Dental Hygienist Pay in the U.S. Far West

Data recently published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports that there were nearly 212,000 dental hygienists working in the United States as of May 2023.  More than 38,000 dental hygienists were working in the six-state U.S. Far West region according to BLS reports.  The region is the strongest one in the nation for dental hygienist pay.  A closer look at May 2023 BLS data reveals the following about dental hygienist pay in the U.S. Far West:

Dental Hygienist pay in the U.S. Far West

State	# Employed	Annual Mean Wages	Wage Rank*
AK	610	$115,980	3rd
CA	24,880	$118,330	2nd
HI	1,130	$91,070	18th
NV	2,160	$90,320	19th
OR	2,930	$103,440	5th
WA	6,620	$123,510	1rd
U.S.	211,670	$87,035	-------

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

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OES. Data extracted on January 4, 2025

Recently published data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) indicates that, as of May 2023, there were more than 3,175,000 registered nurses (RNs) employed in the U.S.  Over 365,600 of those RN jobs were in the four-state Southwest region of the country.  Though most states in the region reported pay slightly above the national average, Oklahoma being the exception, none placed in the top ten. BLS data from May 2023 reveals the following about registered nurse pay in the Southwest:

Registered Nurse Pay in the Southwest

State	# Employed	Annual Mean Wages	Wage Rank*
AZ	63,150	$91,430	18th
NM	18,030	$92,140	15th
OK	32,610	$82,110	37th
TX	251,840	$90,210	19th
U.S.	3,175,440	$89,611	-------

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

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OES. Data extracted on February 3, 2025