Find a Job You Really Want In
Dentists are one of the most common jobs in America. Additionally, a significant number of people work as dentists in every state in the union — it’s not like they are all just concentrated in California or the South.
Since dentists are such a prominent occupation, we at Zippia wanted to look at where dentists 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 dentists. After all the numbers had been crunched, we were left with this list of the best of best for America’s dentists:
- Delaware
- South Carolina
- Wisconsin
- North Carolina
- New Hampshire
- Alaska
- Wyoming
- Kansas
- South Dakota
- North Dakota
So there you have it — Delaware is the best of the best when it comes to being a dentists.
How did it end up here and does it really deserve this ranking? Read on to see how we completed our research on the best states for dentists (and future dentists) and for more on the top ten states.
How we determined the best states to be a dentist
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
- Pay
So in order to find out the best states for dentists in America we needed to figure out where the jobs are and how well dentists get paid. This led to the following criteria taken from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’s Occupational Employment Statistics for 2015:
- 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 dentists in California is $170,490 and the average salary in Illinois is $149,400, 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 dentists in America.
So without further ado, let’s get into just what made each state so great for dentists.
1. Delaware
Total Jobs: 330
Average Annual Salary: $227,160
Average Entry Level Salary: $110,190
Average Experienced Salary: $0
Location Quotient: 1.04
2. South Carolina
Total Jobs: 1,670
Average Annual Salary: $195,350
Average Entry Level Salary: $81,900
Average Experienced Salary: $0
Location Quotient: 1.19
3. Wisconsin
Total Jobs: 2,010
Average Annual Salary: $203,570
Average Entry Level Salary: $107,840
Average Experienced Salary: $0
Location Quotient: 1.0
4. North Carolina
Total Jobs: 3,160
Average Annual Salary: $211,370
Average Entry Level Salary: $90,210
Average Experienced Salary: $0
Location Quotient: 1.06
5. New Hampshire
Total Jobs: 430
Average Annual Salary: $217,790
Average Entry Level Salary: $124,550
Average Experienced Salary: $0
Location Quotient: 0.94
6. Alaska
Total Jobs: 200
Average Annual Salary: $217,120
Average Entry Level Salary: $133,610
Average Experienced Salary: $0
Location Quotient: 0.85
7. Wyoming
Total Jobs: 250
Average Annual Salary: $171,340
Average Entry Level Salary: $86,680
Average Experienced Salary: $0
Location Quotient: 1.2
8. Kansas
Total Jobs: 950
Average Annual Salary: $182,340
Average Entry Level Salary: $96,130
Average Experienced Salary: $0
Location Quotient: 0.96
9. South Dakota
Total Jobs: 340
Average Annual Salary: $153,880
Average Entry Level Salary: $88,190
Average Experienced Salary: $0
Location Quotient: 1.12
10. North Dakota
Total Jobs: 240
Average Annual Salary: $214,450
Average Entry Level Salary: $93,450
Average Experienced Salary: $0
Location Quotient: 0.74
There You Have It
If you’re looking to start out your career as a dentist 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 dentist in America:
Detailed List Of The Best States For Dentists
| Rank | State | Average Salary |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Delaware | $227,160 |
| 2 | South Carolina | $195,350 |
| 3 | Wisconsin | $203,570 |
| 4 | North Carolina | $211,370 |
| 5 | New Hampshire | $217,790 |
| 6 | Alaska | $217,120 |
| 7 | Wyoming | $171,340 |
| 8 | Kansas | $182,340 |
| 9 | South Dakota | $153,880 |
| 10 | North Dakota | $214,450 |
| 11 | Minnesota | $193,320 |
| 12 | Ohio | $191,270 |
| 13 | Oregon | $193,960 |
| 14 | Idaho | $191,140 |
| 15 | Montana | $147,250 |
| 16 | New York | $173,980 |
| 17 | Mississippi | $178,610 |
| 18 | Tennessee | $176,080 |
| 19 | Maine | $185,290 |
| 20 | Iowa | $185,270 |
| 21 | Michigan | $169,080 |
| 22 | Nevada | $195,360 |
| 23 | West Virginia | $163,610 |
| 24 | Oklahoma | $155,250 |
| 25 | Massachusetts | $179,390 |
| 26 | Missouri | $166,000 |
| 27 | Arkansas | $171,450 |
| 28 | New Mexico | $170,570 |
| 29 | Rhode Island | $180,220 |
| 30 | Colorado | $178,710 |
| 31 | Kentucky | $168,460 |
| 32 | Connecticut | $188,580 |
| 33 | Georgia | $177,540 |
| 34 | Vermont | $180,970 |
| 35 | Texas | $171,870 |
| 36 | Hawaii | $154,880 |
| 37 | Washington | $182,990 |
| 38 | Arizona | $155,940 |
| 39 | Florida | $170,270 |
| 40 | New Jersey | $166,700 |
| 41 | California | $170,490 |
| 42 | Maryland | $158,310 |
| 43 | Virginia | $156,040 |
| 44 | Alabama | $174,870 |
| 45 | Utah | $121,340 |
| 46 | Indiana | $146,760 |
| 47 | Pennsylvania | $150,620 |
| 48 | Nebraska | $153,460 |
| 49 | Illinois | $149,400 |
| 50 | Louisiana | $139,080 |
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.
