Dental Hygienist salary in Waterloo
Waterloo–Cedar Falls, IA
The verified BLS median dental hygienist in the Waterloo metro earns $82,500 ($39.66/hr). Waterloo pays roughly 16% below the national median of $98,100.
Dental Hygienist pay in Waterloo: the analysis
At a verified median of $82,500, dental hygienists in Waterloo earn notably below the U.S. median of $98,100 — a gap of about 16%. Among the 377 metro areas where the BLS reports dental hygienist pay, Waterloo ranks 275th.
Compared with Iowa as a whole (median $84,010), Waterloo pays dental hygienists about 2% 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 hygienists in this metro area earn around $76,770, while the top tenth earn $93,890 or more — a spread of about $17,120. 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 130 dental hygienists employed in Waterloo — a measure of how deep the local job market is for the role.
Within Waterloo, a dental hygienist earns about 2.0× less than a general dentist and about 1.7× what a dental assistant earns ($163,600, $47,970 respectively) — a quick way to see where the role sits in the local dental pay ladder.
Dental Hygienist pay distribution — Waterloo (verified)
Inner percentiles marked “est.” are interpolated between published anchors.
| Percentile | Annual pay | Hourly |
|---|---|---|
| 10th percentilei | $76,770 | $36.91/hr |
| 25th percentilei | $80,250 | $38.58/hr |
| Median (50th)i | $82,500 | $39.66/hr |
| 75th percentilei | $92,760 | $44.60/hr |
| 90th percentilei | $93,890 | $45.14/hr |
| Mean (average)i | $85,800 | $41.25/hr |
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Submit your salary →Frequently asked questions
How much does a dental hygienist make in Waterloo?
The verified BLS OEWS median dental hygienist in the Waterloo metro earns about $82,500 ($39.66/hr), from the official May 2025 metropolitan wage survey.
How does Waterloo dental hygienist pay compare to Iowa overall?
The verified BLS OEWS Waterloo metro median is about $82,500, versus the verified BLS OEWS Iowa statewide median of about $84,010.
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