# Dental Hygienists

SOC 29-1292. Page: https://educationguide.com/careers/dental-hygienists

Administer oral hygiene care to patients. Assess patient oral hygiene problems or needs and maintain health records. Advise patients on oral health maintenance and disease prevention. May provide advanced care such as providing fluoride treatment or administering topical anesthesia.

## Pay and outlook
- U.S. median wage $98,100 (middle half $83,570–$108,480; BLS May 2025)
- Ages 25-34: median $60,328; 44% hold a bachelor's or higher (Census ACS 2020-2024)
- Jobs 2025-35: 8%; ~15k openings a year; typical entry: Associate's degree

## Fields of degree of young workers (ages 25-34, bachelor's+)
- Medical Assisting Services: 46% (https://educationguide.com/degrees/dental-support-services-and-allied-professions)
- Biology: 7% (https://educationguide.com/degrees/biology)
- Nursing: 7% (https://educationguide.com/degrees/nursing)
- Psychology: 4% (https://educationguide.com/degrees/psychology)
- General Medical And Health Services: 3% (https://educationguide.com/degrees/health-sciences)
- Business Management And Administration: 2% (https://educationguide.com/degrees/business-administration)
- Community And Public Health: 2% (https://educationguide.com/degrees/public-health)
- Multi-Disciplinary Or General Science: 2% (https://educationguide.com/degrees/biological-and-physical-sciences)
- Communications: 2% (https://educationguide.com/degrees/communications, https://educationguide.com/degrees/communication-journalism-and-related-programs-other)
- Marketing And Marketing Research: 1% (https://educationguide.com/degrees/marketing, https://educationguide.com/degrees/specialized-sales-merchandising-and-marketing-operations)

## Median wage by state
- AK: $132,690
- AL: $61,160
- AR: $86,760
- AZ: $101,010
- CA: $124,930
- CO: $109,580
- CT: $100,690
- DC: $137,220
- DE: $98,910
- FL: $91,980
- GA: $95,490
- GU: $62,970
- HI: $97,570
- IA: $84,010
- ID: $94,650
- IL: $96,670
- IN: $92,330
- KY: $78,830
- LA: $85,240
- MA: $100,640
- MD: $107,830
- ME: $97,680
- MI: $83,790
- MN: $103,970
- MO: $92,750
- MS: $67,280
- MT: $98,440
- NC: $97,850
- ND: $90,530
- NE: $92,580
- NH: $101,250
- NJ: $107,040
- NM: $95,940
- NV: $115,290
- NY: $106,130
- OH: $88,990
- OK: $97,580
- OR: $122,080
- PA: $80,610
- PR: $59,320
- RI: $86,910
- SC: $84,340
- SD: $92,210
- TN: $84,640
- TX: $99,240
- UT: $91,120
- VA: $102,950
- VT: $97,470
- WA: $131,160
- WI: $96,540
- WV: $73,840
- WY: $85,130

Method: https://educationguide.com/how-we-score#careers

Free to reuse with attribution: cite "EducationGuide.com" with a link to the page URL. Most figures are U.S. government data (public domain); loan default rates and athletics come from the Urban Institute Education Data Portal (ODC-By 1.0, attribution required) and founding years from Wikidata (CC0). O*NET data: CC BY 4.0, O*NET 31.0 (USDOL/ETA).