Monday, November 21, 2022

20 Best Metro Areas for Dental Hygienist Pay

As examined in Dental Hygienist Pay in the Top 20 Metropolitan Markets, the biggest U.S. metropolitan markets are major centers for dental hygienist employment. That fact notwithstanding, a deeper dive into U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data reveals that smaller metro areas are where dental hygienists frequently find better pay, sometimes a whole lot better.  Indeed, a review of BLS data from May 2021 shows us that just four of the top 20 U.S. metropolitan areas were among the 20 best population centers for dental hygienist pay:

20 Best Metro Areas for Dental Hygienist Pay

Metropolitan Area # Employed Annual Mean Wages
1 Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA 260 $125,750
2 San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA 2,010 $122,660
3 San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward (#) 3,270 $119,320
4 Anchorage, AK 290 $116,270
5 Santa Rosa, CA 460 $115,730
6 Alaska non-metro 170 $114,670
7 Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA 270 $114,370
8 Fairbanks, AK 50 $113,880
9 Napa, CA 120 $112,520
10 Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue (#) 4,260 $111,600
11 Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA 560 $111,240
12 Vallejo-Fairfield, CA 250 $110,780
13 Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario (#) 1,040 $107,330
14 Sacramento--Roseville--Arden-Arcade 1,930 $106,980
15 Modesto, CA 330 $106,900
16 Western Washington non-metro 190 $105,650
17 Bremerton-Silverdale, WA 180 $105,100
18 Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim (#) 10,150 $104,840
19 Salinas, CA 190 $104,490
20 Northern Valley California non-metro 140 $103,160
National 207,190 $81,360

(#) a top 20 U.S metro population area

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OES. Data extracted on November 16, 2022