Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretakers Salary in Denver-Aurora-Centennial
SOC 31-9096 · Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO · BLS OEWS May 2025
Is this a competitive Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretakers salary in Denver-Aurora-Centennial in 2026?
Based on BLS OEWS wage percentiles, JOLTS June 2026 demand signals, and ECI Q2 2026 wage growth.
How Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretakers pay is moving in 2026
Trend, demand, and spread context from BLS OEWS, JOLTS, and ECI
Median pay for this role rose 2.2% between the May 2024 and May 2025 BLS surveys, trailing the 3.6% wage growth of Health Care & Social Assistance (BLS ECI).
Health Care & Social Assistance is running a 5.3% job-openings rate with quits at 1.9% (BLS JOLTS). Demand has cooled for 2 straight months (6.1% down to 5.3%).
Top earners (P90) make about 1.6 times what entry-level (P10) workers make in this role. That spread is narrower than typical, so pay is fairly standardized; small differences move a candidate across the market.
- Aug 4, 2026JOLTS June 2026: sector openings fell from 5.9% to 5.3% (down 147K), the sharpest monthly cooling this year, though still the second-tightest market.
- Jul 31, 2026ECI Q2 2026: sector wages growing 3.6% per year, the fastest of any major sector. Health benefit costs rose 6.0% nationally.
Commentary is generated from published BLS figures (OEWS May 2025 vs May 2024, JOLTS June 2026, ECI Q2 2026) and refreshed each release. It is interpretation, not a BLS product.
The median salary for Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretakers in Denver-Aurora-Centennial is $44,262 per year ($21.28/hr). This is 16% higher than the national median of $38,147.
About This Role
Feed, water, and examine pets and other nonfarm animals for signs of illness, disease, or injury in laboratories and animal hospitals and clinics. Clean and disinfect cages and work areas, and sterilize laboratory and surgical equipment. May provide routine postoperative care, administer medication orally or topically, or prepare samples for laboratory examination under the supervision of veterinary or laboratory animal technologists or technicians, veterinarians, or scientists.
Career Outlook
About This Data
Wage figures on this page come from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, May 2025 release. OEWS surveys roughly 1.1 million establishments annually. It is the most comprehensive employer-reported wage dataset in the United States.
P10 through P90 percentiles represent the wage distribution across all surveyed employers (not self-reported by workers). Geographic adjustments use BLS-derived cost multipliers calibrated from regional wage variation.
Wages are estimates. Individual compensation depends on experience, education, employer size, industry, and negotiation. Use this as benchmark context, not absolute ground truth.
About CompSignal
CompSignal is a free labor market intelligence tool built for HR, compensation, and talent acquisition teams. We make BLS data, the same primary source Mercer and Radford cross-reference in their paid surveys, searchable and actionable without an enterprise subscription.
Built and maintained by Falcon Incentives, a compensation strategy and incentive design consultancy.
Free BLS wage benchmarks, JOLTS talent signals, and AI analyst briefs