Dental Assistant salary

Average dental assistant salary

$37,730

$18.14 hourly rate

Entry-level dental assistant salary
$28,000 yearly salary
Updated January 8, 2025

How much does a dental assistant make?

The average dental assistant salary in the United States is $37,730. Dental assistant salaries typically range between $28,000 and $50,000 yearly. The average hourly rate for dental assistants is $18.14 per hour.

Dental assistant salary is impacted by location, education, and experience. Dental assistants earn the highest average salary in Alaska.

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Dental assistant salary by: 

Where can a Dental Assistant earn more?

Compare salary by location
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Vs
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66k
46k
26k
6k
Columbus, OH$45,858
Jacksonville, NC$35,522
Compare salary by company
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81k
61k
41k
21k
Alameda Health System$61,673
OSF HealthCare$50,685

Dental Assistant

Dental Assistant salary estimates from across the web

Based on the latest salary information compiled by Zippia, Salary.com, Indeed, Glassdoor, Ziprecruiter, SalaryExpert, Comparably and CareerExplorer, the average salary for a dental assistant typically falls between $37,730 and $50,297.
zippia
$37,730yearly
glassdoor[1]
$50,297yearly
indeed[2]
$45,037yearly
comparably[3]
$40,252yearly
Salary.com[4]
$46,623yearly
ZipRecruiter[5]
$42,282yearly
SalaryExpert[6]
$48,687yearly
CareerExplorer[7]
$38,660yearly

Average dental assistant salary by state

The highest-paying states for dental assistants are Alaska, Minnesota, and Massachusetts. The lowest average dental assistant salary states are West Virginia, Louisiana, and Montana.

  • State View
  • County View
Average Salary:

Highest paying states for dental assistants

Rank
ascdesc
State
ascdesc
Avg. Salary
ascdesc
Hourly Rate
ascdesc
1Minnesota$45,756$22.00
2Oregon$43,100$20.72
3Alaska$45,905$22.07
4Washington$40,732$19.58
5Massachusetts$43,156$20.75
6New Hampshire$40,396$19.42
7North Dakota$39,831$19.15
8Connecticut$40,349$19.40
9Colorado$37,839$18.19
10Michigan$36,540$17.57
11South Carolina$36,366$17.48
12New York$39,603$19.04
13Wyoming$41,838$20.11
14Pennsylvania$37,878$18.21
15Maine$38,157$18.34
16Rhode Island$40,481$19.46
17New Jersey$41,446$19.93
18Vermont$40,663$19.55
19Arizona$36,293$17.45
20Virginia$39,343$18.91
21Nevada$35,700$17.16
22California$39,406$18.95
23Indiana$36,282$17.44
24Georgia$35,699$17.16
25Iowa$36,582$17.59
26Ohio$33,770$16.24
27Tennessee$34,605$16.64
28Florida$34,292$16.49
29Maryland$39,581$19.03
30Hawaii$43,052$20.70
31Wisconsin$33,535$16.12
32Delaware$38,548$18.53
33Illinois$35,979$17.30
34Texas$33,606$16.16
35North Carolina$34,995$16.82
36Kansas$33,636$16.17
37New Mexico$31,289$15.04
38Idaho$32,975$15.85
39Missouri$31,690$15.24
40Arkansas$32,832$15.78
41Kentucky$31,378$15.09
42Oklahoma$29,773$14.31
43South Dakota$31,479$15.13
44West Virginia$30,977$14.89
45District of Columbia$36,198$17.40
46Nebraska$31,804$15.29
47Utah$32,032$15.40
48Montana$30,037$14.44
49Louisiana$30,348$14.59
50Alabama$29,541$14.20
51Mississippi$28,202$13.56

Highest paying cities for dental assistants

The highest-paying cities for dental assistants are Saint Paul, MN, Boston, MA, and Portland, OR.

