Dental Assistant salary in Washington

At a verified median of $58,090, dental assistants in Washington earn notably above the U.S. median of $48,070 — a gap of about 21%. Among the 51 states where the BLS reports dental assistant pay, Washington ranks 6th.

The pay range is wide: the lowest-paid tenth of dental assistants in this state earn around $46,280, while the top tenth earn $68,230 or more — a spread of about $21,950. That gap reflects experience, practice setting, and demand more than any single factor, so an individual offer can sit well above or below the midpoint.

The BLS counts roughly 13,050 dental assistants employed in Washington — a measure of how deep the local job market is for the role.

Within Washington, a dental assistant earns about 2.9× less than a general dentist and about 2.3× less than a dental hygienist ($169,730, $131,160 respectively) — a quick way to see where the role sits in the local dental pay ladder.

Within the state, dental assistant pay is highest in Seattle at about $62,040 and lowest in Yakima at about $46,670. Metro-level demand and cost of living explain most of the in-state variation — see the metro breakdown below.