Veterinary Medicine Degrees (2026 stats)
TL;DR
Veterinary Medicine maps to BLS occupations averaging about $64,446, with roughly 29,530 workers nationwide in those roles. Median program completion runs near 64%; median in-state published tuition is about $12,536.
Key Statistics
Veterinary Medicine: what the data shows
Common questions about veterinary medicine degrees, answered from IPEDS, College Scorecard, BLS OEWS, and O*NET in this repository—not program marketing copy.
What is a veterinary medicine degree?
A Veterinary Medicine program is classified under NCES CIP 00.0180 in the Agriculture, General field family (00.01).
Types of veterinary medicine degrees and related programs
Other NCES program codes in the 00.01 family with pages on EDsmart Data:
- Agricultural Mechanization (CIP 00.0102)
- Agricultural Production Operations (CIP 00.0103)
- Agricultural Public Services (CIP 00.0108)
- Agricultural and Domestic Animal Services (CIP 00.0105)
- Agricultural and Food Products Processing (CIP 00.0104)
- Agriculture/Veterinary Preparatory Programs (CIP 00.0113)
- Animal Sciences (CIP 00.0109)
- Applied Horticulture and Horticultural Business Services (CIP 00.0106)
- Food Science and Technology (CIP 00.0110)
- International Agriculture (CIP 00.0107)
- Plant Sciences (CIP 00.0111)
- Soil Sciences (CIP 00.0112)
- Veterinary Administrative Services (CIP 00.0182)
- Veterinary Biomedical and Clinical Sciences (CIP 00.0181)
- Veterinary/Animal Health Technologies/Technicians (CIP 00.0183)
What do you learn in veterinary medicine?
O*NET skill ratings for occupations mapped to this major emphasize Critical Thinking, Speaking, Active Listening, Writing, Reading Comprehension, Monitoring, and related competencies. See the Skills section for the full list in our extract.
What degree do you need?
For Nuclear Medicine Technologists (top mapped occupation), O*NET incumbent surveys in our career profile report these education credentials most often: Some college (29%), High School or Equivalent (27%), Bachelors Degree (22%).
O*NET education distributions describe incumbent workers, not minimum legal or employer requirements.
What jobs can you get with a veterinary medicine degree?
Our degree→occupation mapping links Veterinary Medicine to the BLS roles below. Employment is U.S. OEWS; median wage is national May 2024 where published in our extract.
| Occupation | U.S. employment | Median annual wage |
|---|---|---|
| Nuclear Medicine Technologists | 16,960 | $97,020 |
| Veterinary Technologists and Technicians | 131,320 | $45,980 |
| Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretakers | 114,190 | $37,320 |
| Home Health Aides | — | — |
| Genetic Counselors | 3,510 | $98,910 |
| Audiologists | 14,730 | $92,120 |
See Careers & Jobs for mean wages and industry context.
Is a veterinary medicine degree worth it?
Among schools reporting in our Scorecard extract, median published in-state tuition is $12,536 and median net price is $17,802.
We do not score "worth" on opinion—compare debt, earnings, wages for mapped occupations, and completion data above against your cost and career target.
Institutions
Information about the types of higher education institutions that grant degrees in Veterinary Medicine and the types of students that study this field.
Tuition Costs for Common Institutions
$12,536 Median In-State Public
$66,014 Median Out of State Private
Tuition costs for Veterinary Medicine majors are, on average, $12,536 for in-state public colleges, and $66,014 for out of state private colleges.
Tuition costs comparison for Veterinary Medicine programs.
Degrees Awarded Over Time
N/A Total Degrees Awarded in 2023
This chart shows the number of degrees awarded in Veterinary Medicine from 2015 to 2023.
Historical trend of degrees awarded in Veterinary Medicine.
Top 5 Schools by Enrollment
| # | School | State | Enrollment |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Texas A&M University-College Station | TX | 59,099 |
| 2 | Ohio State University-Main Campus | OH | 44,617 |
| 3 | University of Arizona | AZ | 40,769 |
| 4 | Michigan State University | MI | 40,243 |
| 5 | Purdue University-Main Campus | IN | 39,637 |
Schools with the largest enrollment offering Veterinary Medicine programs.
Top 5 Most Affordable Tuition
| # | School | State | Tuition |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jones County Junior College | MS | $4,000 |
| 2 | University of Florida | FL | $6,381 |
| 3 | North Carolina State University at Raleigh | NC | $8,895 |
| 4 | Utah State University | UT | $9,228 |
| 5 | Mississippi State University | MS | $9,815 |
Schools with the lowest tuition costs for Veterinary Medicine programs.
Top 5 Lowest Net Price
| # | School | State | Net Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | University of Florida | FL | $6,351 |
| 2 | Jones County Junior College | MS | $7,945 |
| 3 | Utah State University | UT | $12,869 |
| 4 | University of Georgia | GA | $13,816 |
| 5 | Purdue University-Main Campus | IN | $13,945 |
Schools with the lowest average net price for Veterinary Medicine programs.
Graduation Rates
63.63% Median Graduation Rate (150% of normal time)
62.69% Average Graduation Rate
75 Institutions Reporting
52.00% - 73.45% Interquartile Range
Graduation/completion rates for Veterinary Medicine programs across institutions.
