Vet assistant pay in Washington
Vet assistants in Washington: $19 to $27 an hour in job ads
From 94 job ads at 62 employers, updated Oct 15, 2026
Hourly and yearly ads, kept apart
Posted hourly
$19 to $27
94 ads, median $21
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater, WA | $21 to $33 an hour | 7 | $19.12 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | $21 to $24 an hour | 7 | $21.94 |
| Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA | $19 to $25 an hour | 16 | $21.97 |
| Kennewick-Richland, WA | $18 to $21 an hour | 6 | $19.28 |
Only metros with 5 or more ads are shown. BLS medians are May 2025.
What the jobs offer
18%
CE allowance, 29 of 160 ads
17%
mentorship, 27 of 160 ads
4%
new grads welcome, 7 of 160 ads
2%
four-day week, 3 of 160 ads
Counted only where the ad's own words say it, Oct 15, 2026.
Hiring now in Washington
- Relief Veterinary Assistant at BluePearl Pet Hospital Olympia, Olympia$20.30 to $30.10 an hour
- Veterinary Assistant at Spanaway Veterinary Clinic, SpanawayPay not stated
- Veterinary Assistant at Meadows Cat Hospital, Issaquah$20 to $23 an hour
Questions
What does a vet assistant make in Washington?
Job ads in Washington offer vet assistants $19 to $27 an hour, median $21, from 94 ads at 62 employers (Oct 15, 2026). The BLS median for vet assistants in Washington was $21.23 an hour in May 2025.
How does Washington compare with the US?
The median vet assistant job ad in Washington offers $21 an hour (94 ads), $2 more than the US median of $19 (2,267 ads), as of Oct 15, 2026.
Which Washington cities pay vet assistants the most?
In job ads, the Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater, WA area has the highest median for vet assistants, $25 an hour from 7 ads. Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA: $23 (7 ads); Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA: $22 (16 ads); Kennewick-Richland, WA: $19 (6 ads). Only metros with 5 or more ads are counted (Oct 15, 2026).
What benefits do vet assistant jobs in Washington offer?
Of 160 vet assistant ads in Washington, 29 mention a CE allowance, 27 mention mentorship, 7 mention welcoming new grads, 3 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.