Dentist salary in Portland, OR: $209,440 median.
BLS reports occupational wages for the Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA metropolitan statistical area (CBSA 38900), which includes Portland, Vancouver and Hillsboro and surrounding communities. Figures describe that whole area, not Portland city limits. It spans Oregon and Washington.
Dentists in the Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA metropolitan area earned a median annual wage of $209,440 in May 2025, according to BLS (OEWS, SOC 29-1021); the OEWS mean annual wage was $239,230. That median is 23% above the U.S. median of $170,950. BLS estimates about 990 people work in this occupation across the metro.
Data This metro's estimate does not meet TryHired's reliability rule for rankings (500+ jobs, employment PRSE ≤ 20%, mean-wage PRSE ≤ 10%, a non-degenerate wage distribution), so no rank is shown; the published figures still are.
Data Separately, BEA puts 2024 price levels across the Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA metropolitan area at 105.4 (U.S. = 100): prices for the average consumer are about 5% above the national level. That is context, not an adjusted salary. Cost of living in Portland, OR.
What area these numbers cover
Data The BLS geography behind every figure on this page.
- Search label
- Portland, OR
- BLS source geography
- Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA
- Geography type
- Metropolitan Statistical Area
- CBSA code
- 38900
- States
- Oregon, Washington
- Delineation
- OMB Bulletin 23-01, as used by BLS OEWS May 2025
Local, state and national pay
Data Same occupation (SOC 29-1021), same BLS release (May 2025). This metro spans more than one state; each state is shown.
| Geography | Median annual wage | Mean annual wage | Employment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA (metro, CBSA 38900) | $209,440 | $239,230 | 990 |
| Oregon (state) | $211,690 | $240,170 | 1,660 |
| Washington (state) | $169,730 | $195,810 | 3,240 |
| United States | $170,950 | $191,350 | 124,390 |
Dentist salary in Oregon · Dentist salary in Washington · National Dentist salary · Careers in Portland, OR.
Data Nationally, BLS projects employment in this occupation to change +5.7% from 2025 to 2035. BLS does not publish metro projections in this dataset, so that is national context, not a local forecast.
Use the local number
Advice Uses only what you type. A local, sourced median is easier to agree to than a national one.
How this page is built
BLS OEWS May 2025 estimates for the Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA metropolitan statistical area (CBSA 38900) and SOC 29-1021 (Dentists, General). Portland, OR is the search label for that area; BLS does not publish city-limit wages. Employment is the number of people working in the occupation (excluding the self-employed), not job openings. Ranks use only metro estimates that pass the reliability rule (500+ jobs, employment PRSE ≤ 20%, mean-wage PRSE ≤ 10%, non-degenerate distribution); suppressed values are never imputed. Searches this page answers include “dentist salary portland oregon” (Ahrefs, U.S.).
- Cost of living: wages are not adjusted for local prices.
- Pay at a specific employer, in one city's limits, or for self-employed workers.
- Local outlook: BLS projections here are national.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 metropolitan-area estimates (2018 SOC; metropolitan statistical areas per OMB Bulletin 23-01), public domain.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 estimates (public domain).
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections program, national occupational projections 2025–35 (no metro projections are published in this dataset).
- U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024 (released February 19, 2026).
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