What Veterinary Technologists and Technicians earn in Monmouth County, NJ
If you are weighing a move or a job offer, start with $59,680: the median annual pay for Veterinary Technologists and Technicians in Monmouth County, NJ. Spread over a standard 2,080-hour work year, that is $28.69 an hour. Because the wage survey covers the whole New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ metropolitan area, the number reflects employers across the region rather than a single town or a single company.
The mean wage is $61,500, which is 3.0% above the median, a sign that a group of high earners lifts the average. The survey counts about 4,850 people working in this occupation across the New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ metropolitan area, so the estimate rests on a substantial pool of workers. Monmouth County, NJ has roughly 645,353 residents, according to the population figures used by the rent data.
The salary range, from entry level to top earners
Pay for Veterinary Technologists and Technicians in the New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ metropolitan area is not one number. The lowest-paid tenth of workers earn up to $46,560 a year ($22.38 an hour), while the highest-paid tenth earn $78,500 or more ($37.74 an hour). That is a gap of $31,940 between the bottom and the top of the scale. The middle half of workers falls between $49,870 at the 25th percentile and $70,990 at the 75th percentile. A top-tier earner makes 1.7 times what someone at the bottom makes, so experience, certification and employer all matter.
What the hourly rate looks like
Employers quote this occupation by the hour or by the year, so here are both: $28.69 an hour or $59,680 a year at the median for Monmouth County, NJ. Before any deductions, that is $4,973 a month, $2,295 every two weeks and $1,148 each week. After taxes the same job pays $23.24 per hour of take-home income, which is the number that actually has to cover rent and groceries.
About this occupation: Veterinary Technologists and Technicians
The U.S. Department of Labor's O*NET database describes the work of Veterinary Technologists and Technicians this way: "Perform medical tests in a laboratory environment for use in the treatment and diagnosis of diseases in animals. Prepare vaccines and serums for prevention of diseases. Prepare tissue samples, take blood samples, and execute laboratory tests, such as urinalysis and blood counts. Clean and sterilize instruments and materials and maintain equipment and machines. May assist a veterinarian during surgery."
Core tasks recorded by O*NET include: "Administer anesthesia to animals, under the direction of a veterinarian, and monitor animals' responses to anesthetics so that dosages can be adjusted"; "Care for and monitor the condition of animals recovering from surgery"; "Prepare and administer medications, vaccines, serums, or treatments, as prescribed by veterinarians"; "Perform laboratory tests on blood, urine, or feces, such as urinalyses or blood counts, to assist in the diagnosis and treatment of animal health problems".
Job outlook for Veterinary Technologists and Technicians
The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects national employment in this occupation to grow from 131,400 jobs in 2025 to 143,800 in 2035, a change of +9.4%, faster than the 3.5% projected for all occupations. The projection counts 13,400 openings a year on average, including positions created by growth and positions left by workers who retire or move to another occupation; that equals 10.2% of current employment each year.
Typical entry-level education: associate's degree. BLS lists a national median annual wage of $47,380 for this occupation; the Monmouth County, NJ median of $59,680 is 26.0% above it.
How pay in Monmouth County, NJ compares
Compared with the New Jersey average
A worker in this occupation in Monmouth County, NJ earns $5,280 more than the New Jersey average of $54,400, a premium of 9.7%. Over a year that premium is worth $5,280 before tax and roughly $4,276 after tax. Within New Jersey, Monmouth County, NJ already has the highest median we track for this job.
Compared with the national average
The national employment-weighted average for Veterinary Technologists and Technicians is $48,421 across the contiguous United States. At $59,680, Monmouth County, NJ pays $11,259 more, which is 23.3% above that benchmark. Keep in mind that a higher salary only helps if living costs do not rise faster, which is why the cost sections below matter as much as the headline number.
Where this job ranks in Monmouth County, NJ
Among the 671 occupations with published wages in Monmouth County, NJ, Veterinary Technologists and Technicians ranks number 442 by median pay, ahead of about 34% of them. The best-paying occupation we track here is Anesthesiologists at $460,800 a year, which is $401,120 more than the median for Veterinary Technologists and Technicians.
From gross pay to take-home pay
Three separate tax bills sit between the gross salary and the bank account: federal income tax, FICA, and state income tax. For Veterinary Technologists and Technicians earning the Monmouth County, NJ median of $59,680, they add up to $11,348. The result is $48,332 of take-home pay a year ($4,028 a month), based on a single filer using the standard deduction.
