Dental Assistant salary in El Paso
El Paso, TX
The verified BLS median dental assistant in the El Paso metro earns $39,090 ($18.79/hr). El Paso pays roughly 19% below the national median of $48,070.
Dental Assistant pay in El Paso: the analysis
At a verified median of $39,090, dental assistants in El Paso earn notably below the U.S. median of $48,070 — a gap of about 19%. Among the 377 metro areas where the BLS reports dental assistant pay, El Paso ranks 343rd.
Compared with Texas as a whole (median $45,430), El Paso pays dental assistants about 14% 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 $30,080, while the top tenth earn $46,540 or more — a spread of about $16,460. 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 840 dental assistants employed in El Paso — a measure of how deep the local job market is for the role.
Within El Paso, a dental assistant earns about 3.9× less than a general dentist and about 2.2× less than a dental hygienist ($150,940, $84,660 respectively) — a quick way to see where the role sits in the local dental pay ladder.
Dental Assistant pay distribution — El Paso (verified)
Inner percentiles marked “est.” are interpolated between published anchors.
| Percentile | Annual pay | Hourly |
|---|---|---|
| 10th percentilei | $30,080 | $14.46/hr |
| 25th percentilei | $35,810 | $17.22/hr |
| Median (50th)i | $39,090 | $18.79/hr |
| 75th percentilei | $45,320 | $21.79/hr |
| 90th percentilei | $46,540 | $22.38/hr |
| Mean (average)i | $40,250 | $19.35/hr |
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Submit your salary →Frequently asked questions
How much does a dental assistant make in El Paso?
The verified BLS OEWS median dental assistant in the El Paso metro earns about $39,090 ($18.79/hr), from the official May 2025 metropolitan wage survey.
How does El Paso dental assistant pay compare to Texas overall?
The verified BLS OEWS El Paso metro median is about $39,090, versus the verified BLS OEWS Texas statewide median of about $45,430.
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