Relief veterinarians made as little as $123,697 a year in Florida and as much as $187,476 in Washington in September 2026, according to ZipRecruiter's state by state wage data, a swing of more than $63,000 depending purely on where you pick up shifts.
If you are deciding which state license to pursue, or just want to know whether your current rate is fair, the numbers below are the place to start. For the negotiation tactics to go with them, see our guide to relief veterinarian pay negotiation.
Relief Veterinarian Pay by State
Data: ZipRecruiter, September 2026.
Why the Same Job Pays So Differently by State
Sixteen states pay above the $165,527 national average for relief veterinarians, and Washington leads the country by more than 13% over that average, per ZipRecruiter. A few forces drive most of that spread:
- Cost of living and local demand. High cost of living markets like Washington, New York, and Massachusetts also tend to have practices competing hardest for a thin pool of local relief coverage.
- State licensing friction. A state that makes it slow or expensive to get licensed, or that does not participate in reciprocity compacts, sees fewer relief professionals willing to pick up shifts there, which pushes rates up to compensate.
- Rural coverage gaps. Some lower population states like North Dakota and Wyoming rank higher than their cost of living alone would predict, since practices there have fewer nearby relief options to choose from.
- Regional practice mix. States with more specialty and emergency practices, which pay a premium for relief coverage regardless of role, tend to pull the state average up.
None of this means a lower ranked state is a bad place to relief. Florida's $123,697 average still reflects real demand, just alongside a much larger, denser pool of veterinarians willing to cover shifts there.
Whichever state you are working in, or considering licensing in, this table is a starting point, not a ceiling. Your rate still shifts with your specialty, the practice's urgency, and how well you negotiate the specifics of a given shift, so treat it as your floor for that conversation, not the final word.