Facts

• The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) performed a 2009 salary study on veterinarian wages throughout the country and determined a base average salary for the profession as $90,110 per year. This compared much more favorably to the salaries earned by potato-state Idaho veterinarians, who received an annual median wage of $68,100 per year, a difference of $22,010.
  
  

Range

• Although some of Idaho's 400 veterinarians earned higher than the country's average, the state's discrepancy between its wages and the national wages is evident when comparing earnings brackets. In Idaho's 90th percentile of earners, the highest-paid veterinarians, salaries averaged $96,690 per year, much closer to the country's 50th percentile. Idaho's bottom 10th percentile veterinarian earners received $46,200 per year.
  
  

Considerations

• Just as physicians who tend to human charges, veterinarians must seek doctoral degrees to earn their salaries. The American Veterinary Medical Association's Council on Education accredits schools offering the Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree. No schools in Idaho are accredited by the organization, but studies at an out-of-state school are applicable to be used for practicing within the state. Prospective Idaho vets take the North American Veterinary Licensing Exam prior to practicing.
  
  

Outlook

• The BLS expects a 33 percent growth in the employment of veterinarians, an addition of 19,700 jobs to the field through 2018. The BLS recommends prospective vets seek employment in rural areas of Idaho, which are often underserved by qualified applicants, for the best opportunities to secure higher salaries.