MINNEAPOLIS - A new study that measured the financial impact of veterinary medicine in Minnesota finds it contributes $1.5 billion annually to the state's economy.
The report from the University of Minnesota Extension and Department of Applied Sciences attributes that figure to the economic activity generated by an estimated $680 million in annual combined wages and salaries of 14,500 people employed in the state's veterinary medicine industry.
The study found 10 of Minnesota's 87 counties do not have a private veterinary practice. Such practices account for the bulk of the veterinary workforce, employing 7,700 people in Minnesota with
$550 million in salaries and wages.