Dental Hygienist salary in Buffalo
Buffalo–Cheektowaga, NY
The verified BLS median dental hygienist in the Buffalo metro earns $82,470 ($39.65/hr). Buffalo pays roughly 16% below the national median of $98,100.
Dental Hygienist pay in Buffalo: the analysis
At a verified median of $82,470, dental hygienists in Buffalo 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, Buffalo ranks 276th.
Compared with New York as a whole (median $106,130), Buffalo pays dental hygienists about 22% 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 $62,720, while the top tenth earn $98,540 or more — a spread of about $35,820. 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 760 dental hygienists employed in Buffalo — a measure of how deep the local job market is for the role.
Within Buffalo, a dental hygienist earns about 2.2× less than a general dentist and about 1.7× what a dental assistant earns ($178,260, $47,610 respectively) — a quick way to see where the role sits in the local dental pay ladder.
Dental Hygienist pay distribution — Buffalo (verified)
Inner percentiles marked “est.” are interpolated between published anchors.
| Percentile | Annual pay | Hourly |
|---|---|---|
| 10th percentilei | $62,720 | $30.15/hr |
| 25th percentilei | $77,610 | $37.31/hr |
| Median (50th)i | $82,470 | $39.65/hr |
| 75th percentilei | $96,880 | $46.58/hr |
| 90th percentilei | $98,540 | $47.38/hr |
| Mean (average)i | $83,770 | $40.27/hr |
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Submit your salary →Frequently asked questions
How much does a dental hygienist make in Buffalo?
The verified BLS OEWS median dental hygienist in the Buffalo metro earns about $82,470 ($39.65/hr), from the official May 2025 metropolitan wage survey.
How does Buffalo dental hygienist pay compare to New York overall?
The verified BLS OEWS Buffalo metro median is about $82,470, versus the verified BLS OEWS New York statewide median of about $106,130.
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