# Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretakers

US SOC code 31-9096. Markdown version of https://futurehistory.earth/timeline/31-9096

Also called: Vet assistant, Veterinary assistant, Lab animal caretaker, Laboratory animal technician, Animal care technician.

## In brief

In May 2025, [BLS](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip) counted **126,580** US veterinary assistants and laboratory animal caretakers, with median pay of **$38,150** a year. Of the BLS counts since 2003, the May 2025 count is the highest. The earliest figure here is [an estimate](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK500428/) of **30,000** from 1962, not measured the same way as today's count. The last full technology era in this work: Electronic veterinary practice management software + in-clinic diagnostic analyzers, 1985 to 2010.

## What the sources say

### Official outlook

BLS projects employment to grow 9.1% from 2025 to 2035. Source: [BLS Employment Projections 2025-35](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=31-9096&ioType=o).

### AI exposure studies

- **14.8%** of this job's tasks are exposed to large language models. Not a forecast of job losses. [Eloundou and others, 2023](https://github.com/openai/GPTs-are-GPTs/blob/main/data/occ_level.csv)

Data as of BLS OEWS May 2025; BLS Employment Projections 2025-35. BLS publishes these counts as yearly survey snapshots and cautions against reading them as a precise trend. In May 2021 BLS changed how it estimates these counts (a model-based method using three years of survey data) and moved fully to the 2018 occupation codes, so part of a change across 2021 can come from the method rather than the work.

## Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretakers employment and pay by year

- On record since: 1882
- Latest US employment: 126,580 (May 2025). Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 [5]
- Latest US median pay: $38,150 (May 2025). Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 [7]
- Outlook: +9.1% by 2035. Source: BLS Employment Projections 2025-35 [20]

### All 28 years of cited US data

| Year | US employment | Annual pay (median unless marked) | Source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1962 | 30,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., NBK500428 [1] |
| 1966 | 38,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., Animal Welfare Act of 1966 [2] |
| 1980 | 55,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., Patterns of Animal Use [3] |
| 1991 | n/a | $14,000 (estimate) | Est., Veterinary Practice News [6] |
| 1999 | 74,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook [4] |
| 2003 | 64,490 | $18,020 | BLS OEWS May 2003 [5] |
| 2004 | 70,200 | $18,660 | BLS OEWS May 2004 [5] |
| 2005 | 69,890 | $19,610 | BLS OEWS May 2005 [5] |
| 2006 | 70,310 | $19,960 | BLS OEWS May 2006 [5] |
| 2007 | 71,190 | $20,770 | BLS OEWS May 2007 [5] |
| 2008 | 71,950 | $21,210 | BLS OEWS May 2008 [5] |
| 2009 | 71,350 | $21,700 | BLS OEWS May 2009 [5] |
| 2010 | 70,530 | $22,040 | BLS OEWS May 2010 [5] |
| 2011 | 72,530 | $22,830 | BLS OEWS May 2011 [5] |
| 2012 | 71,500 | $23,130 | BLS OEWS May 2012 [5] |
| 2013 | 71,800 | $23,550 | BLS OEWS May 2013 [5] |
| 2014 | 71,060 | $23,790 | BLS OEWS May 2014 [5] |
| 2015 | 75,620 | $24,360 | BLS OEWS May 2015 [5] |
| 2016 | 79,990 | $25,250 | BLS OEWS May 2016 [5] |
| 2017 | 84,400 | $26,140 | BLS OEWS May 2017 [5] |
| 2018 | 89,480 | $27,540 | BLS OEWS May 2018 [5] |
| 2019 | 97,030 | $28,590 | BLS OEWS May 2019 [5] |
| 2020 | 98,810 | $29,930 | BLS OEWS May 2020 [5] |
| 2021 | 98,970 | $29,780 | BLS OEWS May 2021 [5] |
| 2022 | 111,880 | $34,740 | BLS OEWS May 2022 [5] |
| 2023 | 115,770 | $36,440 | BLS OEWS May 2023 [5] |
| 2024 | 114,190 | $37,320 | BLS OEWS May 2024 [5] |
| 2025 | 126,580 | $38,150 | BLS OEWS May 2025 [5] |

