As in all careers, pay for dental assistants varies based on experience and qualifications. As a general benchmark, these are the most recent salary figures for dental assistants:

• 50% of dental assistants earn between $29,785 and $36,564 per year.
• The top 10% of dental assistants earn over $39,400 per year
• Dental assistant hourly rates generally start at $11.55 straight out of school and can exceed $20 with experience

Dental Assistant Salaries by State

Compensation levels for dental assistants also vary from state to state because differences in cost of living, how demanded dental assistants are, and other local factors. Here is list of average dental assistant salaries in some the most populous states in the US:

• California – $12.96
• New York – $14.92
• Illinois – $14.86
• Pennsylvania – $13.13
• Georgia – $14.66
• Ohio – $13.27
• Virginia – $14.49

Dental Assistant Salaries by City

The salary of a dental assistant will also depend on what city they live in. Here is a list of average dental assistant salaries from some of largest cities in the US:

• Las Vegas – $15.49
• Chicago – $14.59
• Atlanta – $14.93
• Tulsa – $13.74
• New York – $17.00
• Houston – $12.33
• Charlotte – $16.42