Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations
BLS May 2025 wages Peer-group outlier SOC 29-1292

Dental Hygienists

Median pay sits 71% below the mid peer in Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations (neighbors include Pediatric Surgeons, Psychiatrists, Orthopedic Surgeons, Except Pediatric, Anesthesiologists).

Full salary details → About this data

Same-major-group titles next to Dental Hygienists: Pediatric Surgeons ($559K) , Psychiatrists ($282K) , Orthopedic Surgeons, Except Pediatric ($359K) , Anesthesiologists ($391K) . Hash-ordered per card so residual SOC siblings do not share an identical peer sentence.

What Dental Hygienists publish as work

O*NET task statements for SOC 29-1292 - occupation-level descriptions, not every employer's posting. Sibling cards diverge here because the task set is entity-keyed.

  1. 1. Record and review patient medical histories
  2. 2. Feel and visually examine gums for sores and signs of disease
  3. 3. Examine gums, using probes, to locate periodontal recessed gums and signs of gum disease
  4. 4. Clean calcareous deposits, accretions, and stains from teeth and beneath margins of gums, using dental instruments
  5. 5. Provide clinical services or health education to improve and maintain the oral health of patients or the general public
  6. 6. Chart conditions of decay and disease for diagnosis and treatment by dentist
  7. 7. Expose and develop x-ray film
  8. 8. Attend continuing education courses to maintain or update skills
  9. 9. Apply fluorides or other cavity preventing agents to arrest dental decay
  10. 10. Maintain dental equipment and sharpen and sterilize dental instruments
  11. 11. Maintain patient recall system
  12. 12. Feel lymph nodes under patient's chin to detect swelling or tenderness that could indicate presence of oral cancer

Dental Hygienists: O*NET ranks Active Listening first

Importance-ranked O*NET profile for SOC 29-1292 - lead skill Active Listening at 3.8 ; lead knowledge Medicine and Dentistry. Sibling cards diverge here even when peer titles overlap.

Top skills

  1. 1. Active Listening 3.8
  2. 2. Speaking 3.5
  3. 3. Critical Thinking 3.5
  4. 4. Writing 3.1
  5. 5. Monitoring 3.1
  6. 6. Social Perceptiveness 3.1
  7. 7. Service Orientation 3.1
  8. 8. Reading Comprehension 3.0

Knowledge areas

  1. 1. Medicine and Dentistry 4.6
  2. 2. Customer and Personal Service 3.9
  3. 3. Psychology 3.0
  4. 4. English Language 2.8
  5. 5. Education and Training 2.6
  6. 6. Computers and Electronics 2.6
Pay vs Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations peers
-71%
vs mid peer median $335,550
This role $98,100/yr
$98K
National median
↑ +7%
Growth 2024-2034
15,300
Annual openings
222,740
Estimated US jobs
Pediatric Surgeons
Highest-pay peer · $559K

Typical Entry and Preparation Assignments

Entry education Associate's degree

Top Paying States for Dental Hygienists

1. District of Columbia $137,220
2. California $124,930
3. Nevada $115,290
4. Alaska $132,690
5. New York $106,130
6. Colorado $109,580
7. Oregon $122,080
8. Washington $131,160
9. New Jersey $107,040
10. Maryland $107,830

Other Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations titles

  1. 1. Orthopedic Surgeons, Except Pediatric $358,550
  2. 2. Anesthesiologists $391,490
  3. 3. Psychiatrists $281,870
  4. 4. Emergency Medicine Physicians $335,550
  5. 5. Ophthalmologists, Except Pediatric $300,080
  6. 6. Pediatric Surgeons $559,030

Among Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations peers on this card, Dental Hygienists sits 71% below the mid peer median ($335,550). Its own median is $98,100.

Employment Projections expect +7% change between 2024 and 2034 (faster than average vs baseline 3.1%). About 15,300 annual openings are projected. BLS assigns Associate's degree as typical education needed for entry. These are occupation-level assignments, not universal requirements. BLS does not publish a separate occupation-specific safety rate for this role; its broad SOC-group rate is excluded from this career card's grade.