## Sources (83)

### Employment series

1. [NBK500428 — Evolution of Laboratory Animal Program Management (NCBI Bookshelf)](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK500428/), National Center for Biotechnology Information / National Academies Press
2. [Animal Welfare Act of 1966 — Wikipedia (legislative context and USDA enforcement history)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal_Welfare_Act_of_1966), Wikipedia
3. [Patterns of Animal Use — Use of Laboratory Animals in Biomedical and Behavioral Research (NCBI Bookshelf NBK218261)](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK218261/), National Center for Biotechnology Information
4. [BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook — Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretakers (OOH overview page)](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/veterinary-assistants-and-laboratory-animal-caretakers.htm), Bureau of Labor Statistics
5. BLS OEWS, national cross-industry estimates (flat file), Bureau of Labor Statistics. Editions: [2003](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm03nat.zip), [2004](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm04nat.zip), [2005](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm05nat.zip), [2006](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm06nat.zip), [2007](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm07nat.zip), [2008](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm08nat.zip), [2009](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm09nat.zip), [2010](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm10nat.zip), [2011](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm11nat.zip), [2012](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm12nat.zip), [2013](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm13nat.zip), [2014](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm14nat.zip), [2015](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm15nat.zip), [2016](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm16nat.zip), [2017](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm17nat.zip), [2018](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm18nat.zip), [2019](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm19nat.zip), [2020](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm20nat.zip), [2021](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm21nat.zip), [2022](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm22nat.zip), [2023](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm23nat.zip), [2024](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm24nat.zip), [2025](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip)

### Wage series

6. [Veterinary Practice News — Vet tech by the numbers: wages by decade (NAVTA 1991 survey data)](https://www.veterinarypracticenews.com/vet-tech-value/), Veterinary Practice News / NAVTA
7. BLS OEWS, national cross-industry estimates (flat file), Bureau of Labor Statistics. Editions: [2003](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm03nat.zip), [2004](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm04nat.zip), [2005](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm05nat.zip), [2006](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm06nat.zip), [2007](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm07nat.zip), [2008](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm08nat.zip), [2009](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm09nat.zip), [2010](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm10nat.zip), [2011](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm11nat.zip), [2012](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm12nat.zip), [2013](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm13nat.zip), [2014](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm14nat.zip), [2015](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm15nat.zip), [2016](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm16nat.zip), [2017](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm17nat.zip), [2018](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm18nat.zip), [2019](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm19nat.zip), [2020](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm20nat.zip), [2021](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm21nat.zip), [2022](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm22nat.zip), [2023](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm23nat.zip), [2024](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm24nat.zip), [2025](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip)

### Tool eras

8. [The New York Veterinary Hospital, 1900: An Early Small-Animal Practice (The Pet Historian)](https://thepethistorian.com/2015/07/07/the-new-york-veterinary-hospital-1900-an-early-small-animal-practice/), The Pet Historian
9. [A Brief History Lesson in Veterinary Nursing/Technology (Today's Veterinary Nurse)](https://todaysveterinarynurse.com/personal-professional-development/a-brief-history-lesson-in-veterinary-nursing-technology/), Today's Veterinary Nurse
10. [Evolution of Laboratory Animal Program Management (NCBI Bookshelf NBK500428)](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK500428/), National Center for Biotechnology Information
11. [Animal Welfare Act of 1966 — Wikipedia (legislative context)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal_Welfare_Act_of_1966), Wikipedia
12. [The backbone of veterinary technology for 50 years (AVMA News)](https://www.avma.org/news/backbone-veterinary-technology-50-years), American Veterinary Medical Association
13. [SignalPET: Top 10 Veterinary Software Tools in 2026 (historical PIMS context)](https://www.signalpet.com/articles/the-top-10-veterinary-software-tools/), SignalPET
14. [BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook — Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretakers](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/veterinary-assistants-and-laboratory-animal-caretakers.htm), Bureau of Labor Statistics
15. [Fear Free Veterinary Certification Huge Success in First Month (FearFreePets.com)](https://www.fearfree.com/news/fear-free-veterinary-certification-huge-success-in-first-month/), Fear Free
16. [How Fear Free Certification Impacts Vet Practices (Penn Foster Partners)](https://partners.pennfoster.edu/blog/2021/may/how-fear-free-certification-makes-a-positive-impact-for-vet-practices), Penn Foster
17. [Zoetis Launches AI Masses for VETSCAN Imagyst (Zoetis press release, June 2025)](https://news.zoetis.com/press-releases/press-release-details/2025/Zoetis-Launches-AI-Masses-the-New-AI-Powered-Cytologic-Capability-for-Vetscan-Imagyst-2025-YhrB1kjmLg/default.aspx), Zoetis
18. [CoVet AI Clinical Scribe: 550% growth in 2025 (co.vet)](https://co.vet/post/ai-vet-tools/), CoVet
19. [SignalPET: Implementing AI Radiology Software in Veterinary Practices](https://www.signalpet.com/articles/implementing-ai-radiology-software-in-veterinary-practices/), SignalPET

