Dental Assistant salary in San Francisco
San Francisco–Oakland–Fremont, CA
The verified BLS median dental assistant in the San Francisco metro earns $64,390 ($30.96/hr). San Francisco pays roughly 34% above the national median of $48,070.
Dental Assistant pay in San Francisco: the analysis
At a verified median of $64,390, dental assistants in San Francisco earn substantially above the U.S. median of $48,070 — a gap of about 34%. Among the 377 metro areas where the BLS reports dental assistant pay, San Francisco ranks 3rd.
Compared with California as a whole (median $50,110), San Francisco pays dental assistants about 28% more — substantially 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 $47,800, while the top tenth earn $80,660 or more — a spread of about $32,860. 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 7,530 dental assistants employed in San Francisco — a measure of how deep the local job market is for the role.
Within San Francisco, a dental assistant earns about 3.1× less than a general dentist and about 2.3× less than a dental hygienist ($202,060, $146,760 respectively) — a quick way to see where the role sits in the local dental pay ladder.
Dental Assistant pay distribution — San Francisco (verified)
Inner percentiles marked “est.” are interpolated between published anchors.
| Percentile | Annual pay | Hourly |
|---|---|---|
| 10th percentilei | $47,800 | $22.98/hr |
| 25th percentilei | $58,760 | $28.25/hr |
| Median (50th)i | $64,390 | $30.96/hr |
| 75th percentilei | $73,010 | $35.10/hr |
| 90th percentilei | $80,660 | $38.78/hr |
| Mean (average)i | $64,900 | $31.20/hr |
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How much does a dental assistant make in San Francisco?
The verified BLS OEWS median dental assistant in the San Francisco metro earns about $64,390 ($30.96/hr), from the official May 2025 metropolitan wage survey.
How does San Francisco dental assistant pay compare to California overall?
The verified BLS OEWS San Francisco metro median is about $64,390, versus the verified BLS OEWS California statewide median of about $50,110.
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