{ "question": "How much do dentists make in the US?", "answer": "Dentists in the US earned a median annual wage of $176,110 in May 2025, per the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Specialty matters most: oral and maxillofacial surgeons had a median of $352,220 and general dentists $170,950. The ADA's own survey puts average net income for general dentists in private practice at $215,320 in 2025.", "period": "May 2025", "key_numbers": [ { "value": "$176,110", "label": "Median annual wage, all US dentists", "note": "BLS, May 2025", "stat": "dental-marketing/dentist-median-pay" }, { "value": "$170,950", "label": "Median annual wage, general dentists", "note": "BLS OEWS, May 2025; mean $191,350" }, { "value": "$215,320", "label": "Average net income, general dentists in private practice", "note": "ADA HPI Survey of Dental Practice, 2025" }, { "value": "6%", "label": "Projected growth in dentist jobs, 2025-2035", "note": "BLS; 3% for all occupations", "stat": "dental-marketing/dentist-job-growth-2025-2035" } ], "tables": [ { "id": "by-specialty", "title": "Median annual wage of US dentists by specialty, May 2025", "columns": [ "Occupation", "Median annual wage", "Employed (OEWS)" ], "rows": [ [ "Oral and maxillofacial surgeons", "$352,220", "4,910" ], [ "Prosthodontists", "$311,180", "870" ], [ "Orthodontists", "$289,140", "6,210" ], [ "Dentists, all other specialists", "$224,990", "5,230" ], [ "Dentists, general", "$170,950", "124,390" ] ], "row_ids": [ "spec-oral-surgeons", "spec-prosthodontists", "spec-orthodontists", "spec-other", "spec-general" ], "note": "Medians as listed on the BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook Pay tab. Employment is the May 2025 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) national estimate for each occupation, read through the BLS public API. The OOH counts about 161,400 dentist jobs in 2025, a different measure.", "source": "bls" }, { "id": "pay-spread", "title": "How dentist pay is spread, May 2025", "columns": [ "Measure", "All dentists", "General dentists" ], "rows": [ [ "Lowest 10% earned less than", "$89,100", "$86,250" ], [ "25th percentile", "Not given", "$125,710" ], [ "Median", "$176,110", "$170,950" ], [ "75th percentile", "Not given", "$224,040" ], [ "Highest 10% earned more than", "$337,210", "$319,630" ], [ "Mean annual wage", "Not given", "$191,350" ], [ "Median hourly wage", "$84.67", "$82.19" ], [ "Mean hourly wage", "Not given", "$91.99" ] ], "row_ids": [ "pay-p10", "pay-p25", "pay-median", "pay-p75", "pay-p90", "pay-mean", "pay-hourly-median", "pay-hourly-mean" ], "note": "All dentists: BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook Pay tab. General dentists: OEWS May 2025 national estimates (occupation 29-1021), read through the BLS public API. The OOH gives only the median (annual and hourly) and the 10th and 90th percentiles for all dentists.", "source": "bls" }, { "id": "by-industry", "title": "Median annual wage of dentists in the top industries, May 2025", "columns": [ "Industry", "Median annual wage" ], "rows": [ [ "Government, excluding state and local education and hospitals", "$219,750" ], [ "Outpatient care centers", "$195,330" ], [ "Offices of dentists", "$173,760" ], [ "Offices of physicians", "$172,980" ] ], "row_ids": [ "ind-government", "ind-outpatient", "ind-dental-offices", "ind-physician-offices" ], "source": "bls" }, { "id": "by-state", "title": "General dentists' median annual wage by state, May 2025: highest, largest and lowest", "columns": [ "State", "Median annual wage", "General dentists employed" ], "rows": [ [ "Alaska", "$230,990", "310" ], [ "North Dakota", "$220,660", "260" ], [ "Minnesota", "$219,200", "2,370" ], [ "Tennessee", "$215,290", "2,200" ], [ "Oregon", "$211,690", "1,660" ], [ "New York", "$183,060", "7,340" ], [ "Florida", "$174,900", "9,320" ], [ "California", "$165,950", "16,770" ], [ "Texas", "$162,360", "8,920" ], [ "Mississippi", "$143,660", "740" ], [ "Kentucky", "$134,160", "790" ], [ "Utah", "$133,320", "1,020" ], [ "Idaho", "$124,190", "650" ], [ "Wyoming", "$123,830", "240" ] ], "row_ids": [ "state-alaska", "state-north-dakota", "state-minnesota", "state-tennessee", "state-oregon", "state-new-york", "state-florida", "state-california", "state-texas", "state-mississippi", "state-kentucky", "state-utah", "state-idaho", "state-wyoming" ], "note": "The five highest and five lowest state medians, with the four states that employ the most general dentists in between. OEWS May 2025 state estimates for occupation 29-1021, read through the BLS public API. BLS did not release a median for Delaware or the District of Columbia, and the API returned no data for Alabama or Kansas.", "source": "bls" }, { "id": "outlook", "title": "Dentist jobs and outlook, BLS", "columns": [ "Measure", "Value" ], "rows": [ [ "Dentist jobs, 2025", "161,400" ], [ "Projected dentist jobs, 2035", "170,400" ], [ "Projected growth, 2025-2035", "6% (3% for all occupations)" ], [ "Openings each year, on average", "About 4,800" ], [ "Share of dentists who are self-employed", "12%" ], [ "Share working in offices of dentists", "78%" ] ], "row_ids": [ "out-jobs-2025", "out-jobs-2035", "out-growth", "out-openings", "out-self-employed", "out-dental-offices" ], "note": "BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2025-35 projections. Openings include replacing dentists who retire or change occupation.", "source": "bls" }, { "id": "history", "title": "General dentists' pay in May of each year", "columns": [ "Year", "Median annual wage", "Mean annual wage", "Employed" ], "rows": [ [ "2016", "$153,900", "$173,860", "105,620" ], [ "2017", "$151,440", "$174,110", "110,400" ], [ "2018", "$151,850", "$175,840", "113,000" ], [ "2019", "$155,600", "$178,260", "110,730" ], [ "2020", "$158,940", "$180,830", "95,920" ], [ "2021", "$160,370", "$167,160", "108,680" ], [ "2022", "$155,040", "$172,290", "120,740" ], [ "2023", "$166,300", "$191,750", "121,640" ], [ "2025", "$170,950", "$191,350", "124,390" ] ], "row_ids": [ "hist-2016", "hist-2017", "hist-2018", "hist-2019", "hist-2020", "hist-2021", "hist-2022", "hist-2023", "hist-2025" ], "note": "OEWS national estimates for general dentists (29-1021), from the BLS May archive page for each year (2016-2023) and the BLS public API (2025). The May 2024 archive page was not reachable on bls.gov, so 2024 is missing. Not adjusted for inflation.", "source": "bls" } ], "sources": [ { "name": "Occupational Outlook Handbook", "publisher": "US Bureau of Labor Statistics", "type": "official", "url": "https://www.bls.gov/" }, { "name": "Health Policy Institute research and data", "publisher": "American Dental Association, Health Policy Institute", "type": "industry", "url": "https://www.ada.org/" } ], "content_changed_on": "2026-10-31", "page_url": "https://digitaltreed.com/statistics/dental-marketing/dentist-salary", "csv_url": "https://digitaltreed.com/statistics/dental-marketing/dentist-salary.csv" }