Dental Hygienists Salary
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations · 223K employed in the U.S.
Median annual
$98,100
Median hourly
$47
Average annual
$98,990
Typical range
$74,880–$126,050
Pay distribution
10th to 90th percentile, with the median marked.
What this role pays
The median annual salary for Dental Hygienists is $98,100 as of May 2025, based on the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey. That works out to about $47 an hour at a full-time schedule.
Administer oral hygiene care to patients. Assess patient oral hygiene problems or needs and maintain health records.
Most earn between $74,880 and $126,050 a year. There are roughly 223K people employed as dental hygienists in the United States. Use the state and metro pages below to see how pay changes by location, and the calculator to convert any hourly or annual figure.
Salary calculator
Convert your pay and see where it lands for Dental Hygienists.
- Hourly
- $47.16
- Daily
- $377
- Weekly
- $1,887
- Bi-weekly
- $3,773
- Monthly
- $8,175
- Annual
- $98,100
$98,100 a year is around the 50th percentile for Dental Hygienistss. The median is $98,100.
Highest-paying states
Median annual wage by state.
- 1District of Columbia$137,220
- 2Alaska$132,690
- 3Washington$131,160
- 4California$124,930
- 5Oregon$122,080
- 6Nevada$115,290
- 7Colorado$109,580
- 8Maryland$107,830
- 9New Jersey$107,040
- 10New York$106,130
- 11Minnesota$103,970
- 12Virginia$102,950
Top-paying metro areas
Median annual wage by metro area.
- 1San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA$146,760
- 2San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA$139,990
- 3Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA$136,210
- 4Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA$135,990
- 5Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA$133,740
- 6Anchorage, AK$132,740
- 7Fairbanks-College, AK$131,860
- 8Napa, CA$131,370
- 9Bremerton-Silverdale-Port Orchard, WA$131,040
- 10Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA$130,600
- 11Boulder, CO$130,000
- 12Vallejo, CA$128,570
Related job titles
Employers advertise Dental Hygienists roles under these titles.
Related occupations
What a Dental Hygienists does
- Record and review patient medical histories.
- Feel and visually examine gums for sores and signs of disease.
- Expose and develop x-ray film.
- Apply fluorides or other cavity preventing agents to arrest dental decay.
- Feel lymph nodes under patient's chin to detect swelling or tenderness that could indicate presence of oral cancer.
- Administer local anesthetic agents.
- Examine gums, using probes, to locate periodontal recessed gums and signs of gum disease.
- Clean calcareous deposits, accretions, and stains from teeth and beneath margins of gums, using dental instruments.
Frequently asked questions
- How much does a Dental Hygienists make?
- The median annual wage for Dental Hygienists is $98,100 ($47 per hour). Pay ranges from about $74,880 at the 10th percentile to $126,050 at the 90th percentile.
- What is the average salary for a Dental Hygienists?
- The average (mean) annual salary is $98,990, which is higher than the median because a small number of high earners pull the average up.
- Which state pays Dental Hygienistss the most?
- District of Columbia has the highest median annual wage for this occupation at $137,220.
- Is Dental Hygienists a growing occupation?
- BLS employment data for May 2025 counts about 223K people in this occupation. Projected growth is published separately in the BLS Employment Projections program.
- What does a Dental Hygienists do?
- Record and review patient medical histories.; Feel and visually examine gums for sores and signs of disease.; Expose and develop x-ray film..