Best US Cities for Veterinarians
Top US cities for Veterinarians ranked by estimated median salary, with cost-of-living-adjusted earning power.
| # | City | Estimated salary | Cost mult. | vs national |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Francisco, CA | $153,400 | 1.45× | +$43,400 |
| 2 | Honolulu, HI | $147,700 | 1.30× | +$37,700 |
| 3 | Oakland, CA | $145,200 | 1.35× | +$35,200 |
| 4 | Irvine, CA | $141,100 | 1.30× | +$31,100 |
| 5 | Boston, MA | $140,900 | 1.22× | +$30,900 |
| 6 | Scottsdale, AZ | $137,500 | 1.18× | +$27,500 |
| 7 | New York City, NY | $134,600 | 1.32× | +$24,600 |
| 8 | San Diego, CA | $133,800 | 1.21× | +$23,800 |
| 9 | Yonkers, NY | $132,900 | 1.20× | +$22,900 |
| 10 | Anchorage, AK | $132,900 | 1.20× | +$22,900 |
| # | City | Salary | Hourly |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Francisco, CA | $153,400 | $74/hr |
| 2 | Honolulu, HI | $147,700 | $71/hr |
| 3 | Oakland, CA | $145,200 | $70/hr |
| 4 | Irvine, CA | $141,100 | $68/hr |
| 5 | Boston, MA | $140,900 | $68/hr |
| 6 | Scottsdale, AZ | $137,500 | $66/hr |
| 7 | New York City, NY | $134,600 | $65/hr |
| 8 | San Diego, CA | $133,800 | $64/hr |
| 9 | Yonkers, NY | $132,900 | $64/hr |
| 10 | Anchorage, AK | $132,900 | $64/hr |
| 11 | Miami, FL | $132,300 | $64/hr |
| 12 | Seattle, WA | $131,300 | $63/hr |
| 13 | Long Beach, CA | $131,300 | $63/hr |
| 14 | Anaheim, CA | $131,300 | $63/hr |
| 15 | Chula Vista, CA | $128,900 | $62/hr |
| 16 | Los Angeles, CA | $126,900 | $61/hr |
| 17 | Baltimore, MD | $126,400 | $61/hr |
| 18 | Portland, OR | $124,800 | $60/hr |
| 19 | Newark, NJ | $124,800 | $60/hr |
| 20 | Sacramento, CA | $124,800 | $60/hr |
| 21 | Riverside, CA | $124,800 | $60/hr |
| 22 | Philadelphia, PA | $123,800 | $60/hr |
| 23 | Henderson, NV | $123,800 | $60/hr |
| 24 | Denver, CO | $123,200 | $59/hr |
| 25 | Orlando, FL | $123,000 | $59/hr |
| 26 | Raleigh, NC | $122,100 | $59/hr |
| 27 | Worcester, MA | $122,100 | $59/hr |
| 28 | Stockton, CA | $120,700 | $58/hr |
| 29 | Aurora, CO | $120,700 | $58/hr |
| 30 | Hialeah, FL | $120,700 | $58/hr |
| 31 | Las Vegas, NV | $119,900 | $58/hr |
| 32 | Minneapolis, MN | $119,900 | $58/hr |
| 33 | Plano, TX | $119,900 | $58/hr |
| 34 | Houston, TX | $118,700 | $57/hr |
| 35 | Phoenix, AZ | $118,200 | $57/hr |
| 36 | Tampa, FL | $118,200 | $57/hr |
| 37 | Gilbert, AZ | $118,200 | $57/hr |
| 38 | Salt Lake City, UT | $118,200 | $57/hr |
| 39 | New Orleans, LA | $117,000 | $56/hr |
| 40 | Wilmington, DE | $116,600 | $56/hr |
| 41 | St. Paul, MN | $116,600 | $56/hr |
| 42 | Boise, ID | $116,600 | $56/hr |
| 43 | Fresno, CA | $116,600 | $56/hr |
| 44 | Nashville, TN | $115,800 | $56/hr |
| 45 | Colorado Springs, CO | $115,800 | $56/hr |
| 46 | St. Petersburg, FL | $115,800 | $56/hr |
| 47 | Madison, WI | $115,800 | $56/hr |
| 48 | St. Louis, MO | $114,400 | $55/hr |
| 49 | Winston-Salem, NC | $114,400 | $55/hr |
| 50 | Jacksonville, FL | $114,200 | $55/hr |
| 51 | Mesa, AZ | $114,200 | $55/hr |
| 52 | Chicago, IL | $113,900 | $55/hr |
| 53 | Austin, TX | $113,900 | $55/hr |
| 54 | Frisco, TX | $113,900 | $55/hr |
| 55 | Tucson, AZ | $113,300 | $54/hr |
| 56 | Glendale, AZ | $113,300 | $54/hr |
| 57 | Spokane, WA | $113,300 | $54/hr |
| 58 | Chandler, AZ | $113,100 | $54/hr |
| 59 | Memphis, TN | $112,700 | $54/hr |
