Department of Labor Logo United States Department of Labor
Dot gov

The .gov means it's official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you're on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics

Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2018

29-1021 Dentists, General

Examine, diagnose, and treat diseases, injuries, and malformations of teeth and gums. May treat diseases of nerve, pulp, and other dental tissues affecting oral hygiene and retention of teeth. May fit dental appliances or provide preventive care. Excludes "Prosthodontists" (29-1024), "Orthodontists" (29-1023), "Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons" (29-1022) and "Dentists, All Other Specialists" (29-1029).


National estimates for this occupation
Industry profile for this occupation
Geographic profile for this occupation

National estimates for this occupation: Top

Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for this occupation:

Employment (1) Employment
RSE (3)
Mean hourly
wage
Mean annual
wage (2)
Wage RSE (3)
113,000 2.0 % $84.54 $175,840 1.2 %

Percentile wage estimates for this occupation:

Percentile 10% 25% 50%
(Median)
75% 90%
Hourly Wage $35.01 $51.65 $73.00 (5) (5)
Annual Wage (2) $72,810 $107,440 $151,850 (5) (5)


Industry profile for this occupation: Top

Industries with the highest published employment and wages for this occupation are provided. For a list of all industries with employment in this occupation, see the Create Customized Tables function.

Industries with the highest levels of employment in this occupation:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Offices of Dentists 101,690 10.75 $85.74 $178,350
Offices of Physicians 2,910 0.11 $75.05 $156,110
Outpatient Care Centers 2,850 0.31 $77.12 $160,410
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals 1,650 0.03 $67.85 $141,130
State Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OES Designation) 940 0.04 $83.69 $174,070

Industries with the highest concentration of employment in this occupation:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Offices of Dentists 101,690 10.75 $85.74 $178,350
Outpatient Care Centers 2,850 0.31 $77.12 $160,410
Offices of Physicians 2,910 0.11 $75.05 $156,110
Other Ambulatory Health Care Services 170 0.05 $65.14 $135,480
State Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OES Designation) 940 0.04 $83.69 $174,070

Top paying industries for this occupation:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Residential Intellectual and Developmental Disability, Mental Health, and Substance Abuse Facilities 30 0.01 $92.63 $192,680
Offices of Dentists 101,690 10.75 $85.74 $178,350
State Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OES Designation) 940 0.04 $83.69 $174,070
Offices of Other Health Practitioners 260 0.03 $83.01 $172,670
Outpatient Care Centers 2,850 0.31 $77.12 $160,410


Geographic profile for this occupation: Top

States and areas with the highest published employment, location quotients, and wages for this occupation are provided. For a list of all areas with employment in this occupation, see the Create Customized Tables function.





States with the highest employment level in this occupation:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
California 17,240 1.01 1.30 $72.83 $151,490
New York 8,700 0.93 1.19 $79.10 $164,520
Texas 8,110 0.67 0.86 $89.27 $185,680
Florida 6,840 0.79 1.02 $80.42 $167,270
Illinois 4,820 0.80 1.03 $82.49 $171,590




States with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in this occupation:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Utah 1,660 1.14 1.46 $66.81 $138,970
Oregon 1,980 1.05 1.35 $91.68 $190,690
Montana 480 1.05 1.34 $81.86 $170,260
Maryland 2,720 1.01 1.30 $73.06 $151,950
California 17,240 1.01 1.30 $72.83 $151,490




Top paying States for this occupation:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Delaware 280 0.63 0.80 $127.14 $264,440
Alaska 240 0.76 0.98 $124.69 $259,350
Rhode Island 340 0.70 0.89 $122.21 $254,190
Minnesota 1,800 0.63 0.80 $109.27 $227,280
New Hampshire 490 0.75 0.96 $108.80 $226,300





Metropolitan areas with the highest employment level in this occupation:

Metropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA 9,650 1.02 1.30 $79.10 $164,520
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA 6,120 1.00 1.28 $63.86 $132,820
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI 3,690 0.80 1.02 $81.76 $170,050
San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA 2,920 1.21 1.55 $87.25 $181,470
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX 2,720 0.76 0.98 $91.47 $190,260
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV 2,680 0.85 1.09 $98.36 $204,590
Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH 2,320 0.84 1.07 $87.00 $180,950
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA 2,300 0.86 1.10 $78.39 $163,040
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX 2,200 0.74 0.94 $93.08 $193,610
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD 2,150 0.75 0.96 $79.69 $165,750




Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in this occupation:

Metropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Billings, MT 190 2.26 2.89 $105.39 $219,200
Barnstable Town, MA 200 1.89 2.41 $74.09 $154,120
Yuba City, CA 70 1.62 2.07 $82.85 $172,330
Las Cruces, NM 110 1.55 1.98 $66.66 $138,660
Provo-Orem, UT 360 1.50 1.92 (8) (8)
Flint, MI 210 1.50 1.93 $98.34 $204,550
Portland-South Portland, ME 310 1.47 1.88 $102.48 $213,170
Prescott, AZ 90 1.47 1.88 (8) (8)
Ocala, FL 140 1.38 1.77 (8) (8)
Madera, CA 60 1.38 1.76 $84.84 $176,470




Top paying metropolitan areas for this occupation:

Metropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Amarillo, TX (8) (8) (8) $134.41 $279,580
Longview, TX 60 0.64 0.82 $132.47 $275,530
Fond du Lac, WI (8) (8) (8) $129.29 $268,920
Reno, NV 280 1.22 1.56 $128.56 $267,410
Sebring, FL 40 1.32 1.70 $124.84 $259,660
New Haven, CT 240 0.85 1.09 $123.32 $256,510
Missoula, MT 40 0.60 0.77 $121.50 $252,710
Olympia-Tumwater, WA (8) (8) (8) $120.47 $250,590
Fort Wayne, IN 150 0.70 0.90 $120.25 $250,130
Fayetteville, NC 140 1.10 1.41 $119.91 $249,420

Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest employment in this occupation:

Nonmetropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Kansas nonmetropolitan area 260 0.65 0.83 $83.73 $174,160
Balance of Lower Peninsula of Michigan nonmetropolitan area 240 0.88 1.13 $96.52 $200,760
Southeast Coastal North Carolina nonmetropolitan area 210 0.84 1.07 $82.79 $172,200
East Central Illinois nonmetropolitan area 200 1.71 2.19 $75.83 $157,720
Northwest Lower Peninsula of Michigan nonmetropolitan area 200 1.62 2.08 $97.60 $203,010

Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in this occupation:

Nonmetropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
East Central Illinois nonmetropolitan area 200 1.71 2.19 $75.83 $157,720
Northwest Lower Peninsula of Michigan nonmetropolitan area 200 1.62 2.08 $97.60 $203,010
Coast Oregon nonmetropolitan area 160 1.43 1.84 $84.17 $175,080
Hawaii / Kauai nonmetropolitan area 140 1.43 1.83 (8) (8)
Northwestern Wisconsin nonmetropolitan area 60 1.16 1.49 $88.42 $183,910

Top paying nonmetropolitan areas for this occupation:

Nonmetropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Central Indiana nonmetropolitan area (8) (8) (8) (5) (5)
Southeast Missouri nonmetropolitan area (8) (8) (8) $137.65 $286,310
Southwest Minnesota nonmetropolitan area (8) (8) (8) $137.03 $285,010
East Georgia nonmetropolitan area 90 1.03 1.32 $131.92 $274,390
Alaska nonmetropolitan area (8) (8) (8) $129.36 $269,080


About May 2018 National, State, Metropolitan, and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

These estimates are calculated with data collected from employers in all industry sectors, all metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas, and all states and the District of Columbia. The top employment and wage figures are provided above. The complete list is available in the downloadable XLS files.

The percentile wage estimate is the value of a wage below which a certain percent of workers fall. The median wage is the 50th percentile wage estimate--50 percent of workers earn less than the median and 50 percent of workers earn more than the median. More about percentile wages.


(1) Estimates for detailed occupations do not sum to the totals because the totals include occupations not shown separately. Estimates do not include self-employed workers.

(2) Annual wages have been calculated by multiplying the hourly mean wage by a "year-round, full-time" hours figure of 2,080 hours; for those occupations where there is not an hourly wage published, the annual wage has been directly calculated from the reported survey data.

(3) The relative standard error (RSE) is a measure of the reliability of a survey statistic. The smaller the relative standard error, the more precise the estimate.

(5) This wage is equal to or greater than $100.00 per hour or $208,000 per year.

(8) Estimate not released.

(9) The location quotient is the ratio of the area concentration of occupational employment to the national average concentration. A location quotient greater than one indicates the occupation has a higher share of employment than average, and a location quotient less than one indicates the occupation is less prevalent in the area than average.


Other OES estimates and related information:

May 2018 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2018 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2018 Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2018 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2018 Occupation Profiles

Technical Notes

 

Last Modified Date: March 29, 2019