What Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretakers earn in Rockland County, NY
According to the latest federal wage data for the New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ metropolitan area, the median pay for Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretakers in Rockland County, NY is $46,160 a year, or $22.19 an hour. After federal income tax, Social Security, Medicare and state income tax, the paycheck shrinks to $37,284 a year, and rent, food and energy take another bite. The sections below walk through each step with the actual math for Rockland County, NY.
The mean wage is $46,890, which is 1.6% above the median, so pay is spread fairly evenly. The survey counts about 5,560 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. Rockland County, NY has roughly 341,883 residents, according to the population figures used by the rent data.
The salary range, from entry level to top earners
Pay for Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretakers in the New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ metropolitan area is not one number. The lowest-paid tenth of workers earn up to $39,200 a year ($18.85 an hour), while the highest-paid tenth earn $57,650 or more ($27.72 an hour). That is a gap of $18,450 between the bottom and the top of the scale. The middle half of workers falls between $40,490 at the 25th percentile and $48,220 at the 75th percentile. A top-tier earner makes 1.5 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: $22.19 an hour or $46,160 a year at the median for Rockland County, NY. Before any deductions, that is $3,847 a month, $1,775 every two weeks and $888 each week. After taxes the same job pays $17.93 per hour of take-home income, which is the number that actually has to cover rent and groceries.
About this occupation: Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretakers
The U.S. Department of Labor's O*NET database describes the work of Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretakers this way: "Feed, water, and examine pets and other nonfarm animals for signs of illness, disease, or injury in laboratories and animal hospitals and clinics. Clean and disinfect cages and work areas, and sterilize laboratory and surgical equipment. May provide routine postoperative care, administer medication orally or topically, or prepare samples for laboratory examination under the supervision of veterinary or laboratory animal technologists or technicians, veterinarians, or scientists."
Core tasks recorded by O*NET include: "Monitor animals recovering from surgery and notify veterinarians of any unusual changes or symptoms"; "Clean, maintain, and sterilize instruments or equipment"; "Administer medication, immunizations, or blood plasma to animals as prescribed by veterinarians"; "Provide emergency first aid to sick or injured animals".
Job outlook for Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretakers
The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects national employment in this occupation to grow from 132,100 jobs in 2025 to 144,200 in 2035, a change of +9.1%, faster than the 3.5% projected for all occupations. The projection counts 23,200 openings a year on average, including positions created by growth and positions left by workers who retire or move to another occupation; that equals 17.6% of current employment each year.
Typical entry-level education: high school diploma or equivalent. Typical on-the-job training to reach competency: short-term on-the-job training. BLS lists a national median annual wage of $38,150 for this occupation; the Rockland County, NY median of $46,160 is 21.0% above it.
How pay in Rockland County, NY compares
Compared with the New York average
A worker in this occupation in Rockland County, NY earns $2,209 more than the New York average of $43,951, a premium of 5.0%. Over a year that premium is worth $2,209 before tax and roughly $1,784 after tax. Within New York, Rockland County, NY already has the highest median we track for this job.
Compared with the national average
The national employment-weighted average for Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretakers is $39,526 across the contiguous United States. At $46,160, Rockland County, NY pays $6,634 more, which is 16.8% 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 Rockland County, NY
Among the 671 occupations with published wages in Rockland County, NY, Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretakers ranks number 574 by median pay, ahead of about 14% of them. The best-paying occupation we track here is Anesthesiologists at $460,800 a year, which is $414,640 more than the median for Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretakers.
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 Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretakers earning the Rockland County, NY median of $46,160, they add up to $8,876. The result is $37,284 of take-home pay a year ($3,107 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 19.2%.
Federal income tax
After the $15,750 standard deduction, taxable income is $30,410. 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 $3,411, an effective 7.4% 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 $2,862 on this salary. Medicare takes 1.45%, or $669. FICA totals $3,531, which is 7.6% of gross pay.
State income tax in New York
New York income tax on this salary is $1,934 a year, or 4.2% of gross pay, after the state's own deductions and exemptions are applied. That is 57% of the federal income tax bill, and it comes out to $161 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 Rockland County, NY
IRS Statistics of Income data for Rockland County, NY show an average adjusted gross income of $114,788 per return and an average effective federal income tax rate of 15.4% across all filers. Filers in the $25,000 to under $50,000 bracket, where this salary falls, paid an average of 4.6%, compared with the 7.4% 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 Rockland County, NY
Take-home pay only means something next to what life costs. We price four basics for one adult in Rockland County, NY: a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline. All of them are converted to annual figures first, then compared with the $37,284 of take-home pay.
Rent
Housing is the largest line in most budgets. For Rockland County, NY, HUD sets the Fair Market Rent for a one-bedroom unit at $2,729 a month ($32,748 a year), and at $2,971 for two bedrooms. For Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretakers, a one-bedroom absorbs 87.8% of take-home pay and 70.9% 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 7.4% of gross pay for Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretakers in Rockland County, NY. It is a thrifty budget with no restaurant meals, so treat it as a floor.
