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Salary · Dental Hygienist · United States

Dental Hygienist salary: $98,100 median, and how to negotiate yours.

The full pay range by percentile, every state, the top-paying metro areas and similar roles, from the latest BLS survey. Place your own offer on the range.

Updated Oct 24, 2026 · Data: BLS OEWS May 2025
Annual wage range · U.S. · BLS May 2025
$98,100median ($47.16/hr)

Quick answer

The median annual wage for dental hygienists in the United States was $98,100 in May 2025 (BLS). The lowest-paid 10% earned less than $74,880 and the top 10% earned more than $126,050. That median is 1.9 times the $50,980 median for all occupations. The highest-paying state was District of Columbia ($137,220).

10th percentile
$74,880
lowest-paid 10% earn less
25th percentile
$83,570
a quarter earn less
75th percentile
$108,480
a quarter earn more
90th percentile
$126,050
top 10% earn more
Pay by state

Dental Hygienist salary in every state

Data BLS state estimates, May 2025. 50 states and DC published a median for this occupation. Sort by pay or by number employed.

Highest median pay
  1. District of Columbia$137,220
  2. Alaska$132,690
  3. Washington$131,160
  4. California$124,930
  5. Oregon$122,080
Most people employed
  1. California24,500
  2. Texas16,380
  3. New York13,660
  4. Florida11,980
  5. Illinois8,970
Median annual wage by state
State10th–90th percentile
District of Columbia$137,220$86,120–$155,840320
Alaska$132,690$60,590–$138,840790
Washington$131,160$107,090–$162,0506,330
California$124,930$102,090–$151,92024,500
Oregon$122,080$104,530–$134,1203,600
Nevada$115,290$99,800–$129,4601,510
Colorado$109,580$95,680–$128,9004,270
Maryland$107,830$85,440–$122,7403,500
New Jersey$107,040$94,260–$117,7307,230
New York$106,130$77,680–$126,64013,660
Minnesota$103,970$82,110–$120,2704,110
Virginia$102,950$86,730–$125,5603,770
New Hampshire$101,250$86,400–$122,9801,360
Arizona$101,010$91,480–$121,9104,530
Connecticut$100,690$87,190–$106,0203,240
Massachusetts$100,640$93,510–$117,3806,850
Texas$99,240$71,530–$117,89016,380
Delaware$98,910$93,580–$112,940750
Montana$98,440$83,060–$104,780860
North Carolina$97,850$77,270–$103,8506,690
Maine$97,680$83,420–$108,6801,060
Oklahoma$97,580$81,290–$119,7602,860
Hawaii$97,570$78,800–$104,000830
Vermont$97,470$81,010–$110,010560
Illinois$96,670$74,280–$118,4108,970
Wisconsin$96,540$80,370–$110,2405,080
New Mexico$95,940$82,180–$105,4401,420
Georgia$95,490$74,610–$103,6507,440
Idaho$94,650$85,610–$103,3402,060
Missouri$92,750$59,880–$99,4003,810
Nebraska$92,580$67,600–$98,0801,280
Indiana$92,330$74,970–$102,2805,020
South Dakota$92,210$73,480–$98,290630
Florida$91,980$75,960–$99,04011,980
Utah$91,120$78,830–$99,5703,780
North Dakota$90,530$82,890–$98,530660
Ohio$88,990$76,260–$102,9508,630
Rhode Island$86,910$83,800–$100,520770
Arkansas$86,760$62,170–$97,7301,740
Louisiana$85,240$49,900–$98,3302,690
Wyoming$85,130$61,020–$99,350500
Tennessee$84,640$76,190–$98,3004,570
South Carolina$84,340$65,700–$97,2203,160
Iowa$84,010$78,320–$95,8102,440
Michigan$83,790$77,230–$96,9708,640
Pennsylvania$80,610$63,130–$103,5407,970
Kentucky$78,830$61,280–$98,7702,070
West Virginia$73,840$59,950–$83,4301,250
Mississippi$67,280$58,810–$83,3201,140
Alabama$61,160$48,960–$72,4103,170
Top-paying metro areas

Where the median is highest

Data Metropolitan areas with at least 100 people employed in the occupation, BLS May 2025.

  1. San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA$146,760
  2. San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA$139,990
  3. Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA$136,210
  4. Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA$135,990
  5. Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA$133,740
  6. Anchorage, AK$132,740
  7. Napa, CA$131,370
  8. Bremerton-Silverdale-Port Orchard, WA$131,040
  9. Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA$130,600
  10. Boulder, CO$130,000
Similar roles

How the pay compares

Data National medians for related occupations (O*NET related roles, BLS pay).

  1. Dental Hygienist$98,100
  2. Registered Nurse$97,550
  3. Respiratory Therapist$82,280
  4. Surgical Tech$64,650
  5. Dental Assistant$48,070
  6. Vet Tech$47,380
  7. Medical Assistant$45,690
Negotiation script builder

Ask for more, calmly and in writing

Advice Uses only what you type. Replace anything in brackets with something true.

Our view If you cite market data, cite this page's source: the BLS median for your state and the percentile your offer sits at. A specific, sourced number is easier to agree to than a feeling.

Method

How this page is built

Wages are BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics estimates for May 2025 (national, state and metropolitan area), for the occupation shown. OEWS wages are straight-time gross pay: they include base pay, commissions, production bonuses and tips, and exclude overtime, shift differentials, non-production bonuses and benefits. Percentiles describe all workers in the occupation, not entry or senior levels.

What this page can't tell you
  • Pay at a specific employer, or for self-employed workers (OEWS covers employees).
  • Experience level: percentiles are not seniority bands.
  • Equity, bonuses outside OEWS's definition, and benefits.
Sources
  1. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 estimates (public domain).
  2. O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. TryHired selected, ranked and combined the data; O*NET is not responsible for these pages.
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