Veterinary Technologists and Technicians in Oklahoma
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$32,338
after federal, FICA and Oklahoma tax
Tax takes
$6,762
17.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$36,629
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
$39,100
Kept after tax
$32,338
Worth in national money
$36,629
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 $39,100, 44 of 51 states and about 17.48% 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 376. 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 $39,100 you keep $32,338, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $36,629 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $42,000, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Oklahoma's $39,100 median for veterinary technologists and technicians places it 44 of 51 states, about 17.48% 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 technologists and technicians ranks 376 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 technologists and technicians on $39,100 is $32,338. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $36,629 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 $42,000 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Veterinary Technologists and Technicians
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $31,390 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $39,100 |
| Top tenth earn over | $53,880 |
| This salary | $39,100 |
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 | $32,338 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $33,597 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$2,055 |
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 | $37,533 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,485 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 88 |
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 technologists and technicians in Oklahoma earn under $39,100 and half over. The published range runs $31,390 at the tenth percentile to $53,880 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 Oklahoma's $32,338, worked from $39,100. 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 376 of 492.
- One number stands for prices across all of Oklahoma, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $36,629, the adjusted value of that $39,100 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 376 of 492 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for veterinary technologists and technicians in Oklahoma, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $31,390 to $53,880; 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 Oklahoma take-home of $32,338, on $39,100 for work ranking 376 of 492 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 376 of 492 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Oklahoma, so $36,629 — the adjusted value of that $39,100 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 376 of 492 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $42,000, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $31,390 and the top tenth $53,880, 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 $36,629 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Four deductions, stacked. The federal layer and the two payroll taxes apply wherever you work; Oklahoma then takes its own share, leaving $32,338.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like one.
How does the published median differ from the mean for this occupation?
The median is the midpoint of the distribution; the mean for this occupation in Oklahoma is $42,000. Wage distributions are right-skewed, so the mean exceeds the median wherever a minority earn substantially more. BLS publishes both because substituting one for the other misstates a typical worker's pay.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($31,390 to $53,880) 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 $36,629 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 $32,338 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.