Vet assistant pay in Illinois
Vet assistants in Illinois: $17 to $23 an hour in job ads
From 59 job ads at 42 employers, updated Oct 15, 2026
Hourly and yearly ads, kept apart
Posted hourly
$17 to $23
59 ads, median $20
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN | $17 to $21 an hour | 11 | $18.88 |
| Peoria, IL | $18 to $19 an hour | 6 | $16.93 |
Only metros with 5 or more ads are shown. BLS medians are May 2025.
What the jobs offer
15%
CE allowance, 18 of 120 ads
18%
mentorship, 21 of 120 ads
8%
new grads welcome, 9 of 120 ads
1%
four-day week, 1 of 120 ads
Counted only where the ad's own words say it, Oct 15, 2026.
Hiring now in Illinois
- Kennel Assistant at National Veterinary Associates, Lombard$15 to $17 an hour
- Veterinary Assistant at Capitol Illini Veterinary Services - Springfield, Springfield$16.50 to $18 an hour
- Veterinary Assistant at Companion Animal Hospital Mount Prospect, Mt Prospect$18 to $22 an hour
Questions
What does a vet assistant make in Illinois?
Job ads in Illinois offer vet assistants $17 to $23 an hour, median $20, from 59 ads at 42 employers (Oct 15, 2026). The BLS median for vet assistants in Illinois was $18.02 an hour in May 2025.
How does Illinois compare with the US?
The median vet assistant job ad in Illinois offers $20 an hour (59 ads), $1 more than the US median of $19 (2,267 ads), as of Oct 15, 2026.
Which Illinois cities pay vet assistants the most?
In job ads, the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN area has the highest median for vet assistants, $20 an hour from 11 ads. Peoria, IL: $19 (6 ads). Only metros with 5 or more ads are counted (Oct 15, 2026).
What benefits do vet assistant jobs in Illinois offer?
Of 120 vet assistant ads in Illinois, 18 mention a CE allowance, 21 mention mentorship, 9 mention welcoming new grads, 1 mention a four-day week, 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.