10 Best Cities for Veterinarians

Our list of the 10 best cities for veterinarians at face value won’t seem to have anything in common. They’re as lux as the a place in Hawaii and as homely as a town I swear was in Wales.

Being a veterinarian is very specific, challenging and rewarding. A veterinarian is a special kind of doctor. When you take a look at the regular (aka people) doctors, could you vouch that all of them love people and they all enrolled college because they wish to help the humanity? Admit it, you would shake your head in doubt. Becoming filthy rich ranks high in the motives for starting a doctor’s career. On the other hand, even though becoming a vet can turn out to be quite lucrative, it is love towards the animals that is essential. Strangely enough, someone doesn’t have to like people to become their doctor, but animal doctors have always taken care of their pets or other animals in their life.

Taking care of our little (or not so little) furry (or not so furry) friends is no mean feat. What are some things that may not be so great about being a veterinarian? If you like jokes, then you know one of them is the fact that your patients can’t talk. A lot of people wonder: do veterinarians work inside or outside and where can you work as a veterinarian? It pretty much depends on the position. The majority work in private clinics or hospitals, whereas others travel to farms for work, do their job in laboratories or classrooms, or work for the government. Challenges of being a veterinarian can be somewhat daunting. Chron explained it pretty well and gave some excellent examples. First of all, scholarships are very high so most future vets have a student loan to think about and pay off. Next, if you decide to own a practice, you have to invest in marketing a lot. Treating ill pets is OK, but you also have to think a lot about preventive care for different species. Regardless of the fact that your patients can’t talk, their owners surely can, and dealing with different types of people is something even the most brilliant experts find rather tiring and nerve-wracking. Moreover, this is a very competitive field. Competition is fierce, and to make the matters worse, you can’t ever stop learning. New medicines and new trends are constantly emerging and you have to keep track of them, take the best and forget the worst. This occupation will always keep you on your toes.

What are some of the benefits of being a veterinarian? On the plus side, your work hardly ever gets mundane. You can be sure there will always be unpredictable situations to deal with. Globally, the standard of living is increasing and people are purchasing pets more than ever so the job is in high demand. According to the USA Bureau of Labor Statistics, vet employment is predicted to have an increase of 9% in the period between 2014-2024, which is higher than all other occupations. And last but not the least, vets are usually doing the job they love. Job satisfaction is one of the crucial factors for a person’s overall well-being.

As usual, it’s the best when our passion for the work and high wages coincide. First, we decided to check out which the best countries to be a veterinarian are and found the information at our list of the 9 Highest-Paying Countries for Veterinarians and Veterinarian’s Money Digest. The very best country to work for if you are an aspiring young vet is the USA. When it comes to the highest paid veterinarians in the world, they can be found in Hawaii. By the way, if you have opted for this college, you probably want to know where veterinarians  are needed the most. In the US,  Columbia Tribune  and Carrington College give the answer to what states need vets the most. As it appears, it is rural areas that have been neglected and are most in demand for skilled professionals. What’s in it for you? Well, you get to be hired more easily and there are even special scholarships should you decide to work with large animals in the countryside.

Once we found the country which would be one of the best places to live for veterinary technicians in the world, we asked the  USA Wage  about the highest salaries for veterinarians per city.  All the collected information is based on the national compensation survey conducted by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics in 2016 and published in April 2017. Interestingly, the salaries in the US are better than the highest veterinarian salary of any other country in the world. Therefore, our list of best cities for veterinarians comprises only American cities. Most US cities will reward experts in this field more than any other in the world when discussing base (beginner’s) salary. As for the lowest start-up salary and the worst cities for veterinarians in that perspective, stray away from Dallas-Plano-Irving, Texas. The amount you will start with is only $31,600. Which brings us to our ranking.

We listed the best cities for veterinarians according to the average base salary, not the highest one possible a vet could be earning after years of experience. For instance, Dallas-Plano-Irving is not so low on the list of the highest average income that can be achieved, but it’s best to be paid at least twice of the amount they offer for starters, isn’t it? The best city would offer you the highest salary with minimum experience, doesn’t  it? Don’t worry. All the cities we picked will still provide you with maximum median salaries well over $100,000 per year. In addition, we included some extra information which may interest you when choosing a city to work and live in.

Finally, here is our list of 10 best cities for veterinarians.

10. Honolulu

State: Hawaii

Entry level salary: $82,310

$82,310 is something a lot of people would be more than grateful for to earn annually, and this is much more than the average amount you would earn if you were living in any other country in the world apart from the US. Veterinarians are not as looked up to as doctors, but they earn big bucks, too. Keep on reading.

9. Edison-New Brunswick

State: New Jersey

Entry level salary: $82,710

Salary is a bit higher, so some other factors may be more important. New Jersey is the place to go if you aren’t really into beaches and sand all year round.

8. Atlantic City-Hammonton

State: New Jersey

Entry level salary: $83,280

What is interesting about this city is the fact that it is also in the eighth place according to the biggest annual revenue you can earn as a veterinarian. $133,300 is the maximum you can expect (median annual salary). In comparison, the previous city from the list would get you as far as $115,580. What do you say, definitely one of the best cities for veterinarians?

7. York-Hanover

State: Pennsylvania

Entry level salary: $84,570

Bear in mind, this Hanover is in America, not Germany. And the York is in the US, not the UK. If you wish to have a high income, visit Pet Assure list of practices, i.e. your potential employers.

6. Santa Rosa-Petaluma

State: California

Entry level salary: $84,890

In lovely California this is what you begin with if you aren’t experienced enough. The median (50th percentile) annual salary is $116,830.

5. Harrisburg-Carlisle

State: Pennsylvania

Entry level salary: $85,310

A pretty decent city to start healing animals in, and right in the middle of our list of best cities for veterinarians.

4. Saginaw-Saginaw Township North

State: Michigan

Entry level salary: $86,030

The salary looks promising. The only downside, which isn’t of financial nature, is that Mlive and Diversity Data report the population has been steadily declining in the recent years due to people moving away to bigger cities. On the bright side, there have been some incentives to boost the population by building new event venues and living facilities.

3. Albany-Schenectady-Troy

State: New York

Entry level salary: $86,530

If Michigan doesn’t come up to your expectations, how about the state of New York? Albany-Schenectady-Troy , NY (MSA) is one of Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) in the United States which means it is a geographical region with a high population density at its center and its economic ties are intertwined. As for population, it’s quite the opposite from its predecessor on the listof best cities for veterinarians. Its 2015 population of 881,830 ranked the city as the  62nd in the US.

2. Springfield

State: Massachusetts

Entry level salary: $87,900

If you wish to kill two birds with one stone, go to Springfield, Homer’s favorite town. Jokes aside, this city could be ranked second both according to the base salary and according to the median income you could be receiving annually – $177,140. Definitely some thinking material.

1. Santa Barbara-Santa Maria-Goleta

State: California

Entry level salary: $90,310

Here is sunny California again and Santa Barbara-Santa Maria-Goleta at the top of 10 best cities for veterinarians list. Don’t be put off by NWTimes and their report on the high cost of living, i.e. higher than in the rest of the state. You’ll be living in the city which gives you the highest veterinarian salary in the USA, i.e. worldwide.