Dental Hygienist salary in Nashville
Nashville–Davidson––Murfreesboro––Franklin, TN
The verified BLS median dental hygienist in the Nashville metro earns $94,030 ($45.21/hr). Nashville pays roughly 4% below the national median of $98,100.
Dental Hygienist pay in Nashville: the analysis
At a verified median of $94,030, dental hygienists in Nashville earn modestly below the U.S. median of $98,100 — a gap of about 4%. Among the 377 metro areas where the BLS reports dental hygienist pay, Nashville ranks 165th.
Compared with Tennessee as a whole (median $84,640), Nashville pays dental hygienists about 11% more — modestly above the statewide figure. 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 $80,170, while the top tenth earn $98,530 or more — a spread of about $18,360. 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 1,490 dental hygienists employed in Nashville — a measure of how deep the local job market is for the role.
Within Nashville, a dental hygienist earns about 2.3× less than a general dentist and about 1.9× what a dental assistant earns ($215,290, $48,540 respectively) — a quick way to see where the role sits in the local dental pay ladder.
Dental Hygienist pay distribution — Nashville (verified)
Inner percentiles marked “est.” are interpolated between published anchors.
| Percentile | Annual pay | Hourly |
|---|---|---|
| 10th percentilei | $80,170 | $38.54/hr |
| 25th percentilei | $80,380 | $38.64/hr |
| Median (50th)i | $94,030 | $45.21/hr |
| 75th percentilei | $97,510 | $46.88/hr |
| 90th percentilei | $98,530 | $47.37/hr |
| Mean (average)i | $90,800 | $43.65/hr |
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Submit your salary →Frequently asked questions
How much does a dental hygienist make in Nashville?
The verified BLS OEWS median dental hygienist in the Nashville metro earns about $94,030 ($45.21/hr), from the official May 2025 metropolitan wage survey.
How does Nashville dental hygienist pay compare to Tennessee overall?
The verified BLS OEWS Nashville metro median is about $94,030, versus the verified BLS OEWS Tennessee statewide median of about $84,640.
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