| 60 | Pittsburgh, PA | $112,600 | $54/hr |
| 61 | Tallahassee, FL | $112,600 | $54/hr |
| 62 | Birmingham, AL | $111,900 | $54/hr |
| 63 | Milwaukee, WI | $111,700 | $54/hr |
| 64 | Albuquerque, NM | $111,700 | $54/hr |
| 65 | Atlanta, GA | $111,500 | $54/hr |
| 66 | Reno, NV | $111,500 | $54/hr |
| 67 | Charleston, SC | $111,500 | $54/hr |
| 68 | San Antonio, TX | $110,900 | $53/hr |
| 69 | Grand Rapids, MI | $110,900 | $53/hr |
| 70 | Detroit, MI | $110,000 | $53/hr |
| 71 | Cincinnati, OH | $110,000 | $53/hr |
| 72 | Lexington, KY | $110,000 | $53/hr |
| 73 | Virginia Beach, VA | $110,000 | $53/hr |
| 74 | Buffalo, NY | $110,000 | $53/hr |
| 75 | Chesapeake, VA | $110,000 | $53/hr |
| 76 | North Las Vegas, NV | $110,000 | $53/hr |
| 77 | Greensboro, NC | $110,000 | $53/hr |
| 78 | Knoxville, TN | $110,000 | $53/hr |
| 79 | El Paso, TX | $109,300 | $53/hr |
| 80 | Cleveland, OH | $109,300 | $53/hr |
| 81 | Dallas, TX | $109,200 | $53/hr |
| 82 | Bakersfield, CA | $109,200 | $53/hr |
| 83 | Norfolk, VA | $108,500 | $52/hr |
| 84 | Indianapolis, IN | $108,400 | $52/hr |
| 85 | Louisville, KY | $108,400 | $52/hr |
| 86 | Charlotte, NC | $107,700 | $52/hr |
| 87 | Fort Worth, TX | $106,900 | $51/hr |
| 88 | Garland, TX | $106,900 | $51/hr |
| 89 | Toledo, OH | $106,800 | $51/hr |
| 90 | Lubbock, TX | $106,800 | $51/hr |
| 91 | Arlington, TX | $106,200 | $51/hr |
| 92 | Wichita, KS | $105,200 | $51/hr |
| 93 | Fort Wayne, IN | $105,200 | $51/hr |
| 94 | Mobile, AL | $105,200 | $51/hr |
| 95 | Columbus, OH | $103,800 | $50/hr |
| 96 | Kansas City, MO | $103,800 | $50/hr |
| 97 | Corpus Christi, TX | $103,800 | $50/hr |
| 98 | Omaha, NE | $102,300 | $49/hr |
| 99 | Oklahoma City, OK | $101,500 | $49/hr |
| 100 | Lincoln, NE | $101,500 | $49/hr |
Does location actually decide Veterinarian pay?
Veterinarian work has to be done on site, so where you live and where you earn are the same question. The 51% spread between San Francisco ($153,400) and Lincoln ($101,500) is a spread you can only capture by actually relocating.
One practical constraint: this is a licensed occupation (NAVLE exam plus state license). Because licenses do not automatically transfer across state lines, the metros on this list are not equally reachable — some will require you to re-qualify before you can work at all.
Highest-paying is not the same as best-off
Gross pay and what you keep are different lists. In San Francisco, $153,400 against $3,000/month rent leaves roughly $117,400 a year after housing. In Lincoln, $101,500 against $950 leaves about $90,100. The top still wins after rent, but by $27,300 rather than the $51,900 the headline suggests.
Why these metros and not others
Pay follows employer concentration more than cost of living. Among the top of this list: San Francisco (Salesforce, Google); Honolulu (U.S. Pacific Fleet/Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Queen's Health Systems); Oakland (Kaiser Permanente (HQ), Port of Oakland). A Veterinarian at a large employer in a metro where healthcare work clusters will typically out-earn the local median for the role — the ranking reflects where those employers sit.
Salaries are modelled from BLS national medians adjusted for local price level at a wage elasticity below 1 — pay rises with local costs but not proportionally. See our methodology.