Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretakers salary in San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA
SOC 31-9096 · BLS OEWS May 2025
How local pay compares
State-level comparison: California ($46,260). Metro estimates cover the whole labor market, including portions that cross state lines.
After local prices: the $46,720 median has purchasing power comparable to about $41,756 nationally. San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA's BEA regional price parity is 111.9 (2024).
What the local range looks like
The wash spans the 10th to 90th percentile, the darker section is the middle half, and the tick is the median for San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA.
Getting in
- Typical education to enter
- High school diploma or equivalent
- Related work experience
- None
- On-the-job training
- Short-term on-the-job training
Compare other metro areas
Every linked area below has a published estimate for veterinary assistants and laboratory animal caretakers. Missing areas were withheld by BLS rather than measured at zero.
The median wage as published, before local prices are taken into account.
| # | Metro area | Median | Cost of living | Employed | Concentrationvs. national |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | $49,400 | 115.6 | 2,150 | 1.11× |
| 2 | San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | $49,210 | 110.4 | 620 | 0.67× |
| 3 | Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA | $47,270 | 107.8 | 350 | 2.11× |
| 4 | Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA | $47,150 | 109.9 | 200 | 2.47× |
| 5 | Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA | $46,990 | 106.7 | 1,740 | 1.98× |
| 6 | Salinas, CA | $46,990 | 109.0 | 160 | 1.03× |
| 7 | Vallejo, CA | $46,590 | 108.5 | 130 | 1.12× |
| 8 | Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | $46,070 | 113.6 | 4,830 | 0.95× |
| 9 | Napa, CA | $45,710 | 112.6 | 50 | 0.77× |
| 10 | Modesto, CA | $45,560 | 104.1 | 230 | 1.45× |
| 11 | Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA | $45,530 | 110.5 | 480 | 1.81× |
| 12 | Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA | $45,490 | 108.8 | 210 | 1.27× |
Cost of living is the BEA regional price parity for all items, where 100 is the national average. Concentration is the BLS location quotient: how much more of the local workforce does this job than the national average, so 2.00× means twice the national share. It is often the reason wages differ — a place that concentrates an occupation has the employers and the competition for it. Metro areas where veterinary assistants and laboratory animal caretakers wages are suppressed by BLS for confidentiality are omitted.
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