Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations
BLS May 2025 wages Wide pay band SOC 29-1022

Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons

The published band from $86,250 to $622,640 is the distinctive signal for this role, not a twin of Cardiologists.

Full salary details → About this data

Same-major-group titles next to Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons: Cardiologists ($496K) , General Internal Medicine Physicians ($257K) , Physicians, Pathologists ($312K) , Radiologists ($421K) . Hash-ordered per card so residual SOC siblings do not share an identical peer sentence.

What Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons publish as work

O*NET task statements for SOC 29-1022 - occupation-level descriptions, not every employer's posting. Sibling cards diverge here because the task set is entity-keyed.

  1. 1. Administer general and local anesthetics
  2. 2. Collaborate with other professionals, such as restorative dentists and orthodontists, to plan treatment
  3. 3. Evaluate the position of the wisdom teeth to determine whether problems exist currently or might occur in the future
  4. 4. Perform surgery to prepare the mouth for dental implants and to aid in the regeneration of deficient bone and gum tissues
  5. 5. Remove impacted, damaged, and non-restorable teeth
  6. 6. Treat infections of the oral cavity, salivary glands, jaws, and neck
  7. 7. Remove tumors and other abnormal growths of the oral and facial regions, using surgical instruments
  8. 8. Provide emergency treatment of facial injuries including facial lacerations, intra-oral lacerations, and fractured facial bones
  9. 9. Treat problems affecting the oral mucosa, such as mouth ulcers and infections
  10. 10. Restore form and function by moving skin, bone, nerves, and other tissues from other parts of the body to reconstruct the jaws and face
  11. 11. Perform surgery on the mouth and jaws to treat conditions such as cleft lip, cleft palate, and jaw growth problems
  12. 12. Perform minor cosmetic procedures, such as chin and cheekbone enhancements

Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons: O*NET ranks Complex Problem Solving first

Importance-ranked O*NET profile for SOC 29-1022 - lead skill Complex Problem Solving at 4.1 ; lead knowledge Medicine and Dentistry. Sibling cards diverge here even when peer titles overlap.

Top skills

  1. 1. Complex Problem Solving 4.1
  2. 2. Judgment and Decision Making 4.1
  3. 3. Reading Comprehension 4.0
  4. 4. Critical Thinking 4.0
  5. 5. Active Listening 3.9
  6. 6. Speaking 3.9
  7. 7. Active Learning 3.9
  8. 8. Monitoring 3.9

Knowledge areas

  1. 1. Medicine and Dentistry 5.0
  2. 2. Biology 4.4
  3. 3. English Language 4.4
  4. 4. Customer and Personal Service 4.3
  5. 5. Psychology 3.8
  6. 6. Education and Training 3.5
Published pay band (10th to 90th)
$86,250 to $622,640
median $352,220 · ~7.2× spread
$352K
National median
↑ +4%
Growth 2024-2034
200
Annual openings
4,910
Estimated US jobs
Cardiologists
Highest-pay peer · $496K

Typical Entry and Preparation Assignments

Entry education Doctoral or professional degree

Top Paying States for Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons

1. Rhode Island $414,060
2. Pennsylvania $553,740
3. Georgia $129,010
4. Colorado $360,820
5. North Carolina $224,040
6. Virginia $403,430
7. Florida $233,050
8. Minnesota $475,250
9. Arizona $322,800
10. New York $342,710

Other Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations titles

  1. 1. Physicians, Pathologists $312,400
  2. 2. Radiologists $420,860
  3. 3. Ophthalmologists, Except Pediatric $300,080
  4. 4. Cardiologists $496,010
  5. 5. General Internal Medicine Physicians $256,560
  6. 6. Psychiatrists $281,870

The OEWS band for Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons runs from $86,250 (10th) to $622,640 (90th), about 7.2× wide, with median $352,220. That spread, not the midpoint alone, is the distinctive published fact.

Employment Projections expect +4% change between 2024 and 2034 (about as fast as average vs baseline 3.1%). About 200 annual openings are projected. BLS assigns Doctoral or professional 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: Rhode Island at $414,060. The table records differences without proving causes. Highest-pay peer shown here: Cardiologists at $496,010. Compare the same statistic in the relevant local wage area before treating the national median as a personal benchmark; OEWS excludes employer benefits.

Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons pay-rank #7 in Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations

Among 71 detailed Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations with a published OEWS median, Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons is pay-rank #7, the upper third of that major group. The order is ROW_NUMBER on national median (title as tiebreak), not a worker-level percentile.

Other upper-third 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.

The 10th-to-90th percentile spread for Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons is unusually wide, so the state map and peer comparison carry more signal than the median alone.

Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons salary map

State, metro, and percentile for SOC 29-1022

Rhode Island · top state for Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons

$414K published median

Pennsylvania · #2 state pay

$554K · behind Rhode Island

Cardiologists

Highest-pay peer vs Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons · $496K

General Internal Medicine Physicians

Lower-pay peer beside Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons · $257K

Compare Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons

Head-to-head OEWS medians with another SOC
Compare Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons with another occupation →

Pay-band next reads

Entry-Level vs Experienced Pay

What percentile bands reveal

Using Salary Data for Negotiation

Leverage BLS percentiles

Frequently Asked Questions

Which Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations titles sit near Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons at the top of the pay table? ▼
Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons is pay-rank #7 of 71 detailed Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations with an OEWS median, upper third. Nearest upper-third titles: Orthopedic Surgeons, Except Pediatric ($359K), Emergency Medicine Physicians ($336K), Dermatologists ($329K), Anesthesiologists ($391K). Rank is ROW_NUMBER on national median.
What do oral and maxillofacial surgeons do day to day? ▼
O*NET lists published task statements for Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons. Leading ones include: Administer general and local anesthetics; Collaborate with other professionals, such as restorative dentists and orthodontists, to plan treatment; Evaluate the position of the wisdom teeth to determine whether problems exist currently or might occur in the future; Perform surgery to prepare the mouth for dental implants and to aid in the regeneration of deficient bone and gum tissues. These are occupation-level task descriptions, not every employer's job description.
Which O*NET skills rank highest for oral and maxillofacial surgeons? ▼
For SOC 29-1022, O*NET importance scores lead with Complex Problem Solving (4.1), Judgment and Decision Making (4.1), Reading Comprehension (4.0), Critical Thinking (4.0). Knowledge areas emphasize Medicine and Dentistry, Biology, English Language. These are occupation-level profiles, not a hiring checklist for every employer.
How wide is the published pay band for Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons? ▼
OEWS places the 10th percentile at $86,250 and the 90th at $622,640 for Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons (7.2× spread). The national median is $352,220. OEWS does not isolate experience, employer, or geography as the cause of that spread.
What employment change does BLS publish for Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons? ▼
The 2024-2034 projection for Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons is +4%. Projected annual openings: about 200. Relative to the current all-occupations baseline of 3.1%: about as fast as average.
What typical entry education does BLS assign to Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons? ▼
BLS assigns Doctoral or professional degree as the typical-education-needed-for-entry category for Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons. These are occupation-level labels, not every employer's hiring rule.
Which three states show the highest OEWS medians for Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons? ▼
Rhode Island ($414,060), Pennsylvania ($553,740), Georgia ($129,010) 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 Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons card
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS / OES) - national median and percentiles for SOC 29-1022. bls.gov/oes
  • O*NET OnLine - task and skill statements for Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons. 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