Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
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Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2021
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 Dental Assistants
Industry profile for Dental Assistants
Geographic profile for Dental Assistants
National estimates for Dental Assistants:
Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for Dental Assistants:
| Employment (1) |
Employment
RSE (3) |
Mean hourly
wage |
Mean annual
wage (2) |
Wage RSE (3) |
| 347,170 |
1.2 % |
$ 20.44 |
$ 42,510 |
0.5 % |
Percentile wage estimates for Dental Assistants:
| Percentile |
10% |
25% |
50%
(Median) |
75% |
90% |
| Hourly Wage |
$ 14.22 |
$ 17.79 |
$ 18.59 |
$ 22.88 |
$ 28.63 |
| Annual Wage (2) |
$ 29,580 |
$ 37,000 |
$ 38,660 |
$ 47,580 |
$ 59,540 |
Industry profile for Dental Assistants:
Industries with the highest published employment and wages for Dental Assistants are provided.
For a list of all industries with employment in Dental Assistants, see the Create Customized Tables function.
Industries with the highest levels of employment in Dental Assistants:
| Industry |
Employment (1) |
Percent of industry employment |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Offices of Dentists |
318,100 |
32.76 |
$ 20.42 |
$ 42,460 |
| Outpatient Care Centers |
6,420 |
0.65 |
$ 20.64 |
$ 42,920 |
| Offices of Physicians |
6,390 |
0.24 |
$ 19.35 |
$ 40,250 |
| Federal Executive Branch (OEWS Designation) |
3,660 |
0.17 |
$ 22.10 |
$ 45,970 |
| Employment Services |
3,190 |
0.09 |
$ 20.14 |
$ 41,880 |
Industries with the highest concentration of employment in Dental Assistants:
| Industry |
Employment (1) |
Percent of industry employment |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Offices of Dentists |
318,100 |
32.76 |
$ 20.42 |
$ 42,460 |
| Outpatient Care Centers |
6,420 |
0.65 |
$ 20.64 |
$ 42,920 |
| Offices of Physicians |
6,390 |
0.24 |
$ 19.35 |
$ 40,250 |
| Federal Executive Branch (OEWS Designation) |
3,660 |
0.17 |
$ 22.10 |
$ 45,970 |
| Employment Services |
3,190 |
0.09 |
$ 20.14 |
$ 41,880 |
Top paying industries for Dental Assistants:
Geographic profile for Dental Assistants:
States and areas with the highest published employment, location quotients, and wages for Dental Assistants are provided.
For a list of all areas with employment in Dental Assistants, see the Create Customized Tables function.
States with the highest employment level in Dental Assistants:
| State |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| California |
48,090 |
2.91 |
1.18 |
$ 22.15 |
$ 46,060 |
| Texas |
33,040 |
2.70 |
1.10 |
$ 18.45 |
$ 38,370 |
| Florida |
21,390 |
2.49 |
1.01 |
$ 19.63 |
$ 40,820 |
| New York |
19,930 |
2.30 |
0.93 |
$ 21.59 |
$ 44,910 |
| Illinois |
12,340 |
2.20 |
0.89 |
$ 20.39 |
$ 42,400 |
States with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Dental Assistants:
| State |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Alaska |
1,150 |
3.87 |
1.57 |
$ 24.35 |
$ 50,640 |
| Utah |
6,000 |
3.86 |
1.57 |
$ 16.93 |
$ 35,210 |
| Idaho |
2,510 |
3.32 |
1.35 |
$ 17.43 |
$ 36,250 |
| Washington |
10,500 |
3.27 |
1.33 |
$ 22.29 |
$ 46,350 |
| New Mexico |
2,540 |
3.27 |
1.33 |
$ 18.17 |
$ 37,790 |
Top paying states for Dental Assistants:
| State |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Minnesota |
5,330 |
1.95 |
0.79 |
$ 25.52 |
$ 53,080 |
| Massachusetts |
8,550 |
2.52 |
1.02 |
$ 24.62 |
$ 51,210 |
| Alaska |
