Occupational Employment and Wages, 2002

29-2021 Dental Hygienists

Clean teeth and examine oral areas, head, and neck for signs of oral disease. May educate patients on oral hygiene, take and develop X-rays, or apply fluoride or sealants.

National estimates for this occupation
Industry profile for this occupation
State profile for this occupation
Metropolitan area profile for this occupation

National estimates for this occupation: Top

Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for this occupation:

Employment (1)	Employment RSE (3)	Mean hourly wage	Mean annual wage (2)	Wage RSE (3)
148,530	3.0 %	$27.78	$57,790	3.0 %

Percentile wage estimates for this occupation:

Percentile	10%	25%	50% (Median)	75%	90%
Hourly Wage	$17.34	$21.96	$26.59	$32.48	$39.24
Annual Wage (2)	$36,060	$45,680	$55,320	$67,550	$81,620

Industry profile for this occupation: Top

Industries with the highest levels of employment in this occupation:

Industry	Employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage	Employment rank	Wage rank
Offices of dentists	142,680	$27.88	$57,990	1	3
Employment services	1,360	$33.30	$69,260	2	1
Offices of physicians	1,150	$25.34	$52,700	3	4
General medical and surgical hospitals	560	$21.02	$43,720	4	10
Outpatient care centers	420	$24.99	$51,970	5	5

Top paying industries for this occupation:

Industry	Employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage	Employment rank	Wage rank
Employment services	1,360	$33.30	$69,260	2	1
Offices of other health practitioners	(6)	$31.05	$64,590	(6)	2
Offices of dentists	142,680	$27.88	$57,990	1	3
Offices of physicians	1,150	$25.34	$52,700	3	4
Outpatient care centers	420	$24.99	$51,970	5	5

State profile for this occupation: Top

States with the highest concentration of workers in this occupation:

State	Employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage	Percent of State employment	Wage rank within State
Vermont	610	$25.84	$53,760	0.208%	69
Michigan	8,330	$23.82	$49,540	0.191%	184
Idaho	1,070	$26.28	$54,660	0.189%	59
Connecticut	2,970	$28.16	$58,580	0.181%	125
Alaska	490	$29.55	$61,460	0.171%	66

Top paying States for this occupation:

State	Employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage	Percent of State employment	Wage rank within State
California	17,770	$41.35	$86,020	0.123%	36
Nevada	1,030	$36.66	$76,260	0.097%	29
Washington	4,350	$34.66	$72,100	0.170%	55
Utah	(6)	$33.86	$70,440	(6)	27
Colorado	2,820	$31.97	$66,490	0.132%	62

Metropolitan area profile for this occupation: Top

Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of workers in this occupation:

MSA	Employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage	Percent of MSA employment
Barnstable-Yarmouth, MA MSA	290	$26.42	$54,960	0.433%
Pocatello, ID MSA	120	$24.14	$50,220	0.382%
Flint, MI PMSA	530	$22.05	$45,860	0.322%
Eugene-Springfield, OR MSA	420	$30.46	$63,370	0.303%
Newburgh, NY-PA PMSA	410	$24.85	$51,680	0.300%

Top paying Metropolitan areas for this occupation:

MSA	Employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage	Percent of MSA employment
Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA PMSA	(6)	$40.36	$83,950	(6)
Boulder-Longmont, CO PMSA	350	$39.52	$82,210	0.220%
Oakland, CA PMSA	2,050	$39.29	$81,710	0.204%
Yolo, CA PMSA	(6)	$39.06	$81,240	(6)
San Diego, CA MSA	(6)	$38.36	$79,790	(6)

About 2002 National, State, and Metropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

To see profiles of other occupations, select from the major groups below:

    Select a major group to view     All Occupations Management Occupations Business and Financial Operations Occupations Computer and Mathematical Science Occupations Architecture and Engineering Occupations Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations Community and Social Services Occupations Legal Occupations Education, Training, and Library Occupations Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media Occupations Healthcare Practitioner and Technical Occupations Healthcare Support Occupations Protective Service Occupations Food Preparation and Serving Related Occupations Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance Occupations Personal Care and Service Occupations Sales and Related Occupations Office and Administrative Support Occupations Farming, Fishing, and Forestry Occupations Construction and Extraction Occupations Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Occupations Production Occupations Transportation and Material Moving Occupations

These estimates are calculated with data collected from employers in all industry sectors in metropolitan and non-metropolitan areas in every State and the District of Columbia. The top five employment and wage figures are provided above. The complete list is available in the downloadable Excel files(XLS).

Percentile wage estimates show the percentage of workers in an occupation that earn less than a given wage and the percentage that earn more. The median wage is the 50th percentile wage estimate—50 percent of workers earn less than the median and 50 percent of workers earn more than the median. More about percentile wages.

(1) Data for detailed occupations does not sum to the totals because the totals include data for occupations not shown separately. Estimates do not include self-employed workers.

(2) Annual wages have been calculated by multiplying the hourly mean wage by a "year-round, full-time" hours figure of 2,080 hours; for those occupations where there is not an hourly mean wage published, the annual wage has been directly calculated from the reported survey data.

(3) The relative standard error (RSE) is a measure of the reliability of a survey statistic. The smaller the relative standard error, the more precise the estimate.

(6) Estimates not released.

All Healthcare Practitioner and Technical Occupations

2002 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

2002 Metropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

2002 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

List of Occupations in SOC Code Number Order

List of Occupations in Alphabetical Order

Download 2002 Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates in Zipped Excel files

Technical notes

 

Last Modified Date: November 26, 2003