Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
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Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2021
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 Dentists, General
Industry profile for Dentists, General
Geographic profile for Dentists, General
National estimates for Dentists, General:
Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for Dentists, General:
| Employment (1) |
Employment
RSE (3) |
Mean hourly
wage |
Mean annual
wage (2) |
Wage RSE (3) |
| 108,680 |
3.3 % |
$ 80.37 |
$ 167,160 |
1.8 % |
Percentile wage estimates for Dentists, General:
| Percentile |
10% |
25% |
50%
(Median) |
75% |
90% |
| Hourly Wage |
$ 30.20 |
$ 48.83 |
$ 77.10 |
(5) |
(5) |
| Annual Wage (2) |
$ 62,810 |
$ 101,570 |
$ 160,370 |
(5) |
(5) |
Industry profile for Dentists, General:
Industries with the highest published employment and wages for Dentists, General are provided.
For a list of all industries with employment in Dentists, General, see the Create Customized Tables function.
Industries with the highest levels of employment in Dentists, General:
| Industry |
Employment (1) |
Percent of industry employment |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Offices of Dentists |
96,750 |
9.96 |
$ 81.21 |
$ 168,910 |
| Outpatient Care Centers |
3,250 |
0.33 |
$ 77.66 |
$ 161,530 |
| Offices of Physicians |
2,890 |
0.11 |
$ 76.37 |
$ 158,850 |
| General Medical and Surgical Hospitals |
1,860 |
0.03 |
$ 59.79 |
$ 124,350 |
| State Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OEWS Designation) |
890 |
0.04 |
$ 88.35 |
$ 183,770 |
Industries with the highest concentration of employment in Dentists, General:
Top paying industries for Dentists, General:
Geographic profile for Dentists, General:
States and areas with the highest published employment, location quotients, and wages for Dentists, General are provided.
For a list of all areas with employment in Dentists, General, see the Create Customized Tables function.
States with the highest employment level in Dentists, General:
| State |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| California |
14,770 |
0.89 |
1.16 |
$ 79.78 |
$ 165,950 |
| Texas |
9,540 |
0.78 |
1.01 |
$ 72.15 |
$ 150,060 |
| Florida |
8,080 |
0.94 |
1.22 |
$ 79.02 |
$ 164,370 |
| New York |
6,370 |
0.73 |
0.95 |
$ 82.11 |
$ 170,800 |
| Virginia |
4,880 |
1.30 |
1.68 |
$ 78.25 |
$ 162,750 |
States with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Dentists, General:
| State |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Virginia |
4,880 |
1.30 |
1.68 |
$ 78.25 |
$ 162,750 |
| Hawaii |
620 |
1.13 |
1.46 |
$ 85.49 |
$ 177,820 |
| New Mexico |
860 |
1.11 |
1.44 |
$ 91.07 |
$ 189,430 |
| Idaho |
720 |
0.95 |
1.23 |
$ 59.98 |
$ 124,750 |
| Florida |
8,080 |
0.94 |
1.22 |
$ 79.02 |
$ 164,370 |
Top paying states for Dentists, General:
| State |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Delaware |
270 |
0.62 |
0.80 |
$ 112.43 |
$ 233,860 |
| New Hampshire |
350 |
0.55 |
0.71 |
$ 108.24 |
$ 225,140 |
| Oregon |
1,430 |
0.79 |
1.02 |
$ 99.70 |
$ 207,370 |
| Rhode Island |
350 |
0.76 |
0.98 |
$ 99.33 |
$ 206,600 |
| Connecticut |
1,370 |
0.87 |
1.13 |
$ 95.15 |
$ 197,910 |
Metropolitan areas with the highest employment level in Dentists, General:
| 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 |
7,110 |
0.82 |
1.06 |
$ 87.59 |
$ 182,190 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX |
3,520 |
0.98 |
1.27 |
$ 70.53 |
$ 146,710 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV |
3,260 |
1.11 |
1.44 |
$ 83.65 |
$ 174,000 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI |
3,140 |
0.74 |
0.96 |
$ 64.79 |
$ 134,770 |
| Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL |
3,120 |
1.27 |
1.65 |
$ 70.89 |
$ 147,440 |
| Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX |
3,040 |
1.05 |
1.36 |
$ 76.91 |
$ 159,970 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA |
2,250 |
1.00 |
1.30 |
$ 87.36 |
$ 181,700 |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD |
2,240 |
0.84 |
1.10 |
$ 90.97 |
$ 189,220 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH |
2,220 |
0.86 |
1.11 |
$ 85.75 |
$ 178,360 |
| San Diego-Carlsbad, CA |
1,660 |
1.19 |
1.54 |
$ 66.83 |
$ 139,000 |
Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Dentists, General:
| Metropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Lake Havasu City-Kingman, AZ |
110 |
2.17 |
2.81 |
$ 73.16 |
$ 152,170 |
| Flint, MI |
240 |
1.89 |
2.45 |
$ 83.85 |
$ 174,410 |
| Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA |
540 |
1.81 |
2.35 |
$ 60.28 |
$ 125,380 |
| St. George, UT |
120 |
1.56 |
2.03 |
$ 64.26 |
$ 133,650 |
| Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC |
1,110 |
1.56 |
2.02 |
$ 78.01 |
$ 162,260 |
| Hanford-Corcoran, CA |
60 |
1.49 |
1.93 |
$ 93.80 |
$ 195,110 |
| Naples-Immokalee-Marco Island, FL |
200 |
1.38 |
1.79 |
$ 80.64 |
$ 167,720 |
| Morgantown, WV |
90 |
1.37 |
1.77 |
$ 58.15 |
$ 120,950 |
| Santa Fe, NM |
80 |
1.34 |
1.73 |
$ 93.75 |
$ 194,990 |
| Wilmington, NC |
170 |
1.33 |
1.72 |
$ 86.55 |
$ 180,030 |
Top paying metropolitan areas for Dentists, General:
| Metropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Manchester, NH |
60 |
0.58 |
0.75 |
$ 132.94 |
$ 276,510 |
| Salinas, CA |
120 |
0.71 |
0.92 |
$ 112.70 |
$ 234,410 |
| Vallejo-Fairfield, CA |
130 |
1.04 |
1.35 |
$ 110.48 |
$ 229,800 |
| Eugene, OR |
90 |
0.61 |
0.79 |
$ 109.98 |
$ 228,750 |
| New Haven, CT |
220 |
0.80 |
1.04 |
$ 109.32 |
$ 227,390 |
| Akron, OH |
150 |
0.48 |
0.63 |
$ 108.34 |
$ 225,350 |
| Gainesville, FL |
100 |
0.74 |
0.96 |
$ 107.06 |
$ 222,690 |
| Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA |
100 |
1.09 |
1.42 |
$ 106.35 |
$ 221,210 |
| Medford, OR |
90 |
1.03 |
1.33 |
$ 105.98 |
$ 220,430 |
| Portsmouth, NH-ME |
70 |
0.76 |
0.99 |
$ 105.80 |
$ 220,070 |
Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest employment in Dentists, General:
Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Dentists, General:
Top paying nonmetropolitan areas for Dentists, General:
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.
(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 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
