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Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics

Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2019

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 “Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons” (29-1022), “Orthodontists” (29-1023), “Prosthodontists” (29-1024), 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:

Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for this occupation:

Employment (1) Employment
RSE (3)
Mean hourly
wage
Mean annual
wage (2)
Wage RSE (3)
110,730 1.9 % $85.70 $178,260 1.2 %

Percentile wage estimates for this occupation:

Percentile 10% 25% 50%
(Median)
75% 90%
Hourly Wage $38.87 $54.36 $74.81 (5) (5)
Annual Wage (2) $80,850 $113,060 $155,600 (5) (5)


Industry profile for this occupation:

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 98,970 10.25 $86.85 $180,660
Offices of Physicians 3,340 0.13 $77.24 $160,670
Outpatient Care Centers 2,840 0.30 $75.94 $157,950
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals 1,690 0.03 $70.03 $145,650
State Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OES Designation) 1,090 0.05 $88.14 $183,320

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 98,970 10.25 $86.85 $180,660
Outpatient Care Centers 2,840 0.30 $75.94 $157,950
Offices of Physicians 3,340 0.13 $77.24 $160,670
State Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OES Designation) 1,090 0.05 $88.14 $183,320
Psychiatric and Substance Abuse Hospitals 130 0.05 $75.74 $157,550

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 $94.89 $197,370
Offices of Other Health Practitioners 180 0.02 $94.16 $195,850
State Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OES Designation) 1,090 0.05 $88.14 $183,320
Offices of Dentists 98,970 10.25 $86.85 $180,660
Employment Services 340 0.01 $79.48 $165,330


Geographic profile for this occupation:

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 16,220 0.93 1.24 $74.84 $155,670
New York 8,780 0.92 1.22 $80.33 $167,090
Texas 8,590 0.69 0.92 $88.22 $183,510
Florida 7,110 0.81 1.07 $83.48 $173,630
Illinois 3,850 0.64 0.85 $90.95 $189,170




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)
Vermont 360 1.17 1.56 $125.86 $261,790
Wyoming 300 1.10 1.45 $61.53 $127,990
Hawaii 700 1.10 1.46 $87.60 $182,210
Utah 1,510 1.00 1.33 $64.77 $134,730
Washington 3,300 0.99 1.32 $89.06 $185,240




Top paying States for this occupation:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Rhode Island 320 0.65 0.86 $126.39 $262,900
Vermont 360 1.17 1.56 $125.86 $261,790
Alaska 190 0.59 0.78 $115.35 $239,930
North Dakota 200 0.48 0.64 $108.54 $225,770
Maine 590 0.96 1.27 $105.96 $220,400





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 9,520 0.99 1.31 $82.04 $170,640
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA 5,660 0.91 1.20 $68.18 $141,810
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI 2,960 0.63 0.84 $88.64 $184,380
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX 2,930 0.80 1.06 $99.61 $207,180
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV 2,890 0.91 1.21 $93.73 $194,960
San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA 2,890 1.17 1.55 $81.60 $169,730
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX 2,420 0.79 1.05 $80.14 $166,700
Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH 2,150 0.77 1.02 $92.59 $192,590
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA 2,110 0.77 1.02 $84.20 $175,140
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA 2,020 1.00 1.33 $81.87 $170,290




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)
Burlington-South Burlington, VT 250 2.07 2.75 $132.42 $275,430
St. George, UT 140 2.01 2.66 (8) (8)
Cheyenne, WY 90 1.92 2.54 $49.74 $103,450
The Villages, FL 50 1.64 2.17 $83.54 $173,760
Rocky Mount, NC 90 1.64 2.17 $70.69 $147,040
Prescott, AZ 110 1.64 2.17 $78.88 $164,080
Elizabethtown-Fort Knox, KY 90 1.63 2.17 (8) (8)
Provo-Orem, UT 410 1.62 2.15 (8) (8)
Portland-South Portland, ME 340 1.61 2.14 $103.80 $215,910
Leominster-Gardner, MA 80 1.56 2.07 $86.19 $179,260




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)
Warner Robins, GA 40 0.61 0.81 (5) (5)
Burlington, NC 40 0.60 0.79 $133.82 $278,360
Burlington-South Burlington, VT 250 2.07 2.75 $132.42 $275,430
Longview, TX 60 0.68 0.90 $130.98 $272,440
Olympia-Tumwater, WA (8) (8) (8) $128.48 $267,240
Reno, NV 230 0.95 1.26 $123.32 $256,510
Providence-Warwick, RI-MA 400 0.69 0.91 $122.22 $254,220
Amarillo, TX (8) (8) (8) $121.68 $253,090
Iowa City, IA 30 0.34 0.45 $121.00 $251,670
Fond du Lac, WI (8) (8) (8) $118.93 $247,370

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)
Balance of Lower Peninsula of Michigan nonmetropolitan area 230 0.84 1.12 $81.95 $170,460
Piedmont North Carolina nonmetropolitan area 220 0.83 1.10 $96.58 $200,880
Northwest Lower Peninsula of Michigan nonmetropolitan area 190 1.55 2.05 $99.23 $206,400
North Northeastern Ohio non-metropolitan area (non-contiguous) 180 0.55 0.72 $89.14 $185,410
Southeast Oklahoma nonmetropolitan area 170 1.00 1.32 $93.11 $193,660

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)
Northwest Lower Peninsula of Michigan nonmetropolitan area 190 1.55 2.05 $99.23 $206,400
Southwest Colorado nonmetropolitan area 150 1.50 1.99 (8) (8)
Hawaii / Kauai nonmetropolitan area 150 1.48 1.96 (8) (8)
Eastern Utah nonmetropolitan area 110 1.41 1.86 $89.15 $185,420
Upper Peninsula of Michigan nonmetropolitan area 150 1.38 1.83 $75.31 $156,640

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)
East North Dakota nonmetropolitan area 50 0.71 0.94 $136.73 $284,400
East Georgia nonmetropolitan area 70 0.85 1.13 $129.52 $269,400
Central Indiana nonmetropolitan area 130 0.81 1.08 $126.15 $262,400
West Central-Southwest New Hampshire nonmetropolitan area 50 0.50 0.66 $122.30 $254,390
Southwest Maine nonmetropolitan area 130 0.69 0.91 $122.26 $254,300


About May 2019 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 2019 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2019 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2019 Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2019 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2019 Occupation Profiles

Technical Notes

 

Last Modified Date: July 6, 2020