top — which is why $34,499 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 ($36,480 to $49,470) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Oregon rather than a national figure.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
Oregon's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $32,944 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 $34,499 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Oregon 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.