1,150 |
3.87 |
1.57 |
$ 24.35 |
$ 50,640 |
| New Hampshire |
1,380 |
2.17 |
0.88 |
$ 23.79 |
$ 49,470 |
| Oregon |
5,480 |
3.00 |
1.22 |
$ 23.45 |
$ 48,780 |
Metropolitan areas with the highest employment level in Dental Assistants:
| 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 |
21,340 |
2.46 |
1.00 |
$ 21.83 |
$ 45,410 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA |
15,740 |
2.75 |
1.12 |
$ 20.84 |
$ 43,340 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX |
11,110 |
3.10 |
1.26 |
$ 18.81 |
$ 39,120 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI |
9,800 |
2.31 |
0.94 |
$ 20.98 |
$ 43,630 |
| Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX |
7,780 |
2.68 |
1.09 |
$ 18.00 |
$ 37,430 |
| Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL |
7,600 |
3.10 |
1.26 |
$ 18.95 |
$ 39,420 |
| Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ |
6,870 |
3.25 |
1.32 |
$ 20.58 |
$ 42,810 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH |
6,400 |
2.48 |
1.01 |
$ 25.16 |
$ 52,330 |
| Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA |
6,030 |
2.33 |
0.95 |
$ 19.96 |
$ 41,520 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA |
5,980 |
2.67 |
1.08 |
$ 26.51 |
$ 55,150 |
Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Dental Assistants:
| Metropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Provo-Orem, UT |
1,600 |
5.88 |
2.38 |
$ 16.74 |
$ 34,820 |
| Sherman-Denison, TX |
270 |
5.53 |
2.24 |
$ 17.06 |
$ 35,490 |
| St. George, UT |
370 |
4.96 |
2.01 |
$ 16.55 |
$ 34,420 |
| Lake Havasu City-Kingman, AZ |
250 |
4.81 |
1.95 |
$ 18.85 |
$ 39,200 |
| Hanford-Corcoran, CA |
200 |
4.60 |
1.87 |
$ 23.03 |
$ 47,900 |
| Fairbanks, AK |
160 |
4.54 |
1.84 |
$ 24.97 |
$ 51,940 |
| Olympia-Tumwater, WA |
500 |
4.44 |
1.80 |
$ 22.64 |
$ 47,100 |
| Modesto, CA |
800 |
4.41 |
1.79 |
$ 19.88 |
$ 41,350 |
| Idaho Falls, ID |
320 |
4.39 |
1.78 |
$ 17.08 |
$ 35,520 |
| Wenatchee, WA |
200 |
4.39 |
1.78 |
$ 20.92 |
$ 43,510 |
Top paying metropolitan areas for Dental Assistants:
| Metropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA |
5,980 |
2.67 |
1.08 |
$ 26.51 |
$ 55,150 |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI |
3,460 |
1.90 |
0.77 |
$ 26.45 |
$ 55,020 |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA |
2,940 |
2.75 |
1.12 |
$ 26.25 |
$ 54,590 |
| Santa Rosa, CA |
740 |
3.88 |
1.57 |
$ 25.27 |
$ 52,550 |
| Rochester, MN |
230 |
1.99 |
0.81 |
$ 25.25 |
$ 52,510 |
| Barnstable Town, MA |
210 |
2.14 |
0.87 |
$ 25.18 |
$ 52,380 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH |
6,400 |
2.48 |
1.01 |
$ 25.16 |
$ 52,330 |
| Bismarck, ND |
180 |
2.63 |
1.07 |
$ 25.11 |
$ 52,240 |
| Fairbanks, AK |
160 |
4.54 |
1.84 |
$ 24.97 |
$ 51,940 |
| Portsmouth, NH-ME |
170 |
1.87 |
0.76 |
$ 24.57 |
$ 51,110 |
Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest employment in Dental Assistants:
Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Dental Assistants:
Top paying nonmetropolitan areas for Dental Assistants:
About May 2021 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 OEWS estimates and related information:
May 2021 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2021 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2021 Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2021 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2021 Occupation Profiles
Technical Notes
Last Modified Date: March 31, 2022
United States Department of Labor
