Dental Assistant salary in Little Rock
Little Rock–North Little Rock–Conway, AR
The verified BLS median dental assistant in the Little Rock metro earns $45,140 ($21.70/hr). Little Rock pays roughly 6% below the national median of $48,070.
Dental Assistant pay in Little Rock: the analysis
At a verified median of $45,140, dental assistants in Little Rock earn modestly below the U.S. median of $48,070 — a gap of about 6%. Among the 377 metro areas where the BLS reports dental assistant pay, Little Rock ranks 284th.
Compared with Arkansas as a whole (median $42,830), Little Rock pays dental assistants about 5% 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 $36,020, while the top tenth earn $47,620 or more — a spread of about $11,600. 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 920 dental assistants employed in Little Rock — a measure of how deep the local job market is for the role.
Within Little Rock, a dental assistant earns about 3.8× less than a general dentist and about 2.0× less than a dental hygienist ($172,250, $89,160 respectively) — a quick way to see where the role sits in the local dental pay ladder.
Dental Assistant pay distribution — Little Rock (verified)
Inner percentiles marked “est.” are interpolated between published anchors.
| Percentile | Annual pay | Hourly |
|---|---|---|
| 10th percentilei | $36,020 | $17.32/hr |
| 25th percentilei | $37,690 | $18.12/hr |
| Median (50th)i | $45,140 | $21.70/hr |
| 75th percentilei | $45,650 | $21.95/hr |
| 90th percentilei | $47,620 | $22.89/hr |
| Mean (average)i | $42,900 | $20.63/hr |
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Submit your salary →Frequently asked questions
How much does a dental assistant make in Little Rock?
The verified BLS OEWS median dental assistant in the Little Rock metro earns about $45,140 ($21.70/hr), from the official May 2025 metropolitan wage survey.
How does Little Rock dental assistant pay compare to Arkansas overall?
The verified BLS OEWS Little Rock metro median is about $45,140, versus the verified BLS OEWS Arkansas statewide median of about $42,830.
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