Dental Assistant salary in Portland
Portland–South Portland, ME
The verified BLS median dental assistant in the Portland metro earns $61,240 ($29.44/hr). Portland pays roughly 27% above the national median of $48,070.
Dental Assistant pay in Portland: the analysis
At a verified median of $61,240, dental assistants in Portland earn substantially above the U.S. median of $48,070 — a gap of about 27%. Among the 377 metro areas where the BLS reports dental assistant pay, Portland ranks 6th.
Compared with Maine as a whole (median $60,070), Portland 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 $49,160, while the top tenth earn $62,660 or more — a spread of about $13,500. 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 830 dental assistants employed in Portland — a measure of how deep the local job market is for the role.
Within Portland, a dental assistant earns about 3.6× less than a general dentist and about 1.6× less than a dental hygienist ($221,190, $98,880 respectively) — a quick way to see where the role sits in the local dental pay ladder.
Dental Assistant pay distribution — Portland (verified)
Inner percentiles marked “est.” are interpolated between published anchors.
| Percentile | Annual pay | Hourly |
|---|---|---|
| 10th percentilei | $49,160 | $23.63/hr |
| 25th percentilei | $54,170 | $26.04/hr |
| Median (50th)i | $61,240 | $29.44/hr |
| 75th percentilei | $61,520 | $29.58/hr |
| 90th percentilei | $62,660 | $30.13/hr |
| Mean (average)i | $59,380 | $28.55/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 Portland?
The verified BLS OEWS median dental assistant in the Portland metro earns about $61,240 ($29.44/hr), from the official May 2025 metropolitan wage survey.
How does Portland dental assistant pay compare to Maine overall?
The verified BLS OEWS Portland metro median is about $61,240, versus the verified BLS OEWS Maine statewide median of about $60,070.
Last updated