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.

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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

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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:

Industry	Employment (1)	Percent of industry employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
State Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OEWS Designation)	1,230	0.06	$ 24.12	$ 50,170
Specialty (except Psychiatric and Substance Abuse) Hospitals	120	0.04	$ 23.18	$ 48,210
Home Health Care Services	(8)	(8)	$ 23.04	$ 47,930
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals	2,000	0.04	$ 22.68	$ 47,180
Federal Executive Branch (OEWS Designation)	3,660	0.17	$ 22.10	$ 45,970

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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