Put another way, of every $100 earned, about $19 goes to taxes and $81 reaches the paycheck. The overall effective tax rate is 19.0%.
Federal income tax
After the $15,750 standard deduction, taxable income is $43,930. Federal brackets are marginal, so only the slice of income above each threshold is taxed at the higher rate; the last dollars of this salary fall in the 12% bracket. The resulting federal income tax is $5,033, an effective 8.4% of gross pay, well below the 12% marginal rate because the lower brackets are cheaper.
Social Security and Medicare (FICA)
Payroll taxes are a flat percentage of wages. Social Security takes 6.2% up to a wage base of $176,100, which costs $3,700 on this salary. Medicare takes 1.45%, or $865. FICA totals $4,566, which is 7.7% of gross pay.
State income tax in New Jersey
New Jersey income tax on this salary is $1,750 a year, or 2.9% of gross pay, after the state's own deductions and exemptions are applied. That is 35% of the federal income tax bill, and it comes out to $146 a month. Local taxes such as county or city income taxes are not included, so a few jurisdictions may withhold slightly more.
A cross-check with IRS data for Monmouth County, NJ
IRS Statistics of Income data for Monmouth County, NJ show an average adjusted gross income of $143,771 per return and an average effective federal income tax rate of 18.1% across all filers. Filers in the $50,000 to under $75,000 bracket, where this salary falls, paid an average of 8.1%, compared with the 8.4% estimated here for a single filer taking the standard deduction. Gaps between the two reflect filing status, dependents, credits and other income, none of which a single-person wage estimate includes.
Cost of living in Monmouth County, NJ
Take-home pay only means something next to what life costs. We price four basics for one adult in Monmouth County, NJ: a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline. All of them are converted to annual figures first, then compared with the $48,332 of take-home pay.
Rent
Housing is the largest line in most budgets. For Monmouth County, NJ, HUD sets the Fair Market Rent for a one-bedroom unit at $1,847 a month ($22,164 a year), and at $2,283 for two bedrooms. For Veterinary Technologists and Technicians, a one-bedroom absorbs 45.9% of take-home pay and 37.1% of gross pay.
Food
The USDA Thrifty Food Plan (August 2026) puts the cost of a nutritious home-cooked diet for an adult at about $3,436 a year, which is $286 a month or $66.07 a week. That equals 5.8% of gross pay for Veterinary Technologists and Technicians in Monmouth County, NJ. It is a thrifty budget with no restaurant meals, so treat it as a floor.
Energy and gasoline
Using New Jersey residential prices from the Energy Information Administration and national household averages for consumption, electricity costs about $2,044 a year and other home energy such as natural gas about $518, for $2,562 in total. Gasoline in New Jersey averages $3.21 per gallon; at about 463 gallons a year (11,106 miles at 24 miles per gallon) fuel adds $1,484.
What is left over
Rent, food, energy and gasoline cost $29,645 a year in Monmouth County, NJ. Subtract that from $48,332 of take-home pay and $18,686 remains, which is $1,557 a month of breathing room. That margin equals 31.3% of gross pay, a comfortable cushion by common budgeting rules.
Local housing and commute data for Monmouth County, NJ
The budget above covers rent, food, energy and gasoline. Three more local facts shape what a paycheck buys in Monmouth County, NJ: property taxes, housing prices and the daily commute. The figures below are exact U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates for Monmouth County, NJ, set beside the New Jersey and national medians.
Property taxes in Monmouth County, NJ
Homeowners in Monmouth County, NJ pay a median of $10,001 a year in real estate taxes, 4% above the New Jersey median of $9,590 and 221% above the U.S. median of $3,119. Against a median home value of $606,100, the median tax bill is 1.65% of that value (the ratio of the two county medians). For a worker paid the local Veterinary Technologists and Technicians median of $59,680, a tax bill of that size would equal 16.8% of gross pay, which matters for anyone planning to buy rather than rent.
