Veterinarian salary in
Illinois.
Veterinarians in Illinois earn a median annual wage of $133,580 ($64.22/hr), based on real Bureau of Labor Statistics data for 2,330 veterinarians working in the state. Pay varies significantly by metro area - Chicago-Naperville-Elgin pays the most within Illinois, at $148,730.
Median salary
$133,580
$64.22/hr
3% above US median
Low · 10th pct
$74,840
High · 90th pct
$280,380
Pay rank
#8of 48 states
Veterinarians
2,330
employed
Full wage range
What vets in Illinois actually earn.
The salary ladder
Annual pay at each step of the scale in Illinois
US median $130,100
10th pct
25th pct
Median
75th pct
90th pct
The middle half earn $102,630–$168,050
Top earners make 3.7× what entry-level vets earn
How Illinois compares.
Median annual salary for veterinarians, from Bureau of Labor Statistics data.
Highest-paying metro areas in Illinois
Median annual salary · tap a metro for its full breakdown
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Illinois salary,
answered.
What is the average veterinarian salary in Illinois?
According to BLS OEWS 2025 data, the median annual wage for veterinarians in Illinois is $133,580 ($64.22/hour), with a mean of $153,810. The middle 50% earn between $102,630 and $168,050.
How does Illinois compare to the national average?
The national median veterinarian salary is $130,100 (BLS, May 2025). Illinois's median of $133,580 is above that.
What is the highest-paying city for veterinarians in Illinois?
Among the metro areas BLS tracks in Illinois, Chicago-Naperville-Elgin has the highest reported median veterinarian salary at $148,730 per year. See the metro table above for the full breakdown.
How much do veterinarians make per hour in Illinois?
The median hourly rate works out to $64.22, based on a standard 2,080-hour work year (BLS's own convention for converting between annual and hourly wage figures).
Is this Illinois salary data real?
Yes. The headline figures come directly from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program (OEWS), the same government source used for official labor market data - not an estimate or a scrape of job postings. Any community breakdown shown is separate, anonymous, self-reported data from real veterinarians.
Writing about vet compensation?
Feel free to cite this data - here's a ready-made attribution you can paste directly into your article.
“The median veterinarian salary in Illinois is $133,580 (BLS OEWS, May 2025).”
Figures are BLS median annual base wages and may not include bonuses, production pay, or benefits. Community breakdowns are separate, anonymous, self-reported submissions.