The 2026 U.S. Dental Compensation Report
A verified snapshot of what the U.S. dental workforce earns — every role ranked by median wage, the highest-paying states and metros, hourly benchmarks, and pay distributions. Every figure is a U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS estimate (May 2025), cross-checked against the live BLS API. General dentists earn a median of $170,950; the dental specialties lead the field.
Every dental role, ranked by median pay
Verified BLS OEWS national medians (May 2025). Specialists lead; clinical support roles anchor the range. Follow any role for its full distribution, state, and metro detail.
Bars show median annual wage; the right column is U.S. employment (thousands). “$X+” marks a BLS top-coded wage shown as a verified floor.
How wide is the pay range?
The 10th-to-90th-percentile spread for the largest dental occupations — the gap between early-career and experienced, high-demand earners.
Where dental pay is highest
Top states by verified BLS state wage (May 2025). These are published state figures, not models.
Dentists
Dental hygienists
About this report
All figures are from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program, reference period May 2025. BLS wages measure employed workers and exclude self-employed practice owners, whose income is typically higher. See the data dictionary and methodology for definitions, limitations, and how modeled figures elsewhere on the site are derived.
Cite this report:DentalSalary Research, “The 2026 U.S. Dental Compensation Report,” May 2025 BLS OEWS. https://www.dentalsalary.com/reports/2026-dental-compensation-report
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Frequently asked questions
What is the median dentist salary in the United States?
The verified BLS OEWS median for general dentists is $170,950 (May 2025). Oral & maxillofacial surgeons, orthodontists, and prosthodontists earn more; dental specialists as a group are the highest-paid dental occupations.
Which dental job pays the most?
Among occupations BLS tracks with a clean series, Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon rank highest at a median of $352,220, followed by Prosthodontist ($311,180) and Orthodontist ($289,140).
How much do dental hygienists and assistants earn per hour?
The verified BLS median hourly wage is $47.16/hr for dental hygienists and $23.11/hr for dental assistants (May 2025).
Is this report's data reliable?
Yes. Every figure is a U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS estimate (May 2025), and our stored national and state figures are cross-checked against the live BLS Public Data API before publication. Modeled figures, where used elsewhere on the site, are labeled as such; this report uses verified figures.
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