Median pay for dentists runs from $98,570 in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands to $319,140 in Sussex Delaware nonmetropolitan area — a 3.24× range across 425 metropolitan areas. The national median of $170,950 sits inside that range but describes no particular market.
The top tenth of dentists earn $319,630 or more; the bottom tenth earn under $86,250. That is a 3.71× gap within the same occupation, in the same year. A spread this wide means the job title is not what determines pay — specialisation, employer type, seniority or book of business is. Expect the early years to sit near the bottom of the band rather than the middle, and treat the $170,950 median as a waypoint, not a destination.
5 of the ten best-paying metros for dentists are in . When one state dominates the top of the table like this, cost of living is doing part of the work but rarely all of it — state licensing rules, public-sector pay scales and the presence of a few large employers usually explain the rest. If you are comparing an offer in against one elsewhere, adjust for housing before concluding anything.
| Metropolitan area | Median | Hourly | LQ | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sussex Delaware nonmetropolitan area | $319,140 | $153.43 | 0.68 | 50 |
| Coast Oregon nonmetropolitan area | $318,010 | $152.89 | 1.37 | 130 |
| Eastern Oregon nonmetropolitan area | $273,050 | $131.27 | 0.92 | 50 |
| North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota FL | $241,850 | $116.27 | 1.67 | 450 |
| Memphis TN-MS-AR | $238,040 | $114.44 | 0.58 | 280 |
| Alaska nonmetropolitan area | $237,560 | $114.21 | 1.11 | 100 |
| Northeastern Wisconsin nonmetropolitan area | $230,720 | $110.92 | 1.52 | 240 |
| Columbia SC | $228,820 | $110.01 | 1.53 | 480 |
| Anchorage AK | $228,030 | $109.63 | 1.29 | 180 |
| Evansville IN | $225,620 | $108.47 | 0.69 | 70 |
| Bend OR | $224,990 | $108.17 | 1.39 | 120 |
| Northwest Illinois nonmetropolitan area | $223,580 | $107.49 | 0.6 | 60 |
| South Central Wisconsin nonmetropolitan area | $223,220 | $107.32 | 1.02 | 170 |
| Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell GA | $222,690 | $107.06 | 0.74 | 1,710 |
| Hanford-Corcoran CA | $222,430 | $106.94 | 1.49 | 60 |
| Portland-South Portland ME | $221,190 | $106.34 | 0.64 | 150 |
| Eastern North Carolina nonmetropolitan area | $220,060 | $105.80 | 1.16 | 250 |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington MN-WI | $219,980 | $105.76 | 1.13 | 1,760 |
| Richmond VA | $218,880 | $105.23 | 1.23 | 650 |
| Central Missouri nonmetropolitan area | $218,430 | $105.02 | 0.88 | 110 |
| El Centro CA | $217,830 | $104.73 | 0.69 | 40 |
| Trenton-Princeton NJ | $216,750 | $104.21 | 0.89 | 170 |
| Western Wisconsin nonmetropolitan area | $215,330 | $103.53 | 0.96 | 100 |
| Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin TN | $215,290 | $103.51 | 1.33 | 1,170 |
| Southwest Missouri nonmetropolitan area | $215,230 | $103.48 | 0.52 | 30 |
| Metropolitan area | Median | Hourly | LQ | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands TX | $98,570 | $47.39 | 0.63 | 1,660 |
| Western Wyoming nonmetropolitan area | $103,490 | $49.76 | 1.22 | 100 |
| Central Kentucky nonmetropolitan area | $103,720 | $49.87 | 0.72 | 100 |
| South Nebraska nonmetropolitan area | $108,560 | $52.19 | 0.86 | 110 |
| Southeast-Central Idaho nonmetropolitan area | $108,820 | $52.32 | 1 | 80 |
| Lake Charles LA | $114,470 | $55.03 | 1.06 | 90 |
| Lexington-Fayette KY | $114,990 | $55.28 | 0.72 | 160 |
| Pocatello ID | $115,870 | $55.71 | 1.48 | 50 |
| Altoona PA | $117,110 | $56.30 | 0.7 | 30 |
| Boise City ID | $119,550 | $57.48 | 0.85 | 270 |
| Metropolitan area | Median | Hourly | LQ | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury CT | $180,440 | $86.75 | 2.28 | 740 |
| Hot Springs AR | $161,820 | $77.80 | 2.09 | 60 |
| Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers AR | $179,940 | $86.51 | 1.86 | 410 |
| Urban Honolulu HI | $168,090 | $80.81 | 1.81 | 650 |
| Raleigh-Cary NC | $207,380 | $99.70 | 1.69 | 1,000 |
| North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota FL | $241,850 | $116.27 | 1.67 | 450 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin IL-IN | $156,100 | $75.05 | 1.64 | 5,910 |
| Slidell-Mandeville-Covington LA | $181,080 | $87.06 | 1.59 | 120 |
| Wildwood-The Villages FL | $170,180 | $81.82 | 1.55 | 50 |
| Denver-Aurora-Centennial CO | $168,620 | $81.07 | 1.54 | 1,980 |
| Greenville-Anderson-Greer SC | $139,940 | $67.28 | 1.54 | 540 |
| Flint MI | $177,720 | $85.44 | 1.53 | 170 |
| Metropolitan area | Median | Hourly | LQ | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York-Newark-Jersey City NY-NJ | $190,010 | $91.35 | 0.95 | 7,240 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim CA | $139,990 | $67.30 | 1.26 | 6,300 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin IL-IN | $156,100 | $75.05 | 1.64 | 5,910 |
| Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach FL | $172,210 | $82.80 | 1.45 | 3,270 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria DC-VA-MD-WV | $184,540 | $88.72 | 1.21 | 3,040 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington TX | $179,990 | $86.53 | 0.89 | 2,890 |
| Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler AZ | $194,180 | $93.36 | 1.42 | 2,700 |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington PA-NJ-DE-MD | $163,390 | $78.56 | 1.11 | 2,570 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont CA | $202,060 | $97.14 | 1.1 | 2,090 |
| Denver-Aurora-Centennial CO | $168,620 | $81.07 | 1.54 | 1,980 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Newton MA-NH | $181,150 | $87.09 | 0.89 | 1,920 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue WA | $161,270 | $77.54 | 1.15 | 1,920 |
Figures come from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics programme, May 2025 release, SOC code 29-1021. OEWS surveys employers, so it reports what is actually paid rather than what job advertisements claim, and it excludes the self-employed. Estimates are published for 425 of 528 metropolitan areas; the remaining 103 had too few survey responses for BLS to publish without risking disclosure, so they are absent here rather than estimated. For a specialised role that is normal. Read the methodology.