As evidenced in General Dentist Pay in the Top 20 Metropolitan Markets, the biggest U.S. metropolitan markets are top centers for general dentist employment. However, a deeper dive into U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data reveals that smaller metro areas are where general dentists oftentimes find better pay, sometimes much better pay. In fact, a review of May 2021 BLS data shows that none of the 20 largest U.S. metropolitan areas were among the 20 best metro areas for general dentist pay:
20 Best Metro Areas for General Dentist Pay
| Metropolitan Area | # Employed | Annual Mean Wages | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Manchester, NH | 60 | $276,510 | ||
| 2 | Coastal Oregon non-metro | 90 | $241,650 | ||
| 3 | Salinas, CA | 120 | $234,410 | ||
| 4 | Vallejo-Fairfield, CA | 130 | $229,800 | ||
| 5 | Eugene, OR | 90 | $228,750 | ||
| 6 | Northwest Iowa non-metro | 60 | $227,760 | ||
| 7 | New Haven, CT | 220 | $227,390 | ||
| 8 | Akron, OH | 150 | $225,350 | ||
| 9 | Gainesville, FL | 100 | $222,690 | ||
| 10 | West Central-Southwest, NH non-metro | 30 | $221,420 | ||
| 11 | Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA | 100 | $221,210 | ||
| 12 | Medford, OR | 90 | $220,430 | ||
| 13 | Portsmouth, NH-ME | 70 | $220,070 | ||
| 14 | Southeast Iowa non-metro | 160 | $218,230 | ||
| 15 | Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT | 390 | $217,800 | ||
| 16 | Dayton, OH | 190 | $217,250 | ||
| 17 | Burlington, NC | 50 | $216,420 | ||
| 18 | Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA | 940 | $216,330 | ||
| 19 | Portland-South Portland, ME | 210 | $215,580 | ||
| 20 | Niles-Benton Harbor, MI | 40 | $213,650 | ||
| National | 108,680 | $167,160 | |||
(#) a top 20 U.S metro population area
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OES. Data extracted on November 9, 2022