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Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretakers pay in Rhode Island and Tennessee
The May 2025 BLS OEWS median for Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretakers is $49,770 per year in Rhode Island. It is $36,320 per year in Tennessee. Rhode Island is 37.0% above Tennessee 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 380 wage and salary jobs in Rhode Island and 3,530 in Tennessee. 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.