Dental Hygienist salary in Bowling Green
Bowling Green, KY
The verified BLS median dental hygienist in the Bowling Green metro earns $75,690 ($36.39/hr). Bowling Green pays roughly 23% below the national median of $98,100.
Dental Hygienist pay in Bowling Green: the analysis
At a verified median of $75,690, dental hygienists in Bowling Green earn notably below the U.S. median of $98,100 — a gap of about 23%. Among the 377 metro areas where the BLS reports dental hygienist pay, Bowling Green ranks 349th.
Compared with Kentucky as a whole (median $78,830), Bowling Green pays dental hygienists about 4% 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 $60,650, while the top tenth earn $94,940 or more — a spread of about $34,290. 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 120 dental hygienists employed in Bowling Green — a measure of how deep the local job market is for the role.
Within Bowling Green, a dental hygienist earns about 2.0× less than a general dentist and about 1.6× what a dental assistant earns ($147,700, $45,970 respectively) — a quick way to see where the role sits in the local dental pay ladder.
Dental Hygienist pay distribution — Bowling Green (verified)
Inner percentiles marked “est.” are interpolated between published anchors.
| Percentile | Annual pay | Hourly |
|---|---|---|
| 10th percentilei | $60,650 | $29.16/hr |
| 25th percentilei | $65,220 | $31.36/hr |
| Median (50th)i | $75,690 | $36.39/hr |
| 75th percentilei | $92,410 | $44.43/hr |
| 90th percentilei | $94,940 | $45.64/hr |
| Mean (average)i | $77,090 | $37.06/hr |
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Submit your salary →Frequently asked questions
How much does a dental hygienist make in Bowling Green?
The verified BLS OEWS median dental hygienist in the Bowling Green metro earns about $75,690 ($36.39/hr), from the official May 2025 metropolitan wage survey.
How does Bowling Green dental hygienist pay compare to Kentucky overall?
The verified BLS OEWS Bowling Green metro median is about $75,690, versus the verified BLS OEWS Kentucky statewide median of about $78,830.
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