There were approximately 108,700 general dentists working in the U.S. as of May 2021 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 2021, the national mean wage for general dentists was $167,160 annually. Pay for 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 2021, which shows the following about general dentist pay in the top 20 metropolitan markets in the U.S.:
General Dentist Pay in the Top 20 Metropolitan Markets
| Metropolitan Area | # Employed | Mean Annual Wage | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New York-Newark-Jersey City | 7,110 | $182,190 | ||
| 2 | Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim | n/a | $151,540 | ||
| 3 | Chicago-Naperville-Elgin | 3,140 | $134,770 | ||
| 4 | Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington | 3,520 | $146,710 | ||
| 5 | Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land | 3,040 | $159,970 | ||
| 6 | Washington-Arlington-Alexandria | 3,260 | $174,000 | ||
| 7 | Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington | 2,240 | $189,220 | ||
| 8 | Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach | 3,120 | $147,440 | ||
| 9 | Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Alpharetta | 1,400 | $169,090 | ||
| 10 | Boston-Cambridge-Newton | 2,220 | $178,360 | ||
| 11 | Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler | 1,310 | $182,530 | ||
| 12 | San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley | 2,250 | $181,700 | ||
| 13 | Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario | 1,590 | $165,050 | ||
| 14 | Detroit-Warren-Dearborn | 1,540 | $185,850 | ||
| 15 | Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue | 1,410 | $173,990 | ||
| 16 | Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington | 1,290 | $189,740 | ||
| 17 | San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad | 1,660 | $139,000 | ||
| 18 | Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater | 1,120 | $157,770 | ||
| 19 | Denver-Aurora-Lakewood | 1,280 | $125,590 | ||
| 20 | Baltimore-Columbia-Towson | 1,080 | $167,700 | ||
| National | 108,680 | $167,160 | |||
Report Period: May 2021
Top 20 U.S. Metro areas from the 2020 Census
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Occupational Statistics
Data extracted on September 21, 2022