How much do Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretakers make in Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC?

Percentile spread

For Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretakers, the published 10th percentile is $26,010 and the 90th percentile is $46,220. The difference is $20,210, which is 55.7% of the median. Ten percent of measured wages fall below the 10th percentile and ten percent fall above the 90th. How to read a percentile.

The middle half of the distribution, from the 25th percentile at $31,000 to the 75th at $37,410, covers $6,410.

The mean annual wage is $35,880, which sits below the median of $36,310. Median and mean measure different points in the same distribution.

National and state comparison

The Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC median is 4.8% lower than the national median of $38,150 for Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretakers. In 2024 national prices the local median is $41,035, which is 7.6% higher than that same national median. The national figure is already in national prices because the United States parity is 100.

It is 2.1% lower than the North Carolina median of $37,070.

Price-adjusted pay

The 2024 all-items regional price parity for Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC is 88.486, with the United States at 100. The Bureau of Economic Analysis released those parities on February 19, 2026. Dividing the May 2025 median of $36,310 by that parity and multiplying by 100 puts Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretakers at $41,035 in national prices. The wage year and the price year are different. Compare this wage after prices.

Nearby metros

25 other metropolitan areas within 200 miles publish a annual median for Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretakers. Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC ranks 8th of 26 on that median, counting itself. Distance is the great-circle mileage between Census Bureau internal points (U.S. Census Bureau, 2024 Gazetteer Files, Core Based Statistical Areas, internal points (INTPTLAT, INTPTLONG).).

• Johnson City, TN is 58 miles away, with a median of $34,520 and employment of 90. That median is 4.9% lower than the median here. In 2024 national prices it is $39,259, against $41,035 here.
• Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC is 58 miles away, with a median of $37,780 and employment of 1,690. That median is 4% higher than the median here. In 2024 national prices it is $38,809, against $41,035 here.
• Winston-Salem, NC is 65 miles away, with a median of $36,620 and employment of 430. That median is 0.9% higher than the median here. In 2024 national prices it is $39,786, against $41,035 here.

Employment share

Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretakers accounts for 0.11% of wage-and-salary employment in Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC (170 of 154,090). Nationally the occupation is 0.08% of employment (126,580 of 155,495,730). The local share is 1.36 times the national share. That ratio is the location quotient computed from these May 2025 employment counts. It is not copied from the location-quotient column in the BLS bulk file.