SOC 31-9096 · Healthcare Support Occupations · May 2025

How much do Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretakers make in Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA?

In the May 2025 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics estimates, released May 15, 2026, the median annual wage for Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretakers in Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA is $45,530. The 10th percentile is $37,400 and the 90th percentile is $56,090. Employment is 480.

Median annual wage

$45,530

10th percentile
$37,400
25th percentile
$38,490
Median
$45,530
75th percentile
$46,230
90th percentile
$56,090
Mean
$44,760

Annual wage from the May 2025 OEWS estimates.

A transit bus driver standing beside a bus at a rest stop in Denali
Denali transit bus driver Gary at Teklanika Rest Stop, August 29, 2019. Photograph by Emily Mesner, National Park Service. Wikimedia Commons · Public domain

Percentile spread

For Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretakers, the published 10th percentile is $37,400 and the 90th percentile is $56,090. The difference is $18,690, which is 41.0% 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 $38,490 to the 75th at $46,230, covers $7,740.

The mean annual wage is $44,760, which sits below the median of $45,530. Median and mean measure different points in the same distribution.

National and state comparison

The Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA median is 19.3% higher than the national median of $38,150 for Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretakers. In 2024 national prices the local median is $41,191, which is 8% higher than that same national median. The national figure is already in national prices because the United States parity is 100.

It is 1.6% lower than the California median of $46,260.

Price-adjusted pay

The 2024 all-items regional price parity for Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA is 110.534, with the United States at 100. The Bureau of Economic Analysis released those parities on February 19, 2026. Dividing the May 2025 median of $45,530 by that parity and multiplying by 100 puts Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretakers at $41,191 in national prices. The wage year and the price year are different. Compare this wage after prices.

Nearby metros

9 other metropolitan areas within 200 miles publish a annual median for Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretakers. Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA ranks 4th of 10 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).).

  • Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA is 53 miles away, with a median of $45,490 and employment of 210. That median is 0.1% lower than the median here. In 2024 national prices it is $41,811, against $41,191 here.
  • Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA is 57 miles away, with a median of $46,070 and employment of 4,830. That median is 1.2% higher than the median here. In 2024 national prices it is $40,567, against $41,191 here.
  • Bakersfield-Delano, CA is 72 miles away, with a median of $39,850 and employment of 180. That median is 12.5% lower than the median here. In 2024 national prices it is $39,500, against $41,191 here.

Employment share

Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretakers accounts for 0.15% of wage-and-salary employment in Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA (480 of 323,890). Nationally the occupation is 0.08% of employment (126,580 of 155,495,730). The local share is 1.82 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.

Highest-paying jobs in Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA · Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretakers by metro · How to read these percentiles · Median and mean · When a wage is not published · How the figures are made · Compare this wage after prices

Questions this page answers

How much do Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretakers make in Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA?

In the May 2025 OEWS estimates, released May 15, 2026, the median annual wage for Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretakers in Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA is $45,530. The 10th percentile is $37,400 and the 90th percentile is $56,090. Employment is 480.

How does that compare with the national median for Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretakers?

The local median is 19.3% higher than the national median of $38,150.

What is Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretakers pay in Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA after local prices?

The 2024 all-items regional price parity for Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA is 110.534, with the United States at 100. In those national prices, the May 2025 median of $45,530 is $41,191. The wage is May 2025 and the parity is 2024.

How does Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA compare with nearby metros for Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretakers?

Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA is the closest metropolitan area within 200 miles with a published annual median, 53 miles away, at $45,490. Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA ranks 4th of 10 metros within 200 miles on that median. Distances use Census Bureau internal points.