Equine vets started at the lowest first-year salary, just $38,468. Practice Type. The national median earnings for the category of all veterinarians was $82,040 in May 2012, according to a salary survey conducted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Private practice vets had median earnings of $90,000 per year according to a 2009 AVMA report. Veterinarians employed by the federal government averaged a salary of $93,398 per year. Corporate veterinarians had the highest earnings with a median salary of over $140,000 per year.