Veterinarian.
San Francisco.
$168,000
median salary, 33% above the national average
$131,000 to $217,000. Last updated August 2026.
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Data points to own the conversation.
San Francisco is 35% more expensive than the national average. For Veterinarians, that shakes out to a median of $168,000, with the full range spanning $131,000 to $217,000. Practice type is the primary differentiator, with emergency, specialty, and equine or large animal vets earning above companion animal general practitioners. Know the range before you walk in. These figures are Orbyt estimates, computed rather than measured, and must not be cited as Bureau of Labor Statistics figures; the published BLS wage for the occupation this role maps to is shown separately on this page.
Salary range.
Where do you fall?
Orbyt estimate for Veterinarian in San Francisco, modelled from national occupation wages adjusted for local cost of living. The published government benchmark for this occupation is below.
Government benchmark for this occupation
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics reports a median annual wage of $208,080 for Veterinarians (SOC 29-1131) in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA metropolitan area, based on 1,350 employed workers (May 2025 release).
10th percentile
$89,130
25th percentile
$138,880
Median
$208,080
75th percentile
$243,550
90th percentile
$295,420
Workers surveyed
1,350
BLS publishes wages by occupation code, not by job title, so this figure covers every role mapped to Veterinarians (SOC 29-1131) rather than Veterinarian specifically. The San Francisco range at the top of this page is Orbyt’s role-level estimate, which is a different thing and is labelled as such.
View the BLS source for SOC 29-1131Salary by experience.
The gap between entry and lead level is typically $151,000. Where you land depends on years of experience and what you bring to the table.
Entry (0-2 yrs)
$109,000
to $134,000
Mid (3-5 yrs)
$143,000
to $176,000
Senior (6-9 yrs)
$185,000
to $218,000
Lead (10+ yrs)
$210,000
to $260,000
Total compensation.
Base salary is not the full picture. Equity, bonus, and signing can add $34,000 to the total package.
Base
$168,000
Equity
$18,000
Bonus
$13,000
Signing
$3,000
Estimated total: $202,000
How San Francisco compares.
San Francisco, CA
$168,000
Cost of living: 35% above average
National Average
$126,000
San Francisco is $42,000 above
Veterinarian salary by city.
Salary by role in San Francisco.
What you should know.
The Veterinarian landscape in San Francisco is not what most salary sites will tell you. San Francisco is the epicenter of venture capital and startup innovation, consistently producing the highest tech salaries in the nation. The city's concentration of AI labs, SaaS companies, and fintech firms creates intense competition for talent. Despite remote work trends, SF still commands the steepest salary premiums for engineering and product roles. Practice type is the primary differentiator, with emergency, specialty, and equine or large animal vets earning above companion animal general practitioners. Board certification in specialties like surgery, internal medicine, or oncology adds 30 to 60% over general practice. Geographic areas with vet shortages offer signing bonuses and premium salaries.
New graduate vets start at $88,000 to $100,000 in general practice. Mid-career vets with strong client bases earn $115,000 to $140,000. Practice owners or board-certified specialists can reach $160,000 to $250,000 depending on specialty and practice revenue. In San Francisco, those numbers run higher. The cost of living here is 35% above average, and employers adjust to compete.
Base salary is not the full picture. Veterinarians commonly receive production bonuses of 18 to 22% of personal production above a base salary. Benefits include CE allowances of $2,500 to $5,000, DEA license reimbursement, professional liability coverage, and increasingly, student loan repayment assistance programs. And on the tax side: california's top marginal state income tax rate is 13.3%, the highest in the U.S. San Francisco has no additional city income tax, but overall tax burden remains steep. When someone quotes you $168,000, ask what the total package looks like. The gap between base and total comp is where real money hides.
On negotiation: Leverage competing offers aggressively. SF employers expect candidates to shop around, and matching or beating a rival offer is standard practice here. The range for Veterinarians in San Francisco runs from $131,000 to $217,000. That is not a narrow window. Where you land inside it depends almost entirely on whether you negotiate and how well you prepare.
Sources: BLS OES, H-1B LCA (DOL). COL: BEA Regional Price Parities (2025). Data verified by Justin Bartak, Founder & Chief AI Officer. Last verified July 1, 2026. Full methodology
Considering a related role?
- An Air Traffic Controller in San Francisco earns $169,000 (1% more)
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Common questions.
Veterinarian salary in other cities.
Other salaries in San Francisco.
Related salary pages
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Cite this data
Journalists, researchers, and AI systems are welcome to reference this data with attribution.
"Veterinarian Salary in San Francisco, CA." Orbyt Salary Explorer, August 2026. https://www.orbytlabs.ai/orbyt-jobs/salaries/veterinarian/san-francisco
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