Dental Assistant salary in Fort Smith
Fort Smith, AR-OK
The verified BLS median dental assistant in the Fort Smith metro earns $37,160 ($17.87/hr). Fort Smith pays roughly 23% below the national median of $48,070.
Dental Assistant pay in Fort Smith: the analysis
At a verified median of $37,160, dental assistants in Fort Smith earn notably below the U.S. median of $48,070 — a gap of about 23%. Among the 377 metro areas where the BLS reports dental assistant pay, Fort Smith ranks 368th.
Compared with Arkansas as a whole (median $42,830), Fort Smith pays dental assistants about 13% less than the statewide median. 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 $31,420, while the top tenth earn $45,840 or more — a spread of about $14,420. 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 220 dental assistants employed in Fort Smith — a measure of how deep the local job market is for the role.
Within Fort Smith, a dental assistant earns about 4.4× less than a general dentist and about 2.3× less than a dental hygienist ($165,060, $84,480 respectively) — a quick way to see where the role sits in the local dental pay ladder.
Dental Assistant pay distribution — Fort Smith (verified)
Inner percentiles marked “est.” are interpolated between published anchors.
| Percentile | Annual pay | Hourly |
|---|---|---|
| 10th percentilei | $31,420 | $15.11/hr |
| 25th percentilei | $35,680 | $17.15/hr |
| Median (50th)i | $37,160 | $17.87/hr |
| 75th percentilei | $45,000 | $21.63/hr |
| 90th percentilei | $45,840 | $22.04/hr |
| Mean (average)i | $40,150 | $19.30/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 Fort Smith?
The verified BLS OEWS median dental assistant in the Fort Smith metro earns about $37,160 ($17.87/hr), from the official May 2025 metropolitan wage survey.
How does Fort Smith dental assistant pay compare to Arkansas overall?
The verified BLS OEWS Fort Smith metro median is about $37,160, versus the verified BLS OEWS Arkansas statewide median of about $42,830.
Last updated