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Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics

Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2019

31-9091 Dental Assistants

Perform limited clinical duties under the direction of a dentist. Clinical duties may include equipment preparation and sterilization, preparing patients for treatment, assisting the dentist during treatment, and providing patients with instructions for oral healthcare procedures. May perform administrative duties such as scheduling appointments, maintaining medical records, billing, and coding information for insurance purposes.


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)
351,470 0.9 % $19.79 $41,170 0.4 %

Percentile wage estimates for this occupation:

Percentile 10% 25% 50%
(Median)
75% 90%
Hourly Wage $13.45 $16.08 $19.27 $23.34 $27.37
Annual Wage (2) $27,980 $33,440 $40,080 $48,550 $56,930


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 317,690 32.90 $19.81 $41,200
Offices of Physicians 7,710 0.29 $18.67 $38,840
Outpatient Care Centers 5,590 0.59 $19.55 $40,670
Employment Services 3,850 0.10 $19.60 $40,760
Federal Executive Branch (OES Designation) 3,690 0.18 $20.65 $42,950

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 317,690 32.90 $19.81 $41,200
Outpatient Care Centers 5,590 0.59 $19.55 $40,670
Offices of Physicians 7,710 0.29 $18.67 $38,840
Federal Executive Branch (OES Designation) 3,690 0.18 $20.65 $42,950
Other Ambulatory Health Care Services 440 0.14 $20.21 $42,040

Top paying industries for this occupation:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Agencies, Brokerages, and Other Insurance Related Activities 70 0.01 $27.78 $57,770
Nursing Care Facilities (Skilled Nursing Facilities) (8) (8) $24.35 $50,640
State Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OES Designation) 1,260 0.06 $22.69 $47,200
Specialty (except Psychiatric and Substance Abuse) Hospitals (8) (8) $21.91 $45,560
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals 2,240 0.04 $21.09 $43,860


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 56,840 3.27 1.37 $20.81 $43,280
Texas 31,550 2.54 1.06 $18.57 $38,630
Florida 20,550 2.34 0.98 $19.10 $39,730
New York 19,520 2.05 0.86 $19.56 $40,680
Illinois 13,170 2.19 0.91 $19.36 $40,270




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 5,450 3.62 1.51 $15.74 $32,740
New Mexico 2,830 3.43 1.44 $17.94 $37,310
California 56,840 3.27 1.37 $20.81 $43,280
Washington 10,780 3.25 1.36 $21.94 $45,640
Colorado 8,390 3.13 1.31 $20.22 $42,050




Top paying States for this occupation:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Minnesota 5,740 1.99 0.83 $25.10 $52,220
Alaska 960 3.04 1.27 $23.73 $49,350
New Hampshire 1,350 2.04 0.85 $23.69 $49,280
Massachusetts 8,430 2.33 0.97 $23.45 $48,770
North Dakota 790 1.88 0.78 $22.66 $47,140





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 21,780 2.26 0.94 $20.47 $42,580
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA 19,440 3.12 1.30 $19.18 $39,900
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI 10,760 2.30 0.96 $19.72 $41,030
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX 10,310 2.82 1.18 $20.16 $41,930
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX 7,580 2.48 1.04 $17.54 $36,490
San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA 6,980 2.82 1.18 $24.76 $51,510
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL 6,720 2.54 1.06 $18.84 $39,180
Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH 6,070 2.17 0.91 $24.15 $50,220
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV 6,050 1.90 0.80 $23.01 $47,860
Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA 6,050 3.93 1.64 $18.06 $37,560




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)
Pocatello, ID 210 6.03 2.52 $14.40 $29,960
Johnstown, PA 290 5.61 2.34 $17.58 $36,570
Bremerton-Silverdale, WA 480 5.34 2.23 $21.24 $44,170
Hot Springs, AR 190 5.30 2.21 $16.89 $35,140
Yakima, WA 500 5.29 2.21 $18.74 $38,970
Lake Havasu City-Kingman, AZ 240 4.78 2.00 $18.16 $37,760
Monroe, LA 350 4.61 1.93 $15.15 $31,510
Idaho Falls, ID 300 4.52 1.89 $16.64 $34,600
Provo-Orem, UT 1,150 4.51 1.88 $14.00 $29,120
Grants Pass, OR 120 4.50 1.88 $20.11 $41,830




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)
Santa Rosa, CA 800 3.87 1.62 $26.93 $56,010
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI 3,760 1.91 0.80 $26.21 $54,510
Rochester, MN 360 3.09 1.29 $25.49 $53,010
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA 3,860 3.39 1.41 $25.18 $52,380
San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA 6,980 2.82 1.18 $24.76 $51,510
Bismarck, ND 160 2.27 0.95 $24.69 $51,360
Portsmouth, NH-ME 140 1.43 0.60 $24.60 $51,170
Napa, CA 210 2.69 1.13 $24.24 $50,420
Fairbanks, AK 80 2.48 1.04 $24.18 $50,280
Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH 6,070 2.17 0.91 $24.15 $50,220

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 800 2.03 0.85 $18.22 $37,900
North Northeastern Ohio non-metropolitan area (non-contiguous) 650 1.96 0.82 $18.81 $39,130
Southeast Coastal North Carolina nonmetropolitan area 540 2.19 0.91 $19.00 $39,520
Balance of Lower Peninsula of Michigan nonmetropolitan area 540 1.97 0.82 $19.63 $40,830
Piedmont North Carolina nonmetropolitan area 540 2.06 0.86 $19.48 $40,510

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)
Central Utah nonmetropolitan area 300 6.05 2.53 $15.19 $31,600
Eastern Sierra-Mother Lode Region of California nonmetropolitan area 260 4.34 1.81 $22.67 $47,150
North Valley-Northern Mountains Region of California nonmetropolitan area 410 4.06 1.70 $20.47 $42,570
Western Washington nonmetropolitan area 500 4.05 1.69 $22.29 $46,350
Arizona nonmetropolitan area 330 3.62 1.51 $19.06 $39,630

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)
Alaska nonmetropolitan area 380 3.54 1.48 $25.68 $53,420
Southeast Minnesota nonmetropolitan area 300 1.90 0.79 $23.50 $48,890
Central New Hampshire nonmetropolitan area 200 2.12 0.88 $22.88 $47,600
Connecticut nonmetropolitan area 50 1.68 0.70 $22.71 $47,250
West Central-Southwest New Hampshire nonmetropolitan area 250 2.46 1.03 $22.69 $47,190


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.

(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