Related specializations
Other NCES program codes in the 00.01 CIP family with dedicated pages on EDsmart Data.
- Agricultural Mechanization CIP 00.0102
- Agricultural Production Operations CIP 00.0103
- Agricultural Public Services CIP 00.0108
- Agricultural and Domestic Animal Services CIP 00.0105
- Agricultural and Food Products Processing CIP 00.0104
- Agriculture/Veterinary Preparatory Programs CIP 00.0113
- Animal Sciences CIP 00.0109
- Applied Horticulture and Horticultural Business Services CIP 00.0106
- Food Science and Technology CIP 00.0110
- International Agriculture CIP 00.0107
- Plant Sciences CIP 00.0111
- Soil Sciences CIP 00.0112
- Veterinary Administrative Services CIP 00.0182
- Veterinary Biomedical and Clinical Sciences CIP 00.0181
- Veterinary/Animal Health Technologies/Technicians CIP 00.0183
Careers & Jobs
Occupations linked to this major in our degree→career mapping, with wages and employment from processed BLS career profiles in this repo.
Across these BLS occupations, employment-weighted mean pay is about $64,446. Figures are national OEWS estimates for the occupation—not earnings of Veterinary Medicine graduates alone.
Related occupations (BLS OEWS)
| Occupation | Mean annual wage | U.S. employment |
|---|---|---|
| Nuclear Medicine Technologists | $154,765 | 16,960 |
| Veterinary Technologists and Technicians | $58,529 | 131,320 |
| Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretakers | $47,822 | 114,190 |
| Home Health Aides | — | — |
| Genetic Counselors | $143,815 | 3,510 |
| Audiologists | $123,159 | 14,730 |
Open each occupation for full career profile charts and industry breakdowns on EDsmart Data.
Employment
Wages and industry mix below use BLS OEWS data for occupations linked to this major in our mapping—not a graduate earnings survey.
Yearly Income for Common Jobs
$61,871 Average Wage in Workforce
The average salary for Veterinary Medicine majors is $61,871.
Average annual salaries of the most common occupations for Veterinary Medicine majors.
Occupations by Share
29,530 2023 Workforce
The number of Veterinary Medicine graduates in the workforce has been growing.
Various jobs filled by those with a major in Veterinary Medicine by share of the total number of graduates.
Diversity
Demographic information for those who earn a degree in Veterinary Medicine in the United States.
Workforce Age
N/A Average Age in 2023
This chart shows distribution of ages for employees with a degree in Veterinary Medicine.
Age distribution for Veterinary Medicine degree holders in the workforce.
Gender Distribution
Gender distribution data is not available for this degree program.
Gender distribution of Veterinary Medicine degree recipients.
Race and Ethnicity Distribution
Race and ethnicity distribution data is not available for this degree program.
Racial and ethnic distribution of Veterinary Medicine degree recipients.
Degrees Awarded
The most common degree types awarded to students graduating in Veterinary Medicine are Bachelors Degree, Masters Degree, and Associates Degree.
Distribution of degree types awarded in Veterinary Medicine.
Skills
Data on the critical and distinctive skills necessary for those working in the Veterinary Medicine field from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Required Skills
Veterinary Medicine majors need many skills, but most especially Critical Thinking, Active Listening, and Reading Comprehension.
Rating of how necessary various skills are for Veterinary Medicine majors.
Skills Bar Chart
This bar chart shows the same information as the radar chart, displaying the importance of each skill.
Skill importance ratings for Veterinary Medicine majors.
About
Veterinary Medicine
In 2023, N/A degrees were awarded across all undergraduate and graduate programs in Veterinary Medicine.
CIP Code
00.0180 - Veterinary Medicine
What the data shows
Mapped BLS occupations show employment-weighted mean pay of about $64,446. The largest mapped role by headcount is Nuclear Medicine Technologists (16,960 U.S. jobs in OEWS).
Published tuition medians in College Scorecard land at $12,536 in-state at public colleges and $66,014 at private institutions for programs in this field.
Data Sources
This page uses data from the following sources:
- College Scorecard - U.S. Department of Education
- Institutional characteristics, costs, completion rates, and earnings data
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: collegescorecard.ed.gov
- Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS)
- Employment and wage data by occupation
- Latest data: May 2024
- Source: bls.gov/oes
- O*NET Online - U.S. Department of Labor
- Occupational skills, knowledge, abilities, and work activities
- Database version: 28.0 (August 2023)
- Source: onetcenter.org
- IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) - National Center for Education Statistics
- Institutional data, completions, enrollment, and financial aid
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: nces.ed.gov/ipeds
- Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS)
- Demographic and workforce data
- Latest data: 2023 ACS 5-Year Estimates
- Source: census.gov/acs
Data Processing: All data has been processed, cleaned, and aggregated for presentation. Where specific data points are unavailable, estimates are based on available data and clearly marked.
Last Updated: Data reflects the most recent available information as of January 2025.
Methodology
Data for this profile is sourced from the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard dataset, IPEDS completion data, and Bureau of Labor Statistics employment data.
All financial figures are adjusted for inflation and represent the most recent available data. Employment and wage data are from the most recent Census Bureau ACS PUMS estimates.