Your associate gave notice in the spring. You’ve advertised, raised the offer and called the vet schools, and the seat’s still empty heading into budget season.
Somewhere in your 2027 numbers, there’s a line for what that vacancy costs. If it’s based on the figure most practices quote, it’s probably too small.
Why the usual estimate runs low
The best-known figure comes from a 2022 Cornell and AVMA study, which put the median cost of an associate DVM leaving at about USD 104,000 (in 2020 dollars). It adds two costs together: replacing the vet, set at 66% of their salary, and the revenue lost while the seat’s empty, based on a 40-day vacancy.
Real searches run a lot longer than 40 days. When Brakke Consulting surveyed practices on 2022 data, 53% had a DVM opening, and those roles had been open for an average of 16 months. That covers every type of practice – not only rural ones – but it shows how far past the study’s assumption a real vacancy can go.
Working out your own number
Start with the replacement cost. For a mixed animal associate on the mean 2023 income of USD 103,959 (from the AVMA’s 2025 Economic State of the Veterinary Profession report), 66% comes to USD 68,613.
Then, add the revenue you lose for every day the seat sits empty. That’s the one figure only your books can give you: what a full day of your associate’s work brings in after direct costs. Multiply it by the number of days you realistically expect the seat to be open, based on your last search rather than the study’s 40.
Add the two together and you’ve got what the vacancy costs if nobody covers it.
What relief costs
Relief keeps appointments running while you search. The clearest published rate comes from Roo, which reported a 2024 network average of USD 144 an hour, or USD 1,290 for a 9-hour shift (higher in New Jersey, New York City and Los Angeles).
At that rate, 4 days a week of relief costs:
- 6 weeks: 24 days, USD 30,960
- 6 months: 104 days, USD 134,160
The 6-month total looks alarming, but you aren’t paying the empty seat’s salary while relief covers it. Six months of a USD 103,959 salary is USD 51,980 (before benefits), so the extra cost of 6 months’ relief is about USD 82,180.
A few weeks of relief booked around a planned search is a manageable budget line. Open-ended relief can add most of a year’s salary on top. Our holiday relief post covers when practices book and what the season pays.
Your 2027 budget line
You need three numbers, all from your own books:
- Net revenue per associate day
- Days you expect the seat to be open
- Days you’d cover with relief
Then compare the cost of a relief day (about USD 1,290) with what the seat would bring in that day.
Where cover pays for itself, book it.
Where it doesn’t, that’s a day your team absorbs, and it’s easier to plan for in November than to discover in month four.
Keep the search moving
Relief buys you time, but it doesn’t fill the seat.
Give the permanent search its own budget from the start, rather than waiting until the relief line runs dry. If you’re hiring internationally, licensure and visa steps add months before a new DVM’s first day, and our September guide maps them in order.
How GVC helps
Our relief team in Dallas can cover the days your seat sits empty, while our permanent recruitment team runs the search alongside them. So you’ll know what the gap is likely to cost, and how long it’s likely to last, before you set the budget.
If you’ve got a seat that’s been open longer than you’d like, book a call and we’ll talk through your numbers.
