The last AVMA Report on Veterinary Compensation, published in 2018, indicated private practice associate veterinarians who had board certification earned a mean of $187,000. A veterinarian's salary can easily exceed $300,000 depending on the specialty. The median starting salary for new veterinary graduates without specialization in 2018 was $103,800 in the United States according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, while the lowest paid earned less than $89,540 annually. States and districts with the highest mean salary are California ($398,340), Michigan ($325,100), Illinois ($324,870), New York ($322,500), and Hawaii ($221,150). Veterinarians who own their own clinics are typically paid a much higher salary. The average owner payout is $400,000 for every $1,000,000 of clinic income. In 2021 there were practices sold with $8–10,000,000 in yearly revenue with the owners drawing salaries of several million dollars. Over 90% of practice owners do not regret purchasing or starting their own practice, according to a 2020 survey of clinic owners.
