Dental Assistant Pay in the Great Lakes Region

Data published recently by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that over 312,000 dental assistants were working in the United States as of May 2020.  Almost 40,000 dental assistants employed in May 2020 lived in the five-state Great Lakes region of the country.  BLS data reveals the Great Lakes region to be a modestly weak one for dental assistant pay.  Although the average annual mean wage for dental assistants in Indiana and Ohio topped the national average, about 60% of the region's dental assistants lived in states where the annual mean wage for dental assistants was lower than the national average.  Further examination of May 2020 BLS data shows the following about dental assistant pay in the Great Lakes region:

Dental Assistant Pay in the Great Lakes Region

State	# Employed	Annual Mean Wages	Wage Rank*
IL	11,390	$40,780	29th
IN	5,980	$42,600	23rd
MI	6,900	$40,470	31st
OH	9.780	$43,090	20th
WI	5,840	$40,740	30th
U.S.	312,140	$42,310	-------

(*) 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 26, 2021