Pay for general dentists in every state, what it comes to after tax, and how far it goes after local prices and rent.
General dentists earn a median of $170,950 a year, or $82.19 an hour, 235.3% more than the $50,980 median for all jobs. Pay is highest in Alaska ($230,990) and lowest in Wyoming ($123,830). The Bureau of Labor Statistics counts them as “Dentists, General” (occupation code 29-1021).
Half of the 124,390 general dentists in the survey earn between $125,710 and $224,040. The bottom tenth earn under $86,250, the figure the Bureau itself uses as a rough guide to starting pay, and the top tenth more than $319,630. The average is $191,350; it sits above the median because the top earners pull it up. Many general dentists work for themselves, and the survey leaves them out, so these figures describe employees only.
| Nationally | Per year | Per hour |
|---|---|---|
| Bottom 10% earn less than | $86,250 | $41.47 |
| Bottom quarter earn less than | $125,710 | $60.44 |
| Median | $170,950 | $82.19 |
| Top quarter earn more than | $224,040 | $107.71 |
| Top 10% earn more than | $319,630 | $153.67 |
Hourly figures divide the yearly ones by 2,080 hours, the survey's own full-time year. Convert any salary.
The highest state medians are in Alaska ($230,990), North Dakota ($220,660), Minnesota ($219,200), Tennessee ($215,290) and Oregon ($211,690). The lowest are in Wyoming ($123,830), Idaho ($124,190), Utah ($133,320), Kentucky ($134,160) and Mississippi ($143,660). The survey does not publish a figure for 4 states, usually because too few people do the job there.
Higher pay often comes with higher prices. Adjusted for each state's price level, pay goes furthest in North Dakota ($248,047 at national prices), Tennessee ($234,342), Missouri ($225,685), Alaska ($225,667) and Minnesota ($222,265).
The most general dentists work in California (16,770), Florida (9,320) and Texas (8,920). Relative to all jobs, the work is most common in Hawaii (1.3 per 1,000 jobs), Connecticut (1.1) and Illinois (1.1).
On the national median of $170,950, a single filer in a state with no income tax takes home about $128,110 a year after federal tax, Social Security and Medicare, or $4,927 every two weeks. On each state's own median and taxes, take-home ranges from $89,568 in Idaho to $170,702 in Alaska. Work out your own paycheck.
The typical rent in each state's median county takes a median 10.3% of a dentist's gross pay, and stays under the usual 30% guideline in all 47 states. With 10% down at a 7.03% mortgage rate, a single dentist earning the state median could afford the typical home in its median county in 40 of the 47 states, under the 28% guideline. On the national median alone, that guideline stretches to about $513,981. Try it with your own numbers, or see where this pay covers the typical rent.
| Alabama | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Alaska | $230,990 | $111.05 | +35.1% | $225,667 | $170,702 | 9.5% | 310 |
| Arizona | $194,180 | $93.36 | +13.6% | $192,874 | $139,734 | 10.3% | 3,470 |
| Arkansas | $178,930 | $86.02 | +4.7% | $205,816 | $127,311 | 7.4% | 1,210 |
| California | $165,950 | $79.79 | −2.9% | $149,883 | $112,821 | 17.7% | 16,770 |
| Colorado | $166,240 | $79.92 | −2.8% | $161,317 | $117,576 | 14.6% | 2,940 |
| Connecticut | $160,440 | $77.13 | −6.1% | $154,850 | $112,550 | 14.9% | 1,950 |
| Delaware | — | — | — | — | — | — | 390 |
| District of Columbia | — | — | — | — | — | — | 340 |
| Florida | $174,900 | $84.09 | +2.3% | $169,126 | $130,810 | 13.1% | 9,320 |
| Georgia | $206,760 | $99.41 | +20.9% | $214,720 | $143,588 | 9.7% | 2,620 |