Rank
ascdesc
City
ascdesc
Avg. Salary
ascdesc
Hourly Rate
ascdesc
1Saint Paul, MN$45,858$22.05
2Boston, MA$43,051$20.70
3Portland, OR$42,925$20.64
4Lawrence, NJ$41,631$20.01
5Vancouver, WA$41,334$19.87
6Baltimore, MD$39,834$19.15
7New York, NY$39,782$19.13
8Los Angeles, CA$39,179$18.84
9Portland, ME$38,482$18.50
10Philadelphia, PA$38,342$18.43
11Colorado Springs, CO$37,967$18.25
12Charleston, SC$36,453$17.53
13Tucson, AZ$36,308$17.46
14Des Moines, IA$36,264$17.43
15Washington, DC$36,230$17.42
16Chicago, IL$36,186$17.40
17Indianapolis, IN$36,139$17.37
18Columbus, GA$35,740$17.18
19Las Vegas, NV$35,620$17.13
20Jacksonville, NC$35,522$17.08

Dental Assistants are the most in-demand in these five cities:

  1. Saint Paul, MN
  2. Boston, MA
  3. Portland, OR
  4. Lawrence, NJ
  5. Vancouver, WA

Dental Assistant salary details

A dental assistant's salary ranges from $28,000 a year at the 10th percentile to $50,000 at the 90th percentile.

Average Dental Assistant Salary Graph
Average Dental Assistant Salary Graph, Trends, and Summary

What is a dental assistant's salary?

Percentile
ascdesc
Annual Salary
ascdesc
Monthly Salary
ascdesc
Hourly Rate
ascdesc
90th Percentile$50,000$4,167$24
75th Percentile$43,000$3,583$21
Average$37,730$3,144$18
25th Percentile$32,000$2,667$15
10th Percentile$28,000$2,333$13

Highest paying dental assistant jobs

The highest paying types of dental assistants are dental officer, dental hygienist, and clerical dentist assistant.

Job Title
ascdesc
Annual Salary
ascdesc
Monthly Salary
ascdesc
Hourly Rate
ascdesc
Job Openings
ascdesc
Sterile Technician$35,347$2,946$16.9930,250
Dental Receptionist$34,359$2,863$16.5266,076
Dental Technician$68,232$5,686$32.8045,536
Dental Hygienist$88,432$7,369$42.5224,234

Which companies pay dental assistants the most?

Dental assistant salaries at Alameda Health System and Children's Hospital Los Angeles are the highest-paying according to our most recent salary estimates. In addition, the average dental assistant salary at companies like Private Practice and Highland General Hospital are highly competitive.

Wage gap by gender, race and education

$40,000$39,600$39,200$38,800$38,400$38,000
MaleFemale

Dental Assistant salary trends

The average dental assistant salary has risen by $6,450 over the last ten years. In 2014, the average dental assistant earned $31,280 annually, but today, they earn $37,730 a year. That works out to a 11% change in pay for dental assistants over the last decade.

Compare dental assistant salaries for cities or states with the national average over time.

Average dental assistant salary over time

Compare dental assistant salaries for individual cities or states with the national average.

  • National Average
  • Columbus, OH

Dental Assistant salary by year

Year
ascdesc
Avg. Salary
ascdesc
Hourly Rate
ascdesc
% Change
ascdesc
2025$37,700$18.14+2.7%
2024$36,700$17.65+3.5%
2023$35,400$17.03+2.7%
2022$34,500$16.58+1.8%
2021$33,800$16.27+2.6%

Recently added dental assistant salaries

Company
ascdesc
Job
ascdesc
Location
ascdesc
Date Added
ascdesc
Salary
ascdesc
Louisiana State University Health Sciences CenterDental Assistant 1 or 2New Orleans, LA12/18/2024$31,305
State of LouisianaDental Assistant 2New Orleans, LA12/18/2024$29,343
Massasoit Community CollegeDental Assisting Faculty-Massasoit Community CollegeBrockton, MA12/18/2024$50,846
MultcoDental Assistant-(Efda NOT Required)Portland, OR12/18/2024$49,879
Heartland DentalDental AssistantMilford, CT12/17/2024$50,088
Links Technology Solutions, Inc.Dental AssistantBrookfield, CT12/17/2024$52,175
Bright Side DentalDental AssistantTrenton, MI12/17/2024$33,392
Hawaii Family Dental CentersTraveling Orthodontic Dental AssistantHawaii12/17/2024$37,566
Westport Dental Family DentistryDental Assistant-Westport Dental Family DentistryTopeka, KS12/17/2024$41,740
Great ExpressionsDental AssistantYpsilanti, MI12/16/2024$50,000

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