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Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretakers pay in Charleston, WV and San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA
The May 2025 BLS OEWS median for Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretakers is $32,070 per year in Charleston, WV. It is $49,400 per year in San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA. Charleston, WV is 35.1% below San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA on the published median.
Both rows use SOC 31-9096 and the same annual wage metric. Median means the middle of each area's published wage spread. It is not one worker's pay. The larger median is not proof that one place gives a better job or a better result. It is one wage fact from one source period.
BLS lists 90 wage and salary jobs in Charleston, WV and 2,150 in San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA. Those are survey job counts, not open posts. Read pay, job scale, local share, and price level as separate facts before you make a choice.