Being a dentist is a highly desirable and sought after career choice due to its job flexibility and great pay. Dental professionals are able to either work for themselves or for others. Having your own offices allows flexible hours and greater freedom. For those that do not have the money to start their own dental practice, working for other offices is another option. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the dental profession is expected to grow 15% over the next ten years, which is faster than the average growth of other occupations. The good job prospects is due mostly to growth in population and the need to replace retiring dentists. Those that are serious about pursing this profession, it is important to know what a dentist salary is. The national average annual salary for dentist is $158,770 and the average dentist salary per hour is $76.33. While these statistics are carefully computed, do understand that they are only estimates. Dentist pay varies based on two main factors: industry and geographic location.
Dentist Salary by Industry
In general, dentists make the most money working in an office. However, this number is skewed by the fact that dentists working at the office may own the dental practice and can hire other dental professionals to take on more clients to earn more. The top earners is followed by government hired dentists. Meanwhile, dentists that work in the hospitals have the lowest pay among the industry group.
- Dental Office – $161,410
- State Government – $150,500
- Outpatient Centers – $138,980
- Physicians Office – $135,890
- Hospitals – $106,140
Dentist Salary by State
- Dentist Salary in Alabama, AL $190,440
- Dentist Salary in Alaska, AK $192,940
- Dentist Salary in Arizona, AZ $184,850
- Dentist Salary in Arkansas, AR $170,700
- Dentist Salary in California, CA $146,760
- Dentist Salary in Colorado, CO $140,070
- Dentist Salary in Connecticut, CT $168,180
- Dentist Salary in Delaware, DE $195,300
- Dentist Salary in District of Columbia, DC $165,910
- Dentist Salary in Florida, FL $146,410
- Dentist Salary in Georgia, GA $191,270
- Dentist Salary in Hawaii, HI $146,310
- Dentist Salary in Idaho, ID $181,510
- Dentist Salary in Illinois, IL $135,070
- Dentist Salary in Indiana, IN $182,150
- Dentist Salary in Iowa, IA $202,750
- Dentist Salary in Kansas, KS $158,360
- Dentist Salary in Kentucky, KY $131,130
- Dentist Salary in Louisiana, LA $151,990
- Dentist Salary in Maine, ME $205,050
- Dentist Salary in Maryland, MD $156,730
- Dentist Salary in Massachusetts, MA $174,290
- Dentist Salary in Michigan, MI $152,890
- Dentist Salary in Minnesota, MN $186,350
- Dentist Salary in Mississippi, MS $150,730
- Dentist Salary in Missouri, MO $133,430
- Dentist Salary in Montana, MT $116,220
- Dentist Salary in Nebraska, NE $152,890
- Dentist Salary in Nevada, NV $166,950
- Dentist Salary in New Hampshire, NH $222,860
- Dentist Salary in New Jersey, NJ $147,850
- Dentist Salary in New Mexico, NM $172,730
- Dentist Salary in New York, NY $150,390
- Dentist Salary in North Carolina, NC $196,060
- Dentist Salary in North Dakota, ND $207,810
- Dentist Salary in Ohio, OH $160,450
- Dentist Salary in Oklahoma, OK $157,230
- Dentist Salary in Oregon, OR $194,060
- Dentist Salary in Pennsylvania, PA $143,900
- Dentist Salary in Puerto Rico, PR $77,190
- Dentist Salary in Rhode Island, RI $167,360
- Dentist Salary in South Carolina, SC $167,680
- Dentist Salary in South Dakota, SD $130,180
- Dentist Salary in Tennessee, TN $158,700
- Dentist Salary in Texas, TX $163,990
- Dentist Salary in Utah, UT $115,070
- Dentist Salary in Vermont, VT $179,120
- Dentist Salary in Virginia, VA $191,850
- Dentist Salary in Washington, WA $190,170
- Dentist Salary in West Virginia, WV $133,540
- Dentist Salary in Wisconsin, WI $163,940
- Dentist Salary in Wyoming, WY $145,950
How Much Does a Dentist Make Per Hour
- Average Dentist Hourly Salary in Alabama, AL $91.56
- Average Dentist Hourly Salary in Alaska, AK $92.76
- Average Dentist Hourly Salary in Arizona, AZ $88.87
- Average Dentist Hourly Salary in Arkansas, AR $82.07
- Average Dentist Hourly Salary in California, CA $70.56
- Average Dentist Hourly Salary in Colorado, CO $67.34
- Average Dentist Hourly Salary in Connecticut, CT $80.86
- Average Dentist Hourly Salary in Delaware, DE $93.90
- Average Dentist Hourly Salary in District of Columbia, DC $79.77
- Average Dentist Hourly Salary in Florida, FL $70.39
- Average Dentist Hourly Salary in Georgia, GA $91.96
- Average Dentist Hourly Salary in Hawaii, HI $70.34
- Average Dentist Hourly Salary in Idaho, ID $87.27
- Average Dentist Hourly Salary in Illinois, IL $64.94
- Average Dentist Hourly Salary in Indiana, IN $87.57
- Average Dentist Hourly Salary in Iowa, IA $97.48
- Average Dentist Hourly Salary in Kansas, KS $76.13
- Average Dentist Hourly Salary in Kentucky, KY $63.04
- Average Dentist Hourly Salary in Louisiana, LA $73.07
- Average Dentist Hourly Salary in Maine, ME $98.58
- Average Dentist Hourly Salary in Maryland, MD $75.35
- Average Dentist Hourly Salary in Massachusetts, MA $83.79
- Average Dentist Hourly Salary in Michigan, MI $73.50
- Average Dentist Hourly Salary in Minnesota, MN $89.59
- Average Dentist Hourly Salary in Mississippi, MS $72.47
- Average Dentist Hourly Salary in Missouri, MO $64.15
- Average Dentist Hourly Salary in Montana, MT $55.87
- Average Dentist Hourly Salary in Nebraska, NE $73.51
- Average Dentist Hourly Salary in Nevada, NV $80.27
- Average Dentist Hourly Salary in New Hampshire, NH $107.14
- Average Dentist Hourly Salary in New Jersey, NJ $71.08
- Average Dentist Hourly Salary in New Mexico, NM $83.05
- Average Dentist Hourly Salary in New York, NY $72.30
- Average Dentist Hourly Salary in North Carolina, NC $94.26
- Average Dentist Hourly Salary in North Dakota, ND $99.91
- Average Dentist Hourly Salary in Ohio, OH $77.14
- Average Dentist Hourly Salary in Oklahoma, OK $75.59
- Average Dentist Hourly Salary in Oregon, OR $93.30
- Average Dentist Hourly Salary in Pennsylvania, PA $69.18
- Average Dentist Hourly Salary in Puerto Rico, PR $37.11
- Average Dentist Hourly Salary in Rhode Island, RI $80.46
- Average Dentist Hourly Salary in South Carolina, SC $80.61
- Average Dentist Hourly Salary in South Dakota, SD $62.58
- Average Dentist Hourly Salary in Tennessee, TN $76.30
- Average Dentist Hourly Salary in Texas, TX $78.84
- Average Dentist Hourly Salary in Utah, UT $55.32
- Average Dentist Hourly Salary in Vermont, VT $86.11
- Average Dentist Hourly Salary in Virginia, VA $92.24
- Average Dentist Hourly Salary in Washington, WA $91.43
- Average Dentist Hourly Salary in West Virginia, WV $64.20
- Average Dentist Hourly Salary in Wisconsin, WI $78.82
- Average Dentist Hourly Salary in Wyoming, WY $70.17
For additional data on dentist salary: http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes291021.htm