Dental Assistant salary in Birmingham
Birmingham, AL
The verified BLS median dental assistant in the Birmingham metro earns $42,050 ($20.22/hr). Birmingham pays roughly 13% below the national median of $48,070.
Dental Assistant pay in Birmingham: the analysis
At a verified median of $42,050, dental assistants in Birmingham earn notably below the U.S. median of $48,070 — a gap of about 13%. Among the 377 metro areas where the BLS reports dental assistant pay, Birmingham ranks 336th.
Compared with Alabama as a whole (median $39,080), Birmingham pays dental assistants about 8% more — modestly above the statewide figure. Local demand, cost of labor, and the mix of practices drive most of that difference.
The pay range is wide: the lowest-paid tenth of dental assistants in this metro area earn around $31,600, while the top tenth earn $60,880 or more — a spread of about $29,280. That gap reflects experience, practice setting, and local demand more than any single factor, so an individual offer can sit well above or below the midpoint.
The BLS counts roughly 1,120 dental assistants employed in Birmingham — a measure of how deep the local job market is for the role.
Within Birmingham, a dental assistant earns about 3.1× less than a general dentist and about 1.5× less than a dental hygienist ($128,550, $61,730 respectively) — a quick way to see where the role sits in the local dental pay ladder.
Dental Assistant pay distribution — Birmingham (verified)
Inner percentiles marked “est.” are interpolated between published anchors.
| Percentile | Annual pay | Hourly |
|---|---|---|
| 10th percentilei | $31,600 | $15.19/hr |
| 25th percentilei | $38,220 | $18.38/hr |
| Median (50th)i | $42,050 | $20.22/hr |
| 75th percentilei | $49,980 | $24.03/hr |
| 90th percentilei | $60,880 | $29.27/hr |
| Mean (average)i | $44,310 | $21.30/hr |
Estimate your pay
Open calculatorKnow a real number we don’t?
Submit your compensation anonymously. We review every entry and publish only de-identified aggregates above a sample-size threshold.
Submit your salary →Frequently asked questions
How much does a dental assistant make in Birmingham?
The verified BLS OEWS median dental assistant in the Birmingham metro earns about $42,050 ($20.22/hr), from the official May 2025 metropolitan wage survey.
How does Birmingham dental assistant pay compare to Alabama overall?
The verified BLS OEWS Birmingham metro median is about $42,050, versus the verified BLS OEWS Alabama statewide median of about $39,080.
Last updated