Find a Job You Really Want In
Dental Hygienists are one of the most common jobs in America. Additionally, a significant number of people work as dental hygienists in every state in the union — it’s not like they are all just concentrated in California or the South.
Since dental hygienists are such a prominent occupation, we at Zippia wanted to look at where dental hygienists have it the best: where there are plenty of jobs to go around and people get paid what they deserve during every phase of their career.
To that end, we dove into the numbers from the BLS to figure out which states have the best opportunities for dental hygienists.
After all the numbers had been crunched, we were left with this list of the best of best for America’s dental hygienists:
So there you have it — Dental Hygienists is the best of the best when it comes to being a dental hygienist.
How did Dental Hygienists end up here and does it really deserve this ranking? Read on to see how we completed our research on the best states for dental hygienists and for more on the top ten states.
If youĂÂre interested, you can read more about the job scene here:
- These Are The 100 Highest Paying Jobs In Alaska
- These Are The 100 Largest Companies In Alaska
- These Are The 10 Highest Dental Hygienist Salaries By State
How we determined the best states to be a dental hygienist
Here at Zippia, we talk to a lot of people of all different backgrounds looking for jobs. Our research has concluded that there are two common things people want in a job:
- Availability of jobs
- Higher Pay
So in order to find out the best states for dental hygienists in America we needed to figure out where the jobs are and how well dental hygienists get paid. This led to the following criteria taken from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’s Occupational Employment Statistics for 2018:
- Location quotient. A measure of how common a job is a given state.
- Average annual salary.
- Average annual salary for entry level work.
- Average annual salary for experienced professionals.
To make all the salary numbers more apples to apples across states, we compared the salary data relative to the state’s cost of living.
Applying this standardization allows us to account for that fact that it costs more to live in certain in states. For example, the average salary for dental hygienists in California is $100,830 and the average salary in Illinois is $72,640, but the Illinois salary actually goes further in paying for life’s essentials.
In order to develop and overall ranking, we ranked each state for each criteria from 1 to 50 where 1 was the best.
We then averaged all the rankings for a state into a Job Score with the state having the lowest overall Job Score earning the distinction of being the best state for dental hygienists in America.
So without further ado, let’s get into just what made each state so great for dental hygienists.
1. Alaska
Total Jobs: 600
Average Annual Salary: $114,320
Average Entry Level Salary: $86,080
Average Experienced Salary: $149,460
Location Quotient: 1.27
2. Idaho
Total Jobs: 1,700
Average Annual Salary: $74,430
Average Entry Level Salary: $61,000
Average Experienced Salary: $95,260
Location Quotient: 1.62
3. Washington
Total Jobs: 6,010
Average Annual Salary: $90,690
Average Entry Level Salary: $64,700
Average Experienced Salary: $118,260
Location Quotient: 1.24
4. Colorado
Total Jobs: 4,470
Average Annual Salary: $84,510
Average Entry Level Salary: $68,160
Average Experienced Salary: $101,520
Location Quotient: 1.15
5. Arizona
Total Jobs: 3,200
Average Annual Salary: $85,890
Average Entry Level Salary: $66,230
Average Experienced Salary: $101,700
Location Quotient: 0.77
6. Nevada
Total Jobs: 2,540
Average Annual Salary: $81,270
Average Entry Level Salary: $55,070
Average Experienced Salary: $101,760
Location Quotient: 1.27
7. Texas
Total Jobs: 13,850
Average Annual Salary: $75,300
Average Entry Level Salary: $55,790
Average Experienced Salary: $97,920
Location Quotient: 0.77
8. Utah
Total Jobs: 2,860
Average Annual Salary: $69,490
Average Entry Level Salary: $53,220
Average Experienced Salary: $83,430
Location Quotient: 1.32
9. Delaware
Total Jobs: 650
Average Annual Salary: $78,550
Average Entry Level Salary: $65,450
Average Experienced Salary: $98,120
Location Quotient: 0.97
10. Minnesota
Total Jobs: 5,160
Average Annual Salary: $74,240
Average Entry Level Salary: $60,540
Average Experienced Salary: $93,670
Location Quotient: 1.21
There You Have It – The Best States To Be A Dental Hygienist
If you’re looking to start out your career as a dental hygienist these are the states that should be at the top of your list. You’ll find high pay, available jobs, and chances for career advancement.
If you’re curious, here are the worst states to be a dental hygienist in America:
Detailed List Of The Best States For dental hygienists
| Rank | State | Average Salary |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alaska | $114,320 |
| 2 | Idaho | $74,430 |
| 3 | Washington | $90,690 |
| 4 | Colorado | $84,510 |
| 5 | Arizona | $85,890 |
| 6 | Nevada | $81,270 |
| 7 | Texas | $75,300 |
| 8 | Utah | $69,490 |
| 9 | Delaware | $78,550 |
| 10 | Minnesota | $74,240 |
| 11 | Oregon | $85,280 |
| 12 | Illinois | $72,640 |
| 13 | Michigan | $64,130 |
| 14 | Virginia | $79,640 |
| 15 | Wyoming | $69,620 |
| 16 | Montana | $74,350 |
| 17 | Oklahoma | $73,990 |
| 18 | Indiana | $68,000 |
| 19 | Arkansas | $71,090 |
| 20 | Missouri | $68,820 |
| 21 | Iowa | $68,870 |
| 22 | Ohio | $68,310 |
| 23 | New Hampshire | $79,560 |
| 24 | North Carolina | $69,500 |
| 25 | New Mexico | $75,860 |
| 26 | North Dakota | $72,580 |
| 27 | California | $100,830 |
| 28 | Kansas | $64,980 |
| 29 | Tennessee | $66,290 |
| 30 | Georgia | $65,650 |
| 31 | Wisconsin | $65,540 |
| 32 | New Jersey | $85,860 |
| 33 | Rhode Island | $74,650 |
| 34 | Pennsylvania | $67,010 |
| 35 | Nebraska | $65,870 |
| 36 | Connecticut | $83,630 |
| 37 | Vermont | $72,490 |
| 38 | Massachusetts | $82,750 |
| 39 | Maine | $65,500 |
| 40 | Kentucky | $59,910 |
| 41 | Maryland | $85,240 |
| 42 | West Virginia | $57,740 |
| 43 | Mississippi | $57,860 |
| 44 | South Dakota | $64,580 |
| 45 | Alabama | $46,500 |
| 46 | South Carolina | $61,440 |
| 47 | Florida | $64,070 |
| 48 | Louisiana | $59,810 |
| 49 | New York | $76,280 |
| 50 | Hawaii | $77,920 |
Author
Chris Kolmar is a co-founder of Zippia and the editor-in-chief of the Zippia career advice blog. He has hired over 50 people in his career, been hired five times, and wants to help you land your next job. His research has been featured on the New York Times, Thrillist, VOX, The Atlantic, and a host of local news. More recently, he's been quoted on USA Today, BusinessInsider, and CNBC.