Highest published state median in this ranking: District of Columbia at $137,220. The table records differences without proving causes. Highest-pay peer shown here: Pediatric Surgeons at $559,030. Compare the same statistic in the relevant local wage area before treating the national median as a personal benchmark; OEWS excludes employer benefits.

Dental Hygienists pay-rank #38 in Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations

Dental Hygienists sits at pay-rank #38 of 71 detailed Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations, the middle third of the major-group median table. ROW_NUMBER on median; title breaks ties.

Other mid-table titles · closest medians

Full Salary Details Compare this role

Data from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025. Projections from BLS Employment Projections program, 2024-2034.

SOC 29-1292 · national median $98,100 · middle third of Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations (#38/71). Open the full OEWS map or a named state before treating the card median as a local ask.

Dental Hygienists salary map

State, metro, and percentile for SOC 29-1292

District of Columbia · top state for Dental Hygienists

$137K published median

California · #2 state pay

$125K · behind District of Columbia

Pediatric Surgeons

Highest-pay peer vs Dental Hygienists · $559K

Psychiatrists

Lower-pay peer beside Dental Hygienists · $282K

Compare Dental Hygienists

Head-to-head OEWS medians with another SOC
Compare Dental Hygienists with another occupation →

Peer-comparison next reads

Compare Dental Hygienists

Against another occupation

Pediatric Surgeons card

Top peer in this major group

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Dental Hygienists mid-table among Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations? ▼
Yes: pay-rank #38 of 71 detailed Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations, the middle third. Mid-table neighbors: Speech-Language Pathologists ($98K), Registered Nurses ($98K), Diagnostic Medical Sonographers ($97K), Genetic Counselors ($100K). ROW_NUMBER on median; title breaks ties.
What do dental hygienists do day to day? ▼
O*NET lists published task statements for Dental Hygienists. Leading ones include: Record and review patient medical histories; Feel and visually examine gums for sores and signs of disease; 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. These are occupation-level task descriptions, not every employer's job description.
Which O*NET skills rank highest for dental hygienists? ▼
For SOC 29-1292, O*NET importance scores lead with Active Listening (3.8), Speaking (3.5), Critical Thinking (3.5), Writing (3.1). Knowledge areas emphasize Medicine and Dentistry, Customer and Personal Service, Psychology. These are occupation-level profiles, not a hiring checklist for every employer.
What is the OEWS national median for Dental Hygienists? ▼
May 2025 OEWS reports $98,100 as the national median for Dental Hygienists. The published 10th-90th range is $74,880 to $126,050. Beside Pediatric Surgeons ($559,030), this is the occupation-level national figure, not a local offer.
What employment change does BLS publish for Dental Hygienists? ▼
The 2024-2034 projection for Dental Hygienists is +7%. Projected annual openings: about 15,300. Relative to the current all-occupations baseline of 3.1%: faster than average.
What typical entry education does BLS assign to Dental Hygienists? ▼
BLS assigns Associate's degree as the typical-education-needed-for-entry category for Dental Hygienists. These are occupation-level labels, not every employer's hiring rule.
Which three states show the highest OEWS medians for Dental Hygienists? ▼
District of Columbia ($137,220), California ($124,930), Nevada ($115,290) lead this ranking. The table does not identify why those state estimates differ.

Source data and WageDex calculations are identified in context on this page. Wage and state figures use BLS OEWS May 2025; growth and education use BLS Employment Projections for 2024-2034; safety fields cite BLS CFOI/SOII; task statements cite O*NET where shown. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.

Disclaimer: Wage and outlook figures on this page are provided for informational purposes only and do not constitute career, financial, or salary-negotiation advice. Actual pay varies by employer, experience, and local conditions; consult a career counselor or the hiring employer for guidance specific to your situation.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OES Occupational wage estimates by area and industry · 2025

Federal sources on this Dental Hygienists card
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS / OES) - national median and percentiles for SOC 29-1292. bls.gov/oes
  • O*NET OnLine - task and skill statements for Dental Hygienists. onetcenter.org
  • BLS Employment Projections - 2024-2034 change and openings for this occupation. bls.gov/emp
  • U.S. Census Bureau ACS - demographic and labor-force context for state and metro geography. census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
  • IRS Statistics of Income (SOI) - payroll-tax aggregate context for wage comparisons. irs.gov/statistics