Dental Hygienist salary in Traverse City
Traverse City, MI
The verified BLS median dental hygienist in the Traverse City metro earns $81,570 ($39.22/hr). Traverse City pays roughly 17% below the national median of $98,100.
Dental Hygienist pay in Traverse City: the analysis
At a verified median of $81,570, dental hygienists in Traverse City earn notably below the U.S. median of $98,100 — a gap of about 17%. Among the 377 metro areas where the BLS reports dental hygienist pay, Traverse City ranks 294th.
Compared with Michigan as a whole (median $83,790), Traverse City pays dental hygienists about 3% 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 $78,050, while the top tenth earn $94,730 or more — a spread of about $16,680. 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 190 dental hygienists employed in Traverse City — a measure of how deep the local job market is for the role.
Within Traverse City, a dental hygienist earns about 2.1× less than a general dentist and about 1.7× what a dental assistant earns ($171,740, $46,910 respectively) — a quick way to see where the role sits in the local dental pay ladder.
Dental Hygienist pay distribution — Traverse City (verified)
Inner percentiles marked “est.” are interpolated between published anchors.
| Percentile | Annual pay | Hourly |
|---|---|---|
| 10th percentilei | $78,050 | $37.52/hr |
| 25th percentilei | $79,830 | $38.38/hr |
| Median (50th)i | $81,570 | $39.22/hr |
| 75th percentilei | $92,850 | $44.64/hr |
| 90th percentilei | $94,730 | $45.54/hr |
| Mean (average)i | $85,130 | $40.93/hr |
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Submit your salary →Frequently asked questions
How much does a dental hygienist make in Traverse City?
The verified BLS OEWS median dental hygienist in the Traverse City metro earns about $81,570 ($39.22/hr), from the official May 2025 metropolitan wage survey.
How does Traverse City dental hygienist pay compare to Michigan overall?
The verified BLS OEWS Traverse City metro median is about $81,570, versus the verified BLS OEWS Michigan statewide median of about $83,790.
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