Veterinarians Have to Negotiate Harder Just to Keep Up With Inflation
The headline nobody's talking about
The AVMA just released its 2026 Report on the Economic State of the Veterinary Profession, and the first thing most people will notice is that salaries are still climbing.
Here's what I noticed: nominal income is up, but real income, what that paycheck actually buys after inflation, is down. New graduates' expected pay grew 2.3% in 2025, and it didn't keep up with inflation. That means veterinarians now have to negotiate harder just to keep up with rising costs, never mind get ahead.
Below is what matters if you're a student heading into offers, an associate weighing a renewal, or a veterinarian thinking about ownership.
The 30-second version
New grads are still in demand: 93.2% had an offer before graduation.
Starting pay rose again, but after inflation, new grads' expected income slipped slightly.
Production pay is the norm: about 7 in 10 new grads in full-time practice were offered a base salary plus production.
Debt is climbing faster than pay, and about 4 in 10 new grads owe $200,000 or more.
Fewer veterinarians own practices than a few years ago, but owners report the highest job satisfaction.
Test yourself first
Before you read the numbers, see how well you know your own profession. Six quick rounds of higher or lower.
For students: the offers are strong, but read the fine print
Demand is still high. 93.2% of 2025 graduates had an offer of employment or advanced education two to three weeks before graduation. That's down from a peak of 97.9% in 2022, but it's still a strong market, and a strong market means room to negotiate.
Pay went up, but not by enough. New graduates entering full-time private practice expected an average of $134,244 in their first year. In companion animal practice it was higher, at $141,470 for companion animal exclusive practices and $139,828 for companion animal predominant practices. Across all full-time new grads, expected income grew 2.3% from 2024 to $133,066. After adjusting for inflation, it actually declined slightly.
Production pay is the default. 69.9% of new graduates in full-time practice said they'd be paid a base salary plus production, and fewer than 1% were paid on production alone. So the details of how production is calculated, and whether slow months carry forward, matter for most of you. (We broke that down in our post on negative accrual.)
Where you work changes the number. Among new grads in private practice, expected first-year pay averaged:
Practice type | Average expected first-year pay |
Group corporate practice | $143,723 |
Independently owned group practice | $129,747 |
Independently owned single practice | $123,436 |
Emergency and critical care (any ownership) | $154,909 |
A higher number isn't automatically a better offer. Benefits, production terms, schedule, and mentorship all count, but it helps to know the range before you sit down to negotiate.
Debt is growing faster than pay. Average DVM debt for 2025 graduates was $174,484, or $212,499 among graduates who had any debt. 39.7% owed $200,000 or more, and 5.9% owed $400,000 or more. The average debt-to-income ratio held steady at 1.4.
If you're weighing an internship, the AVMA notes that stipends averaged about $59,000 in 2025, well below full-time starting pay, while interest on most federal loans keeps accruing. It's worth weighing the value of the experience against that cost.
For experienced vets: income growth is leveling off
The average professional income veterinarians reported for 2024 was $154,000. That's the highest nominal number on record, but the AVMA notes that real income, adjusted for inflation, has been declining since 2022. The gap between what established veterinarians earn and what new grads are offered has also narrowed over the past two decades.
For associates in companion animal exclusive practice, the median was $140,000, with the middle half earning between $110,000 and $180,000. That's a wide range, and where you land in it usually comes down to your pay plan, your production terms, and how well you negotiated, not just your experience.
If a renewal is coming up, this is the time to check whether your pay has kept pace. A raise that matches last year's numbers can still be a pay cut in real terms, so you may have to negotiate harder than you expect just to stay even.
Fewer vets own practices, and owners are the most satisfied
Practice owners made up 21.3% of veterinarians in private practice in 2025, down from 26.0% in 2023. Associates now make up 58.6%.
At the same time, owners reported the highest job satisfaction of any group, at 84.5%, compared with 68.9% for associates. They also earned more on average: $184,151 for owners compared with $147,736 for associates.
Ownership isn't right for everyone, and it comes with real risk and responsibility. But if it's on your mind, these numbers are a good reason to start learning what it takes. Our post on whether you can afford to own a practice is a good place to start, and so is our free Practice Management and Ownership Course.
Benefits: what's standard and what's worth asking for
Among veterinarians in private practice, the most common benefits were:
Benefit | Share of private practice veterinarians who receive it |
Continuing education expenses | 85.6% |
Licenses | 84.6% |
Discounted pet care | 76.5% |
Association dues | 75.9% |
Liability insurance | 72.4% |
Paid vacation leave | 72.2% |
Signing bonus | 16.3% |
Educational loan repayment | 6.5% |
If an offer leaves out one of the common ones, like CE or liability insurance, that's worth raising. The less common ones, like a signing bonus or loan repayment, aren't standard, which makes them good things to ask for when the base salary won't move.
What this means for your next offer
The AVMA is clear that these are national averages, and the actual numbers in your area can look very different. That's the limit of any report like this one: it tells you where the profession is, not where your offer stands.
For that, you need a comparison to real offers for your role, your practice type, and your region. That's what a compensation evaluation does. We compare your offer against our benchmark database, translate the terms into dollars, and then coach you through the negotiation.
Thinking about ownership instead? Talk to our team about ownership, or email attorney@roasalaw.com to join our free Practice Management and Ownership Course.
Compensation evaluations and negotiation coaching are not legal advice and do not create an attorney-client relationship.
Source: American Veterinary Medical Association, 2026 Report on the Economic State of the Veterinary Profession (January 2026). Figures are national averages and may differ significantly by region.
This article and the tools on this page are for general educational and informational purposes only. They are not legal advice or attorney advice. Reading this article, using these tools, or contacting us does not create an attorney-client relationship.
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