Veterinarian.
St. Louis.
$101,000
median salary, 10% below the national average
$83,000 to $124,000. Updated for 2026.
The numbers.
Everything you need to negotiate with confidence.
If you are evaluating a Veterinarian offer in St. Louis, MO, here is the reality: $83,000 to $124,000, with $101,000 as the midpoint. 10% below the national average. Practice type is the primary differentiator, with emergency, specialty, and equine or large animal vets earning above companion animal general practitioners. Do not accept the first number.
Salary range
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How St. Louis compares
St. Louis, MO
$101,000
Cost of living: 10% below average
National Average
$112,000
St. Louis is $11,000 below
What you should know
The Veterinarian landscape in St. Louis is not what most salary sites will tell you. St. Louis offers one of the most affordable major metro areas in the country, with a strong base in healthcare, financial services, and manufacturing. The region's anchor employers include Boeing, Centene, and Washington University's medical campus. A growing biotech and plant sciences corridor centered on the Cortex Innovation District is attracting new investment and talent. 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 St. Louis, cost of living sits near the national average, so the numbers you see are roughly what you keep.
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: missouri's top income tax rate is about 4.8%, and St. Louis City adds a 1% earnings tax. The low base cost of living means your after tax salary still stretches further than in most metros. When someone quotes you $101,000, ask what the total package looks like. The gap between base and total comp is where real money hides.
On negotiation: Emphasize your willingness to work in person at Cortex or the BJC campus. St. Louis employers offer higher packages for candidates who commit to the local innovation hubs. The range for Veterinarians in St. Louis runs from $83,000 to $124,000. That is not a narrow window. Where you land inside it depends almost entirely on whether you negotiate and how well you prepare.
Top industries in St. Louis
Negotiating in St. Louis
Emphasize your willingness to work in person at Cortex or the BJC campus. St. Louis employers offer higher packages for candidates who commit to the local innovation hubs.