As examined in Dental Assistant Pay in the Top 20 Metropolitan Markets, the biggest metro areas are the major U.S. centers for dental assistant employment. That fact notwithstanding, a closer look into U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data reveals that smaller metro areas are where dental assistants frequently find better pay, sometimes much better.  Indeed, a review of BLS data from May 2021 shows us that just three of the top 20 U.S. metro areas were among the 20 best metropolitan markets for dental assistant pay:

20 Best Metropolitan Markets for Dental Assistant Pay

	Metropolitan Area		# Employed	Annual Mean Wages
1	San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward (#)		5,980	$55,150
2	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington (#)		3,460	$55,020
3	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA		2,940	$54,590
4	Alaska non-metro		370	$53,020
5	Santa Rosa, CA		740	$52,550
6	Rochester, MN		230	$52,510
7	Barnstable Town, MA		210	$52,380
8	Boston-Cambridge-Nashua (#)		6,400	$52,330
9	Bismarck, ND		180	$52,240
10	Fairbanks, AK		160	$51,940
11	Portsmouth, NH-ME		170	$51,110
12	Napa, CA		190	$50,820
13	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA		3,520	$50,390
14	Mankato-North Mankato, MN		100	$50,200
15	Northeast Minnesota non-metro		90	$49,800
16	Massachusetts non-metro		140	$49,660
17	St. Cloud, MN		240	$49,650
18	Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA		400	$49,540
19	Southeast Minnesota non-metro		260	$49,480
20	Vallejo-Fairfield, CA		540	$49,410
	National		347,170	$42,510

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

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OES. Data extracted on November 30, 2022