Dental Assistant salary in Iowa City
Iowa City, IA
The verified BLS median dental assistant in the Iowa City metro earns $49,230 ($23.67/hr). Iowa City pays roughly 2% above the national median of $48,070.
Dental Assistant pay in Iowa City: the analysis
At a verified median of $49,230, dental assistants in Iowa City earn slightly above the U.S. median of $48,070 — a gap of about 2%. Among the 377 metro areas where the BLS reports dental assistant pay, Iowa City ranks 86th.
Compared with Iowa as a whole (median $48,430), Iowa City pays dental assistants about 2% more — slightly 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 $39,950, while the top tenth earn $58,850 or more — a spread of about $18,900. 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 280 dental assistants employed in Iowa City — a measure of how deep the local job market is for the role.
Within Iowa City, a dental assistant earns about 4.1× less than a general dentist and about 1.9× less than a dental hygienist ($199,410, $92,020 respectively) — a quick way to see where the role sits in the local dental pay ladder.
Dental Assistant pay distribution — Iowa City (verified)
Inner percentiles marked “est.” are interpolated between published anchors.
| Percentile | Annual pay | Hourly |
|---|---|---|
| 10th percentilei | $39,950 | $19.21/hr |
| 25th percentilei | $47,910 | $23.03/hr |
| Median (50th)i | $49,230 | $23.67/hr |
| 75th percentilei | $58,070 | $27.92/hr |
| 90th percentilei | $58,850 | $28.29/hr |
| Mean (average)i | $52,290 | $25.14/hr |
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Submit your salary →Frequently asked questions
How much does a dental assistant make in Iowa City?
The verified BLS OEWS median dental assistant in the Iowa City metro earns about $49,230 ($23.67/hr), from the official May 2025 metropolitan wage survey.
How does Iowa City dental assistant pay compare to Iowa overall?
The verified BLS OEWS Iowa City metro median is about $49,230, versus the verified BLS OEWS Iowa statewide median of about $48,430.
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