General dentists: salary by state

The 124,390 general dentists in the US earned a mean of $191,350 a year in May 2025 (median $170,950); the lowest-paid tenth earned under $86,250 and the highest-paid tenth over $319,630. By state, the mean ran from $139,320 in Idaho to $241,580 in Missouri. BLS did not publish a wage for general dentists in 3 of the 50 jurisdictions here, usually because too few work there to estimate reliably.

1US mean wage $191,350
2Highest: Missouri $241,580
3Lowest: Idaho $139,320
4Employed nationally 124,390

General dentists: mean annual wage, 12 highest-paying states published, bars to scale. Source: BLS OEWS May 2025.

Where the jobs are

Relative to all jobs, general dentists are most concentrated in Hawaii (1.33 per 1,000 jobs) and least in Kentucky (0.392). The OEWS counts salaried dentists; the many dentists who own their practices are not in these figures, which is why the count is lower than the number of licensed dentists.

State	Employed	Per 1,000 jobs	Mean	Median
Alabama	–	–	–	–
Alaska	310	0.945	$215,360	$230,990
Arizona	3,470	1.071	$181,040	$194,180
Arkansas	1,210	0.932	$174,280	$178,930
California	16,770	0.921	$170,690	$165,950
Colorado	2,940	1.023	$160,810	$166,240
Connecticut	1,950	1.152	$183,990	$160,440
Delaware	390	0.809	–	–
District of Columbia	340	0.484	–	–
Florida	9,320	0.939	$195,930	$174,900
Georgia	2,620	0.535	$214,040	$206,760
Hawaii	830	1.33	$227,370	$167,820
Idaho	650	0.755	$139,320	$124,190
Illinois	6,940	1.138	$193,050	$156,110
Indiana	2,300	0.72	$195,140	$166,650
Iowa	1,240	0.796	$198,470	$181,520
Kentucky	790	0.392	$157,630	$134,160
Louisiana	1,500	0.777	$176,540	$170,750
Maine	310	0.476	$237,360	$209,200
Maryland	2,100	0.759	$185,740	$168,500
Massachusetts	2,780	0.765	$223,200	$181,600
Michigan	3,620	0.823	$188,930	$169,930
Minnesota	2,370	0.805	$211,780	$219,200
Mississippi	740	0.639	$149,300	$143,660
Missouri	2,440	0.83	$241,580	$204,960
Montana	380	0.749	$168,460	$167,200
Nebraska	790	0.773	$186,420	$179,750
Nevada	1,100	0.706	$178,460	$162,200
New Hampshire	500	0.724	$200,420	$177,480
New Jersey	2,980	0.695	$198,290	$171,330
New Mexico	780	0.893	$185,010	$155,260
New York	7,340	0.758	$202,040	$183,060
North Carolina	4,140	0.837	$207,550	$207,000
North Dakota	260	0.611	$222,340	$220,660
Ohio	2,790	0.502	$180,440	$167,410
Oklahoma	980	0.577	$188,280	$166,170
Oregon	1,660	0.842	$240,170	$211,690
Pennsylvania	4,460	0.736	$172,710	$163,390
Rhode Island	360	0.725	$162,440	$161,560
South Carolina	2,140	0.93	$181,570	$158,640
South Dakota	390	0.844	$164,030	$158,140
Tennessee	2,200	0.672	$210,700	$215,290
Texas	8,920	0.634	$178,360	$162,360
Utah	1,020	0.587	$144,880	$133,320
Vermont	240	0.802	$214,130	$204,960
Virginia	4,140	1.008	$197,820	$197,110
Washington	3,240	0.912	$195,810	$169,730
West Virginia	420	0.6	$200,640	$170,370
Wisconsin	2,560	0.872	$203,600	$193,690
Wyoming	240	0.85	$146,240	$123,830

“–” = not published by BLS for that state (too few to estimate or confidential); “top-coded” = above the highest wage BLS publishes.

What it means for patients

Staff pay is one of the largest costs in a dental or orthodontic practice, alongside rent and equipment, so treatment fees tend to be higher where wages are. It is a tendency, not a rule: two practices in the same town can quote very differently. Use these figures for context and the calculator for your actual quote.

Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 (state and national files). Checked 2026-10-24. Methodology.