Incomes up for companion animal veterinarians, but down for equine practitioners, AVMA survey says

Schaumburg, Ill.

— A new salary survey from the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) shows increases for most exclusive companion-animal vets, but salary decreases for equine and mixed-animal practitioners.

According to a statement released today, AVMA reports, "Veterinarians are feeling the impact of the recession, and it's hitting many with salary decreases. That's according to the newly released 2011 AVMA Report on Veterinary Compensation.

The AVMA survey says the average salary for veterinarians in private practice increased from $115,447 in 2007 to $121,303 in 2009, but it was largely buoyed by increases from exclusive companion-animal veterinarians -- from $113,373 to $124,768.

Equine and mixed-animal practitioners saw pay decreases. In fact, salaries for equine veterinarians dropped from $131,195 to $126,641 in the two-year period. Mixed-animal veterinarians had average salaries of $117,201 in 2007 and they slid to $107,064 in 2009. The same salary declines were noted by companion-animal predominant veterinarians — $120,462 in 2007 to $117,524 in 2009.

Food-animal exclusive veterinarians also saw a dip in pay from 2007 to 2009, from $139,612 to $131,479, but they still rank as the highest paid veterinarians working in private practice, AVMA reports.

All veterinarians working in public and corporate positions experienced salary increases between 2007 and 2009, and the top earning veterinarians in 2009 worked in industry, averaging $167,415.