Dental Assistant Salary

The salary information and description of the data collection procedures below were obtained from the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).  The BLS is a Federal government agency and everything that they publish, both in hard copy and electronically, is in the public domain, except for previously copyrighted photographs and illustrations.

 

Background

The Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) program conducts a semiannual mail survey designed to produce estimates of employment and wages for specific occupations. Data from self-employed persons are not collected and are not included in the estimates. The OES program produces these occupational estimates for the nation as a whole, by state, by metropolitan or nonmetropolitan area, and by industry or ownership.

The OES program surveys approximately 200,000 establishments per panel (every six months), taking three years to fully collect the sample of 1.2 million establishments. To reduce respondent burden, the collection is on a three-year survey cycle that ensures that establishments are surveyed at most once every three years. The estimates for dental assistants are based on OES data collected for the reference months of May and November.

The OES survey is a federal-state cooperative program between the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and State Workforce Agencies (SWAs). BLS provides the procedures and technical support, draws the sample, and produces the survey materials, while the SWAs collect the data. SWAs from all fifty states, plus the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Virgin Islands participate in the survey. Occupational employment and wage rate estimates at the national level are produced by BLS using data from the fifty states and the District of Columbia. Employers who respond to states' requests to participate in the OES survey make these estimates possible.

The most recent wage data are for May 2021.   

The OES survey covers all full-time and part-time wage and salary workers in nonfarm industries. Surveys collect data for the payroll period including the 12th day of May or November. The survey does not cover the self-employed, owners and partners in unincorporated firms, household workers, or unpaid family workers.

 

Wage Data

Table 1 below provides the mean hourly and mean wage data for dental assistants by state.

The Estimated Total Employment is the estimated total employment of dental assistants in that state for the reported period, and it excludes the self-employed.

The Hourly Mean Wage is the average hourly wage for the reporting period.

The Annual Mean Wage is the average annual wage for the reporting period.

We have also included the BLS column entitled “Wage % Relative Standard Error”.  According to the BLS, the Relative Standard Error is a measure of the reliability of a statistic.  For the purpose of this description, the smaller the relative standard error, the more precise the estimate.

Figure 1 below provides the employment of dental assistants by state, courtesy of the BLS.

Figure 2 below provides the annual mean wage of dental assistants by state, courtesy of the BLS. 

More information from the BLS may be found by going to the BLS website

 

Area Name

Employment

Hourly mean wage

Annual mean wage

Wage percent relative standard error

Alabama         4170        17.19        35760          1.8
Alaska         1150        24.35        50640          2.1
Arizona         9260        20.17        41950          1.8
Arkansas         3130        16.80        34930          1.8
California        48090        22.15        46060          1.5
Colorado         8020        21.02        43730          1.8
Connecticut         3590        22.18        46130          1.4
Delaware          820        21.49        44690          2.8
District of Columbia          590        22.09        45950          3.6
Florida        21390        19.63        40820          1.1
Georgia         9460        19.17        39860          2.1
Guam          120        17.94        37320          5.4
Hawaii         1580        18.20        37860          2.3
Idaho         2510        17.43        36250          1.7
Illinois        12340        20.39        42400          3.2
Indiana         6320        20.01        41630          1.4
Iowa         3230        21.33        44360          1.8
Kansas         3020        18.43        38330          3.1
Kentucky         3630        18.35        38160          1.8
Louisiana         5010        16.14        33560          1.7
Maine         1250        21.14        43960          1.1
Maryland         5070        21.35        44410          2.7
Massachusetts         8550        24.62        51210          1.7
Michigan        11150        19.08        39680          2.1
Minnesota         5330        25.52        53080          1.8
Mississippi         2510        17.39        36170          2.2
Missouri         6450        19.25        40030          1.6
Montana         1380        18.78        39060          2.4
Nebraska         2110        19.68        40930          1.6
Nevada         2820        18.28        38020          3.5
New Hampshire         1380        23.79        49470          1.0
New Jersey         9140        21.14        43980          2.8
New Mexico         2540        18.17        37790          1.4
New York        19930        21.59        44910          1.8
North Carolina        10680        21.31        44320          1.3
North Dakota          780        22.97        47780          2.6
Ohio        10620        20.89        43440          1.4
Oklahoma         4330        18.79        39070          1.6
Oregon         5480        23.45        48780          1.5
Pennsylvania         9720        20.94        43540          2.3
Puerto Rico         2120         9.23        19200          2.7
Rhode Island          620        22.15        46070          3.1
South Carolina         4980        19.29        40120          1.7
South Dakota          890        20.20        42010          1.9
Tennessee         6040        18.83        39160          1.2
Texas        33040        18.45        38370          3.0
Utah         6000        16.93        35210          1.3
Vermont          690        21.75        45230          2.1
Virgin Islands           70        17.74        36890          4.6
Virginia         7900        20.95        43570          2.2
Washington        10500        22.29        46350          2.6
West Virginia         1450        17.71        36830          3.0
Wisconsin         5980        20.34        42310          1.3
Wyoming          550        19.78        41140          3.8

 

 

Source:  Bureau of Labor Statistics at https://data.bls.gov/oes/#/home

FIGURE 1 - DENTAL ASSISTANT EMPLOYMENT BY STATE


Source:  Bureau of Labor Statistics at  https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes319091.htm

 

FIGURE 2 - DENTAL ASSISTANT ANNUAL MEAN WAGE BY STATE


Source:  Bureau of Labor Statistics at  https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes319091.htm