Dental Assistant salary 2025: how much dental assistants make, by state and city

Median pay in the U.S.

$48,070

a year, or $23.11 an hour, for dental assistants nationally. The average (mean) is $50,200 ($24.13 an hour).

The middle half earn $44,340 to $58,090. Median means half earn more and half earn less.

Pay range, U.S.

Bottom 10% earn under: $37,130
25th percentile: $44,340
Median: $48,070
75th percentile: $58,090
Top 10% earn over: $62,250

Jobs nationally

387,790

Dental Assistants employed across the U.S.. Most work in California, Texas, Florida.

Highest-paying state

Minnesota

$65,270 a year. Lowest: Utah at $37,760.

Dental Assistant pay in Minnesota

Dental Assistant pay by state

Darker states pay more. Select a state for its cities and how it compares.

Dental Assistants pay by state (median a year, May 2025)

AK$58k ME$60k VT$53k NH$60k WA$58k ID$46k MT$47k ND$58k MN$65k IL$49k WI$48k MI$49k NY$48k RI$50k MA$58k OR$59k NV$47k WY$45k SD$48k IA$48k IN$49k OH$48k PA$48k NJ$49k CT$57k CA$50k UT$38k CO$48k NE$47k MO$46k KY$48k WV$38k VA$47k MD$49k DE$48k AZ$49k NM$44k KS– AR$43k TN$47k NC$50k SC$47k OK$46k LA$44k MS$39k AL$39k GA$47k HI$45k TX$45k FL$48k

Dental Assistant salary in every state

Pay a year is the median, or the average where BLS publishes no median (marked "(avg)"). Click a column to sort.

State	Pay a year	Hourly	Jobs	Per 1,000 jobs
Alabama	$39,080	$18.79	3,740	1.77
Alaska	$57,710	$27.74	1,140	3.5
Arizona	$49,000	$23.56	8,680	2.68
Arkansas	$42,830	$20.59	2,950	2.26
California	$50,110	$24.09	56,220	3.09
Colorado	$48,340	$23.24	8,360	2.91
Connecticut	$56,850	$27.33	3,840	2.26
Delaware	$47,600	$22.89	990	2.04
Florida	$47,620	$22.89	26,620	2.68
Georgia	$46,840	$22.52	10,540	2.16
Hawaii	$44,720	$21.50	1,960	3.12
Idaho	$45,880	$22.06	2,680	3.12
Illinois	$48,610	$23.37	13,740	2.25
Indiana	$48,670	$23.40	6,690	2.09
Iowa	$48,430	$23.28	3,210	2.06
Kentucky	$47,730	$22.95	4,530	2.26
Louisiana	$44,090	$21.20	4,540	2.35
Maine	$60,070	$28.88	1,550	2.42
Maryland	$48,620	$23.38	6,560	2.37
Massachusetts	$57,980	$27.88	9,680	2.66
Michigan	$48,820	$23.47	11,990	2.72
Minnesota	$65,270	$31.38	5,980	2.03
Mississippi	$39,160	$18.83	3,080	2.65
Missouri	$45,970	$22.10	6,760	2.3
Montana	$46,680	$22.44	1,450	2.84
Nebraska	$46,660	$22.43	2,520	2.46
Nevada	$47,110	$22.65	4,230	2.72
New Hampshire	$59,530	$28.62	1,600	2.34
New Jersey	$49,390	$23.74	9,990	2.33
New Mexico	$44,400	$21.35	2,150	2.47
New York	$48,110	$23.13	19,800	2.04
North Carolina	$50,380	$24.22	11,450	2.32
North Dakota	$57,770	$27.78	860	2.0
Ohio	$47,970	$23.06	12,150	2.19
Oklahoma	$45,740	$21.99	4,550	2.66
Oregon	$59,490	$28.60	5,930	3.01
Pennsylvania	$47,930	$23.05	12,080	1.99
Rhode Island	$50,150	$24.11	1,050	2.1
South Carolina	$47,320	$22.75	5,530	2.4
South Dakota	$47,900	$23.03	1,290	2.83
Tennessee	$46,720	$22.46	7,420	2.26
Texas	$45,430	$21.84	33,230	2.36
Utah	$37,760	$18.16	6,640	3.83
Vermont	$52,760	$25.37	580	1.91
Virginia	$46,670	$22.44	10,760	2.62
Washington	$58,090	$27.93	13,050	3.68
West Virginia	$37,960	$18.25	1,290	1.84
Wisconsin	$47,520	$22.85	7,760	2.64
Wyoming	$44,990	$21.63	630	2.26