Rents, home prices and household income in Monmouth County, NJ
Renters in Monmouth County, NJ pay a median gross rent of $1,827 a month in the Census survey, 6% above the New Jersey median of $1,720. HUD's Fair Market Rent for a one-bedroom apartment, which this site uses in the budget, is $1,847 a month; the two measures differ because the Census figure covers units of every size that renters already occupy, while the HUD figure is a one-bedroom benchmark. The median value of an owner-occupied home is $606,100, 33% above the New Jersey median of $454,400. Median household income is $124,845, 21% above the New Jersey median of $103,556, so a year of one-bedroom Fair Market Rent equals 17.8% of that income.
Commuting in Monmouth County, NJ
Workers in Monmouth County, NJ who travel to a workplace spend an average of 32.1 minutes each way, 5% above the New Jersey average of 30.5. For someone who commutes five days a week, that is 5.3 hours of round-trip travel every week, a cost the budget does not price. 18.9% of workers in Monmouth County, NJ work from home, compared with 15.1% nationally, which removes the commute for them.
Can Veterinary Technologists and Technicians afford to live in Monmouth County, NJ?
The 30% rent guideline
A common rule of thumb says rent should stay under 30% of gross income. For a gross salary of $59,680 that ceiling is $1,492 a month. The one-bedroom Fair Market Rent of $1,847 is $355 over it, so rent breaks the guideline. Put as a wage, covering a one-bedroom at the 30% guideline takes $35.52 an hour; the median for Veterinary Technologists and Technicians is $28.69, which is 19% below that mark. Another way to see it: at $23.24 of take-home pay an hour, a one-bedroom takes about 18.3 working hours every week.
Splitting a two-bedroom
Sharing a two-bedroom at $2,283 a month means $1,142 each. Compared with renting a one-bedroom alone, that saves $8,466 a year. With a roommate, the yearly margin after the basics becomes $27,152.
How fast you can save
At $1,557 a month of margin, building a $10,000 emergency fund would take about 7 months. Setting aside half of the margin stretches the same goal to about 14 months. These figures ignore interest, raises and any spending beyond the four basics.
Frequently asked questions about Veterinary Technologists and Technicians pay in Monmouth County, NJ
How much do Veterinary Technologists and Technicians make per hour in Monmouth County, NJ?
The median is $28.69 per hour, based on $59,680 a year over 2,080 hours. Hourly pay runs from about $22.38 at the 10th percentile to $37.74 at the 90th percentile.
How much do Veterinary Technologists and Technicians take home after taxes in Monmouth County, NJ?
After federal income tax, FICA and state income tax, the median salary of $59,680 becomes $48,332 a year. That is $4,028 a month, $1,859 every two weeks or $929 a week.
How much tax do Veterinary Technologists and Technicians pay in Monmouth County, NJ?
Total taxes are $11,348 a year, an effective rate of 19.0%: $5,033 federal income tax, $4,566 FICA and $1,750 New Jersey income tax.
Do Veterinary Technologists and Technicians earn more in Monmouth County, NJ than elsewhere in New Jersey?
Yes. The local median of $59,680 is +9.7% versus the New Jersey average of $54,400, a difference of $5,280 a year.
Can Veterinary Technologists and Technicians afford a one-bedroom apartment in Monmouth County, NJ?
A one-bedroom costs $1,847 a month against take-home pay of $4,028, which is 45.9% of take-home pay. That does not meet the 30%-of-gross guideline, which allows up to $1,492 a month.
What is the monthly budget margin for Veterinary Technologists and Technicians in Monmouth County, NJ?
About $1,557 a month ($18,686 a year) remains after a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline, which together cost $29,645 a year.
What hourly wage covers a one-bedroom in Monmouth County, NJ at the 30% guideline?
$35.52 an hour for a full-time schedule, calculated as the $22,164 annual rent divided by 0.30 and by 2,080 hours. The median for Veterinary Technologists and Technicians is $28.69.
How we calculated these numbers
Wages are May 2025 medians from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey for the New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ metropolitan area; hourly-only values are annualized at 2,080 hours. Rents are HUD Fair Market Rents, food costs come from the USDA Thrifty Food Plan, and energy prices come from the Energy Information Administration. County-level tax statistics come from the IRS Statistics of Income.
Taxes use tax-year 2025 federal brackets, FICA rates and the New Jersey rules for a single filer with wage income only. Figures are estimates for planning and comparison, not tax or financial advice, and they exclude local income taxes, benefits, retirement contributions and individual circumstances.