Energy and gasoline
Using New York residential prices from the Energy Information Administration and national household averages for consumption, electricity costs about $2,581 a year and other home energy such as natural gas about $653, for $3,235 in total. Gasoline in New York averages $3.17 per gallon; at about 463 gallons a year (11,106 miles at 24 miles per gallon) fuel adds $1,467.
What is left over
The basics cost $40,885 a year in Rockland County, NY, but take-home pay for Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretakers is $37,284. That is a shortfall of $3,601 a year, or $300 a month, before health care, transportation beyond fuel, debt or savings. Closing the gap would take roughly 201 extra paid hours a year at the take-home hourly rate of $17.93, or a second earner, a cheaper home or a roommate.
Local housing and commute data for Rockland County, NY
The budget above covers rent, food, energy and gasoline. Three more local facts shape what a paycheck buys in Rockland County, NY: 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 Rockland County, NY, set beside the New York and national medians.
Property taxes in Rockland County, NY
Homeowners in Rockland County, NY pay a median of $10,001 a year in real estate taxes, 52% above the New York median of $6,582 and 221% above the U.S. median of $3,119. Against a median home value of $596,900, the median tax bill is 1.68% of that value (the ratio of the two county medians). For a worker paid the local Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretakers median of $46,160, a tax bill of that size would equal 21.7% of gross pay, which matters for anyone planning to buy rather than rent.
Rents, home prices and household income in Rockland County, NY
Renters in Rockland County, NY pay a median gross rent of $1,901 a month in the Census survey, 17% above the New York median of $1,621. HUD's Fair Market Rent for a one-bedroom apartment, which this site uses in the budget, is $2,729 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 $596,900, 41% above the New York median of $423,800. Median household income is $109,959, 28% above the New York median of $85,974, so a year of one-bedroom Fair Market Rent equals 29.8% of that income.
Commuting in Rockland County, NY
Workers in Rockland County, NY who travel to a workplace spend an average of 29.7 minutes each way, 9% below the New York average of 32.6. For someone who commutes five days a week, that is 5.0 hours of round-trip travel every week, a cost the budget does not price. 13.4% of workers in Rockland County, NY work from home, compared with 15.1% nationally, which removes the commute for them.
Can Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretakers afford to live in Rockland County, NY?
The 30% rent guideline
A common rule of thumb says rent should stay under 30% of gross income. For a gross salary of $46,160 that ceiling is $1,154 a month. The one-bedroom Fair Market Rent of $2,729 is $1,575 over it, so rent breaks the guideline. Put as a wage, covering a one-bedroom at the 30% guideline takes $52.48 an hour; the median for Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretakers is $22.19, which is 58% below that mark. Another way to see it: at $17.93 of take-home pay an hour, a one-bedroom takes about 35.1 working hours every week.
Splitting a two-bedroom
Sharing a two-bedroom at $2,971 a month means $1,486 each. Compared with renting a one-bedroom alone, that saves $14,922 a year. With a roommate, the yearly margin after the basics becomes $11,321, which turns the shortfall into a surplus.
How fast you can save
With no monthly margin after the four basics, saving requires a change on one side of the ledger: higher pay than the $46,160 median, lower housing costs than the $2,729 one-bedroom rent, or a second income.
Frequently asked questions about Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretakers pay in Rockland County, NY
How much do Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretakers make per hour in Rockland County, NY?
The median is $22.19 per hour, based on $46,160 a year over 2,080 hours. Hourly pay runs from about $18.85 at the 10th percentile to $27.72 at the 90th percentile.
How much do Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretakers take home after taxes in Rockland County, NY?
After federal income tax, FICA and state income tax, the median salary of $46,160 becomes $37,284 a year. That is $3,107 a month, $1,434 every two weeks or $717 a week.
How much tax do Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretakers pay in Rockland County, NY?
Total taxes are $8,876 a year, an effective rate of 19.2%: $3,411 federal income tax, $3,531 FICA and $1,934 New York income tax.
Do Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretakers earn more in Rockland County, NY than elsewhere in New York?
Yes. The local median of $46,160 is +5.0% versus the New York average of $43,951, a difference of $2,209 a year.
Can Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretakers afford a one-bedroom apartment in Rockland County, NY?
A one-bedroom costs $2,729 a month against take-home pay of $3,107, which is 87.8% of take-home pay. That does not meet the 30%-of-gross guideline, which allows up to $1,154 a month.
What is the monthly budget margin for Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretakers in Rockland County, NY?
Nothing remains: the basics cost $40,885 a year, which is $3,601 more than take-home pay, a monthly shortfall of $300.
What hourly wage covers a one-bedroom in Rockland County, NY at the 30% guideline?
$52.48 an hour for a full-time schedule, calculated as the $32,748 annual rent divided by 0.30 and by 2,080 hours. The median for Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretakers is $22.19.
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 York 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.