Vet assistant pay in California
Vet assistants in California: $20 to $28 an hour in job ads
From 293 job ads at 154 employers, updated Oct 15, 2026
Hourly and yearly ads, kept apart
Posted hourly
$20 to $28
293 ads, median $22
Each range runs from the 10th to the 90th percentile of the ads' stated pay (the middle of each ad's range). An ad that states no unit is not counted, and hourly is never converted to yearly.
Pay by metro
| Metro | Posted range | Ads | BLS median |
|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | $24 to $32 an hour | 11 | $22.15 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | $22 to $29 an hour | 7 | $23.75 |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | $21 to $31 an hour | 7 | $23.66 |
| Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA | $21 to $24 an hour | 6 | $22.72 |
| Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA | $21 to $25 an hour | 7 | $22.59 |
| San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA | $20 to $23 an hour | 12 | $22.46 |
Only metros with 5 or more ads are shown. BLS medians are May 2025.
What the jobs offer
16%
CE allowance, 79 of 479 ads
24%
mentorship, 116 of 479 ads
7%
new grads welcome, 35 of 479 ads
4%
four-day week, 20 of 479 ads
0%
signing bonus, 2 of 479 ads
Counted only where the ad's own words say it, Oct 15, 2026.
Hiring now in California
- Equine Veterinary Assistant, Menlo Park at Steinbeck Peninsula Equine Clinics, Menlo Park$19 to $23 an hour
- Veterinary Assistant - 001314 at Banfield Tustin$17.60 to $22.49 an hour
- Veterinary Assistant - Emergency at VCA West Coast Specialty and Emergency, Fountain Valley$20 to $25 an hour
Questions
What does a vet assistant make in California?
Job ads in California offer vet assistants $20 to $28 an hour, median $22, from 293 ads at 154 employers (Oct 15, 2026). The BLS median for vet assistants in California was $22.24 an hour in May 2025.
How does California compare with the US?
The median vet assistant job ad in California offers $22 an hour (293 ads), $3 more than the US median of $19 (2,267 ads), as of Oct 15, 2026.
Which California cities pay vet assistants the most?
In job ads, the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA area has the highest median for vet assistants, $26 an hour from 11 ads. San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA: $26 (7 ads); San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA: $24 (7 ads); Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA: $23 (6 ads). Only metros with 5 or more ads are counted (Oct 15, 2026).
What benefits do vet assistant jobs in California offer?
Of 479 vet assistant ads in California, 79 mention a CE allowance, 116 mention mentorship, 35 mention welcoming new grads, 20 mention a four-day week, 2 mention a signing bonus, as of Oct 15, 2026. Only what the ad itself says is counted.
Job-ad pay is read from employers' own job feeds and careers pages, each figure kept with the ad's own sentence. See also how often vets leave their practice.