General Dentist salary in Fort Smith
Fort Smith, AR-OK
The verified BLS median general dentist in the Fort Smith metro earns $165,060 ($79.36/hr). Fort Smith pays roughly 3% below the national median of $170,950.
General Dentist pay in Fort Smith: the analysis
At a verified median of $165,060, general dentists in Fort Smith earn slightly below the U.S. median of $170,950 — a gap of about 3%. Among the 377 metro areas where the BLS reports general dentist pay, Fort Smith ranks 222nd.
Compared with Arkansas as a whole (median $178,930), Fort Smith pays general dentists about 8% 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 general dentists in this metro area earn around $55,790, while the top tenth earn $205,730 or more — a spread of about $149,940. 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 100 general dentists employed in Fort Smith — a measure of how deep the local job market is for the role.
Within Fort Smith, a general dentist earns about 2.0× what a dental hygienist earns and about 4.4× what a dental assistant earns ($84,480, $37,160 respectively) — a quick way to see where the role sits in the local dental pay ladder.
General Dentist pay distribution — Fort Smith (verified)
Inner percentiles marked “est.” are interpolated between published anchors.
| Percentile | Annual pay |
|---|---|
| 10th percentilei | $55,790 |
| 25th percentilei | $122,020 |
| Median (50th)i | $165,060 |
| 75th percentilei | $200,350 |
| 90th percentilei | $205,730 |
| Mean (average)i | $154,550 |
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Submit your salary →Frequently asked questions
How much does a general dentist make in Fort Smith?
The verified BLS OEWS median general dentist in the Fort Smith metro earns about $165,060 ($79.36/hr), from the official May 2025 metropolitan wage survey.
How does Fort Smith general dentist pay compare to Arkansas overall?
The verified BLS OEWS Fort Smith metro median is about $165,060, versus the verified BLS OEWS Arkansas statewide median of about $178,930.
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