There were approximately 110,000 general dentists working in the U.S. as of May 2019 according to reports from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Most general dentists are employed in dental offices, with smaller numbers found working in physician offices, outpatient care centers, hospitals and state government entities. Like many other highly-educated health professionals with advanced technical skills, general dentists earn higher salaries than workers in most other occupations. According to BLS estimates, as of May 2019 the national mean wage for general dentists was $178,260 annually. This compares to the $53,490 annual mean wage for workers in all occupations in the United States. Pay for the general dentists varies widely from region-to-region, with practitioners in some regions making 50% or more of what their counterparts earn elsewhere. This variation is easily seen in BLS data from May 2019, which shows the following about general dentist pay in the top 20 metropolitan markets in the U.S.:
| Metropolitan Area | # Employed | Annual Mean Wages | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New York-Newark-Jersey City | 9,520 | $170,640 | ||
| 2 | Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim | 5,660 | $141,810 | ||
| 3 | Chicago-Naperville-Elgin | 2,960 | $184,380 | ||
| 4 | Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington | 2,930 | $207,180 | ||
| 5 | Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land | 2,420 | $166,700 | ||
| 6 | Washington-Arlington-Alexandria | 2,890 | $194,960 | ||
| 7 | Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach | 2,000 | $172,960 | ||
| 8 | Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington | 1,920 | $183,600 | ||
| 9 | Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Alpharetta | 2,110 | $175,140 | ||
| 10 | Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler | 1,710 | $196,300 | ||
| 11 | Boston-Cambridge-Newton | 2,150 | $192,590 | ||
| 12 | San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley | 2,890 | $169,730 | ||
| 13 | Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario | 1,480 | $148,650 | ||
| 14 | Detroit-Warren-Dearborn | 1,690 | $234,490 | ||
| 15 | Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue | 2,020 | $170,290 | ||
| 16 | Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington | 1,260 | $219,030 | ||
| 17 | San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad | 1,460 | $139,740 | ||
| 18 | Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater | 1,400 | $176,250 | ||
| 19 | Denver-Aurora-Lakewood | 1,310 | $179,840 | ||
| 20 | St. Louis | 980 | $175,410 | ||
| National | 110,730 | $178,260 | |||
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OES. Data extracted on November 13, 2020