Pay ranged from $37,730 a year at laboratories to $48,020 a year for the federal government. California, Texas, Florida, New York and Pennsylvania employ the most vet techs, with California employing the most at 8,560 techs, as of 2011 according to the BLS survey. Vet Techs in California earn the highest salaries in this group, with an annual mean wage of $35,500. Vet techs in Florida and Texas make the least among the group of high-employment states, at $29,250 and $28,830 a year, respectively.