| Hawaii | $167,820 | $80.68 | −1.8% | $152,632 | $114,197 | 22.7% | 830 |
| Idaho | $124,190 | $59.71 | −27.4% | $130,050 | $89,568 | 14.9% | 650 |
| Illinois | $156,110 | $75.06 | −8.7% | $156,176 | $110,240 | 9.2% | 6,940 |
| Indiana | $166,650 | $80.12 | −2.5% | $178,562 | $120,255 | 8.5% | 2,300 |
| Iowa | $181,520 | $87.27 | +6.2% | $206,832 | $128,437 | 6.8% | 1,240 |
| Kansas | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Kentucky | $134,160 | $64.50 | −21.5% | $148,804 | $98,269 | 11.3% | 790 |
| Louisiana | $170,750 | $82.09 | −0.1% | $193,579 | $122,851 | 9.4% | 1,500 |
| Maine | $209,200 | $100.58 | +22.4% | $215,559 | $141,265 | 9.5% | 310 |
| Maryland | $168,500 | $81.01 | −1.4% | $160,539 | $118,158 | 13.8% | 2,100 |
| Massachusetts | $181,600 | $87.31 | +6.2% | $171,714 | $126,310 | 16.1% | 2,780 |
| Michigan | $169,930 | $81.70 | −0.6% | $176,611 | $120,191 | 9.5% | 3,620 |
| Minnesota | $219,200 | $105.39 | +28.2% | $222,265 | $147,066 | 7.0% | 2,370 |
| Mississippi | $143,660 | $69.07 | −16.0% | $165,216 | $104,111 | 12.1% | 740 |
| Missouri | $204,960 | $98.54 | +19.9% | $225,685 | $143,128 | 7.5% | 2,440 |
| Montana | $167,200 | $80.39 | −2.2% | $176,660 | $116,552 | 10.9% | 380 |
| Nebraska | $179,750 | $86.42 | +5.1% | $199,494 | $126,247 | 8.7% | 790 |
| Nevada | $162,200 | $77.98 | −5.1% | $162,234 | $122,130 | 13.4% | 1,100 |
| New Hampshire | $177,480 | $85.33 | +3.8% | $170,384 | $132,574 | 14.1% | 500 |
| New Jersey | $171,330 | $82.37 | +0.2% | $157,465 | $119,583 | 16.1% | 2,980 |
| New Mexico | $155,260 | $74.64 | −9.2% | $168,373 | $110,320 | 11.4% | 780 |
| New York | $183,060 | $88.01 | +7.1% | $169,624 | $126,155 | 10.1% | 7,340 |
| North Carolina | $207,000 | $99.52 | +21.1% | $219,452 | $145,823 | 9.4% | 4,140 |
| North Dakota | $220,660 | $106.09 | +29.1% | $248,047 | $160,563 | 6.6% | 260 |
| Ohio | $167,410 | $80.49 | −2.1% | $180,449 | $121,803 | 9.3% | 2,790 |
| Oklahoma | $166,170 | $79.89 | −2.8% | $189,167 | $117,580 | 9.2% | 980 |
| Oregon | $211,690 | $101.77 | +23.8% | $204,806 | $138,336 | 9.7% | 1,660 |
| Pennsylvania | $163,390 | $78.56 | −4.4% | $167,456 | $117,927 | 9.6% | 4,460 |
| Rhode Island | $161,560 | $77.67 | −5.5% | $157,959 | $114,839 | 18.3% | 360 |
| South Carolina | $158,640 | $76.27 | −7.2% | $169,218 | $112,397 | 11.5% | 2,140 |
| South Dakota | $158,140 | $76.03 | −7.5% | $178,516 | $119,355 | 9.8% | 390 |
| Tennessee | $215,290 | $103.51 | +25.9% | $234,342 | $160,188 | 8.3% | 2,200 |
| Texas | $162,360 | $78.06 | −5.0% | $167,283 | $122,239 | 10.9% | 8,920 |
| Utah | $133,320 | $64.10 | −22.0% | $134,852 | $96,457 | 15.7% | 1,020 |
| Vermont | $204,960 | $98.54 | +19.9% | $209,233 | $139,720 | 10.4% | 240 |
| Virginia | $197,110 | $94.76 | +15.3% | $194,958 | $135,696 | 11.2% | 4,140 |
| Washington | $169,730 | $81.60 | −0.7% | $158,607 | $127,276 | 12.9% | 3,240 |
| West Virginia | $170,370 | $81.91 | −0.3% | $190,364 | $120,708 | 7.8% | 420 |
| Wisconsin | $193,690 | $93.12 | +13.3% | $205,845 | $134,561 | 7.5% | 2,560 |
| Wyoming | $123,830 | $59.53 | −27.6% | $133,594 | $95,904 | 12.9% | 240 |
Click a column to sort it. “After local prices” divides the median by the state's price level (national average = 100). Take-home is for a single filer on the state median with no retirement or health deductions. Rent share is a year of the typical rent in the state's median county against the median pay. A dash means the survey publishes no figure.
Registered Nurse $97,550 · LPN $64,400 · Pharmacy Technician $45,750 · Nurse Practitioner $132,300 · Pharmacist $140,910 · Physical Therapist $102,760 · Radiologic Technologist $80,110 · Dental Hygienist $98,100