Dental Hygienist Pay in the Southwestern U.S.

Data published earlier this year by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) put dental hygienist (DH) employment in the USA at about 195,000 as of May 2020.  At that time, approximately 20,700 dental hygienists were working in the four-state Southwestern U.S. according to the BLS.  The region is an average one for dental hygienist pay.  Although Arizona DHs earn an average annual mean wage that topped the national average by 7%, the vast majority of dental hygienists in the region lived in states where DH annual mean wages were slightly below the national average.  A deeper look at May 2020 BLS data details the following about dental hygienist pay in the Southwestern U.S.:

Dental Hygienist Pay in the Southwestern U.S.

State	# Employed	Annual Mean Wages	Wage Rank*
AZ	3,660	$83,860	14th
NM	1,090	$78,410	17th
OK	2,730	$76,710	21st
TX	13,230	$77,590	18th
U.S.	194,830	$78,050	-------

(*) annual mean wage ranking among the 50 states and the District of Columbia

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OES. Data extracted on May 17, 2021