Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
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Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2021
29-1292 Dental Hygienists
Administer oral hygiene care to patients. Assess patient oral hygiene problems or needs and maintain health records. Advise patients on oral health maintenance and disease prevention. May provide advanced care such as providing fluoride treatment or administering topical anesthesia.
National estimates for Dental Hygienists
Industry profile for Dental Hygienists
Geographic profile for Dental Hygienists
National estimates for Dental Hygienists:
Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for Dental Hygienists:
| Employment (1) |
Employment
RSE (3) |
Mean hourly
wage |
Mean annual
wage (2) |
Wage RSE (3) |
| 207,190 |
2.1 % |
$ 39.12 |
$ 81,360 |
0.6 % |
Percentile wage estimates for Dental Hygienists:
| Percentile |
10% |
25% |
50%
(Median) |
75% |
90% |
| Hourly Wage |
$ 28.90 |
$ 35.36 |
$ 37.41 |
$ 47.24 |
$ 48.18 |
| Annual Wage (2) |
$ 60,100 |
$ 73,540 |
$ 77,810 |
$ 98,260 |
$ 100,200 |
Industry profile for Dental Hygienists:
Industries with the highest published employment and wages for Dental Hygienists are provided.
For a list of all industries with employment in Dental Hygienists, see the Create Customized Tables function.
Industries with the highest levels of employment in Dental Hygienists:
Industries with the highest concentration of employment in Dental Hygienists:
Top paying industries for Dental Hygienists:
Geographic profile for Dental Hygienists:
States and areas with the highest published employment, location quotients, and wages for Dental Hygienists are provided.
For a list of all areas with employment in Dental Hygienists, see the Create Customized Tables function.
States with the highest employment level in Dental Hygienists:
| State |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| California |
25,200 |
1.52 |
1.04 |
$ 52.02 |
$ 108,200 |
| Texas |
13,030 |
1.07 |
0.72 |
$ 36.53 |
$ 75,970 |
| Florida |
11,230 |
1.30 |
0.89 |
$ 35.18 |
$ 73,180 |
| New York |
10,020 |
1.16 |
0.79 |
$ 40.19 |
$ 83,600 |
| Pennsylvania |
9,690 |
1.74 |
1.18 |
$ 34.48 |
$ 71,710 |
States with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Dental Hygienists:
| State |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Idaho |
1,880 |
2.49 |
1.69 |
$ 36.08 |
$ 75,040 |
| Rhode Island |
1,120 |
2.44 |
1.66 |
$ 37.09 |
$ 77,140 |
| Hawaii |
1,340 |
2.43 |
1.66 |
$ 39.41 |
$ 81,970 |
| New Hampshire |
1,410 |
2.22 |
1.51 |
$ 39.74 |
$ 82,660 |
| North Dakota |
850 |
2.15 |
1.46 |
$ 33.39 |
$ 69,440 |
Top paying states for Dental Hygienists:
| State |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Alaska |
510 |
1.72 |
1.17 |
$ 55.53 |
$ 115,510 |
| California |
25,200 |
1.52 |
1.04 |
$ 52.02 |
$ 108,200 |
| Washington |
6,840 |
2.13 |
1.45 |
$ 51.06 |
$ 106,200 |
| Oregon |
3,740 |
2.05 |
1.39 |
$ 45.40 |
$ 94,420 |
| Nevada |
2,030 |
1.58 |
1.07 |
$ 43.01 |
$ 89,460 |
Metropolitan areas with the highest employment level in Dental Hygienists:
| Metropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA |
10,150 |
1.78 |
1.21 |
$ 50.41 |
$ 104,840 |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA |
9,570 |
1.10 |
0.75 |
$ 44.00 |
$ 91,530 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI |
6,960 |
1.64 |
1.12 |
$ 38.24 |
$ 79,540 |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD |
4,790 |
1.80 |
1.23 |
$ 39.90 |
$ 83,000 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX |
4,440 |
1.24 |
0.84 |
$ 36.37 |
$ 75,660 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV |
4,360 |
1.49 |
1.01 |
$ 42.70 |
$ 88,820 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA |
4,260 |
2.22 |
1.51 |
$ 53.65 |
$ 111,600 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH |
3,980 |
1.54 |
1.05 |
$ 42.15 |
$ 87,680 |
| Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI |
3,360 |
1.86 |
1.27 |
$ 31.94 |
$ 66,430 |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI |
3,310 |
1.82 |
1.24 |
$ 39.17 |
$ 81,470 |
Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Dental Hygienists:
| Metropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Pocatello, ID |
120 |
3.45 |
2.35 |
$ 32.57 |
$ 67,740 |
| Danbury, CT |
230 |
3.22 |
2.19 |
$ 41.71 |
$ 86,760 |
| Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT |
1,150 |
3.07 |
2.09 |
$ 45.95 |
$ 95,570 |
| Flint, MI |
380 |
3.04 |
2.06 |
$ 32.38 |
$ 67,340 |
| Jacksonville, NC |
140 |
3.00 |
2.04 |
$ 32.63 |
$ 67,880 |
| Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA |
270 |
2.90 |
1.97 |
$ 54.99 |
$ 114,370 |
| Lake Havasu City-Kingman, AZ |
150 |
2.85 |
1.94 |
$ 39.40 |
$ 81,950 |
| Wausau, WI |
190 |
2.81 |
1.91 |
$ 32.93 |
$ 68,490 |
| Albany, OR |
120 |
2.70 |
1.84 |
$ 41.52 |
$ 86,360 |
| Bismarck, ND |
180 |
2.61 |
1.77 |
$ 34.88 |
$ 72,550 |
Top paying metropolitan areas for Dental Hygienists:
| Metropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA |
260 |
1.35 |
0.92 |
$ 60.46 |
$ 125,750 |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA |
2,010 |
1.88 |
1.28 |
$ 58.97 |
$ 122,660 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA |
3,270 |
1.46 |
0.99 |
$ 57.37 |
$ 119,320 |
| Anchorage, AK |
290 |
1.81 |
1.23 |
$ 55.90 |
$ 116,270 |
| Santa Rosa, CA |
460 |
2.41 |
1.64 |
$ 55.64 |
$ 115,730 |
| Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA |
270 |
2.90 |
1.97 |
$ 54.99 |
$ 114,370 |
| Fairbanks, AK |
50 |
1.45 |
0.99 |
$ 54.75 |
$ 113,880 |
| Napa, CA |
120 |
1.68 |
1.14 |
$ 54.10 |
$ 112,520 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA |
4,260 |
2.22 |
1.51 |
$ 53.65 |
$ 111,600 |
| Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA |
560 |
1.89 |
1.29 |
$ 53.48 |
$ 111,240 |
Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest employment in Dental Hygienists:
Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Dental Hygienists:
Top paying nonmetropolitan areas for Dental Hygienists:
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