### Forecasts and exposure studies

20. [BLS Employment Projections 2025-35, National Employment Matrix: 31-9096 Veterinary assistants and laboratory animal caretakers (2025: 132.1 thousand; 2035: 144.2 thousand; +9.1%)](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=31-9096&ioType=o), Bureau of Labor Statistics
21. [Eloundou, Manning, Mishkin & Rock (2023), "GPTs are GPTs", occupation-level exposure data occ\_level.csv (O\*NET-SOC 31-9096.00, human-rated β 0.148)](https://github.com/openai/GPTs-are-GPTs/blob/main/data/occ_level.csv), OpenAI

### Historical notes

22. [The New York Veterinary Hospital, 1900: An Early Small-Animal Practice (The Pet Historian)](https://thepethistorian.com/2015/07/07/the-new-york-veterinary-hospital-1900-an-early-small-animal-practice/), The Pet Historian
23. [Early History of Veterinary Medicine in the United States (PMC/NCBI)](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9286166/), National Center for Biotechnology Information
24. [A Brief History Lesson in Veterinary Nursing/Technology (Today's Veterinary Nurse)](https://todaysveterinarynurse.com/personal-professional-development/a-brief-history-lesson-in-veterinary-nursing-technology/), Today's Veterinary Nurse
25. [Honoring Veterinary Technicians: History of the Profession (Viticus Group)](https://blog.viticusgroup.org/veterinary-technicians-history-of-the-profession), Viticus Group
26. [The backbone of veterinary technology for 50 years (AVMA News)](https://www.avma.org/news/backbone-veterinary-technology-50-years), American Veterinary Medical Association
27. [Evolution of Laboratory Animal Program Management (NCBI Bookshelf NBK500428)](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK500428/), National Center for Biotechnology Information
28. [Fear Free Veterinary Certification Huge Success in First Month (FearFreePets.com)](https://www.fearfree.com/news/fear-free-veterinary-certification-huge-success-in-first-month/), Fear Free

### Predecessors & successors

29. [The New York Veterinary Hospital, 1900 (The Pet Historian)](https://thepethistorian.com/2015/07/07/the-new-york-veterinary-hospital-1900-an-early-small-animal-practice/), The Pet Historian
30. [A Brief History Lesson in Veterinary Nursing/Technology (Today's Veterinary Nurse)](https://todaysveterinarynurse.com/personal-professional-development/a-brief-history-lesson-in-veterinary-nursing-technology/), Today's Veterinary Nurse

### Present-day analysis

- [BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook: Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretakers (2024)](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/veterinary-assistants-and-laboratory-animal-caretakers.htm), accessed 2026-06-05
- [O\*NET 31-9096.00 Summary (US Dept of Labor, 2025)](https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/31-9096.00), accessed 2026-06-05
- [Eloundou et al. 2024 — GPTs are GPTs (Science)](https://arxiv.org/abs/2303.10130), accessed 2026-05-21
- [SignalPET: Top 10 Veterinary Software Tools in 2026](https://www.signalpet.com/articles/the-top-10-veterinary-software-tools/), accessed 2026-06-05
- [Zoetis Launches AI Masses for VETSCAN Imagyst (June 2025)](https://news.zoetis.com/press-releases/press-release-details/2025/Zoetis-Launches-AI-Masses-the-New-AI-Powered-Cytologic-Capability-for-Vetscan-Imagyst-2025-YhrB1kjmLg/default.aspx), accessed 2026-06-05
- [CoVet: 6 Best AI Vet Tools For Practice Efficiency In 2026](https://co.vet/post/ai-vet-tools/), accessed 2026-06-05
- [Zoetis VETSCAN Imagyst product page (zoetisdiagnostics.com)](https://www.zoetisdiagnostics.com/us/point-of-care/vetscan-imagyst/), accessed 2026-06-05
- [SignalPET: Implementing AI Radiology Software in Veterinary Practices](https://www.signalpet.com/articles/implementing-ai-radiology-software-in-veterinary-practices/), accessed 2026-06-05
- [SignalPET PawfectNotes AI Tools Directory (2025)](https://pawfectnotes.com/vet-ai-tools/signalpet/), accessed 2026-06-05

How to read these figures: https://futurehistory.earth/methodology. Every figure links to its own source; gaps stay gaps.