According to data released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), there were just over 351,000 dental assistants employed in the U.S. as of May 2019. The overwhelming majority of dental assistants work in dental offices, with small numbers found employed by employment agencies, in physician offices, and in outpatient care centers. While dental assistants must possess some technical understanding, many of their duties can be administrative in nature and don't require the kind of advanced skills or training required by many other healthcare occupations. Dental assistants, on average, earn lower salaries than workers in most other occupations. As of May 2019, the BLS estimated that the national mean salary for dental assistants was $41,170 per year, as compared to the $53,490 annual mean wage for all occupations in the U.S. Pay for the profession varies considerably from region-to-region, with dental assistants in some regions making 50% more than what their professional peers made elsewhere. As of May 2019, BLS data reveals the following about dental assistant pay in the top 20 metropolitan markets in the United States:
| Metropolitan Area | # Employed | Annual Mean Wages | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New York-Newark-Jersey City | 21,780 | $42,580 | ||
| 2 | Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim | 19,440 | $39,900 | ||
| 3 | Chicago-Naperville-Elgin | 10,760 | $41,030 | ||
| 4 | Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington | 10,310 | $41,930 | ||
| 5 | Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land | 7,580 | $36,490 | ||
| 6 | Washington-Arlington-Alexandria | 6,050 | $47,860 | ||
| 7 | Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach | 6,720 | $39,180 | ||
| 8 | Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington | 6,030 | $42,260 | ||
| 9 | Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Alpharetta | 5,370 | $42,400 | ||
| 10 | Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler | 6,040 | $42,280 | ||
| 11 | Boston-Cambridge-Newton | 6,070 | $50,220 | ||
| 12 | San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley | 6,980 | $51,510 | ||
| 13 | Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario | 6,050 | $37,560 | ||
| 14 | Detroit-Warren-Dearborn | 4,340 | $37,050 | ||
| 15 | Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue | 5,500 | $48,070 | ||
| 16 | Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington | 3,760 | $54,510 | ||
| 17 | San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad | 5,270 | $41,550 | ||
| 18 | Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater | 3,030 | $41,380 | ||
| 19 | Denver-Aurora-Lakewood | 4,490 | $44,370 | ||
| 20 | St. Louis | 2,400 | $40,060 | ||
| National | 351,470 | $41,170 | |||
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OES. Data extracted on December 26, 2020