Top-paying metro areas for dental assistants

Metro areas with at least 50 dental assistants, by pay a year. Rural (nonmetropolitan) areas are not included.

Metro area	Pay a year	Hourly	Jobs
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA	$74,600	$35.86	2,870
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI	$72,370	$34.79	3,910
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA	$64,390	$30.96	7,530
Rochester, MN	$63,450	$30.50	320
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA	$62,040	$29.83	7,100
Portland-South Portland, ME	$61,240	$29.44	830
Mankato, MN	$61,010	$29.33	120
St. Cloud, MN	$61,000	$29.33	270
Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA	$60,590	$29.13	680
Napa, CA	$60,270	$28.97	230
Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA	$59,890	$28.79	4,120
Manchester-Nashua, NH	$59,700	$28.70	600
Bend, OR	$59,590	$28.65	420
Duluth, MN-WI	$59,390	$28.55	310
Salem, OR	$59,210	$28.47	570

Metro areas with the most dental assistants

Metro area	Jobs	Pay a year
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA	21,090	$46,900
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ	20,870	$48,430
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN	10,490	$48,950
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL	9,180	$47,860
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX	9,010	$47,570
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV	8,440	$47,540
Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX	8,150	$43,730
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA	7,530	$64,390
Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH	7,190	$58,160
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA	7,100	$62,040
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA	6,700	$47,210
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD	6,510	$49,570
Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ	6,270	$49,760
Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI	6,030	$50,110
Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA	5,240	$48,500

Related jobs

Other jobs in healthcare support, with national pay a year.

Home Health and Personal Care Aides $35,800 median a year · 4,305,810 jobs Medical Assistants $45,690 median a year · 817,870 jobs Healthcare Support Workers, All Other $48,430 median a year · 109,740 jobs Medical Equipment Preparers $47,700 median a year · 77,420 jobs Medical Transcriptionists $40,410 median a year · 41,550 jobs

Questions about dental assistant pay

How much does a dental assistant make?

The median pay for dental assistants in the U.S. was $48,070 a year ($23.11 an hour) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The middle half earned between $44,340 and $58,090.

Which states pay dental assistants the most?

The highest pay was in Minnesota ($65,270), Maine ($60,070), New Hampshire ($59,530), Oregon ($59,490), Washington ($58,090). The lowest was in Utah ($37,760), West Virginia ($37,960), Alabama ($39,080).

How much do the highest-paid dental assistants make?

The best-paid 10% of dental assistants earned more than $62,250 a year, while the lowest-paid 10% earned less than $37,130. Pay usually rises with experience, specialty, shift and location.

Which city pays dental assistants the most?

Among metro areas with at least 50 dental assistants, San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA pays the most, with median pay of $74,600 a year (May 2025).

How many dental assistants are there in the U.S.?

About 387,790 people were employed as dental assistants in May 2025.

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Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, all industries. Median pay is the middle wage; where BLS publishes no median, the average (mean) is shown, marked "(avg)". BLS doesn't publish exact figures above its reporting limit; those are shown with a "+". Metro areas with fewer than 50 jobs in this occupation are left out. Pay doesn't reflect cost of living, overtime or shift differentials.

How much do dental assistants make?