Dental hygienists

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Total Workforce

190k

Average Age

42.8

Average Salary

$51,900

Average Male Salary

$95,466

Average Female Salary

$49,882

About

Employment

Diversity

Education

Skills

About

Dental hygienists are most often employed by the Offices of dentists industry. The average yearly wage for Dental hygienists was $51,900 in 2016. The top 3 most similar occupations to Dental hygienists by wage are Telecommunications line installers & repairers, Paralegals & legal assistants, and Morticians, undertakers, & funeral directors.

Dental hygienists are part of the Healthcare practitioners & technical occupations, along with Chiropractors, Dentists, Dietitians & nutritionists, Optometrists, Pharmacists, and 37 more.

The top 3 locations that employ the most Dental hygienists are Inner Cape Cod Towns & Barnstable Town City PUMA, MA, St. Tammany Parish (Southeast) PUMA, LA, and Ottawa County (East) PUMA, MI. The top 3 locations with a relatively high concentration of Dental hygienists are St. Tammany Parish (Southeast) PUMA, LA, Inner Cape Cod Towns & Barnstable Town City PUMA, MA, and Ottawa County (East) PUMA, MI.

Photo by East Midtown

Management, business, science, & arts occupations Healthcare practitioners & technical occupations Healthcare practitioners & technical occupations

Information on the businesses and industries that employ Dental hygienists and on wages and locations for those in the field. Offices of dentists is the industry that employs the most Dental hygienists, both by share and by number, though the highest paid industry for Dental hygienists, by average wage, is Outpatient care centers. Dental hygienists are paid most in Rocklin, Lincoln Cities & Loomis Town PUMA, CA but are relatively concentrated in St. Tammany Parish (Southeast) PUMA, LA.

Wages

Yearly Wage

$51,900

AVERAGE SALARY

± $2,491

In 2017, Dental hygienists earned an average of $51,900, $1,989 less than than the average national salary of $53,888.

Morticians, undertakers, & funeral directors make somewhat more than Dental hygienists while Telecommunications line installers & repairers make somewhat less. This chart shows the various occupations closest to Dental hygienists as measured by average annual salary in the US.

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Wage Distribution

0.31

WAGE GINI

In 2017, Dental hygienists had a wage GINI coefficient of 0.31, which is lower than than the national average of 0.479. In other words, wages are distributed more evenly for Dental hygienists (shown in red) than for the overall labor force (shown in gray).

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Wage by Location

HIGHEST PAYING PUMAS

This map shows the Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMAs) in the United States shaded by average annual wage for Dental hygienists.

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Spatial Concentration

PUMAs with a Relatively High Concentration of Dental hygienists

This map displays which Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMAs) in the United States have a relatively high population of Dental hygienists.

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Industries

Most Common

The most common industries employing Dental hygienists, by number of employees, are Offices of dentists, Outpatient care centers, and Hospitals.

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Highest Paying

The highest paying industries for Dental hygienists, by average wage, are Outpatient care centers, Colleges, universities & professional schools, including junior colleges, and Offices of physicians.

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Industries by Share

190k

2017 Workforce

± 10,692

6.8%

1 YEAR GROWTH

± 7.58%

The number of people employed as Dental hygienists has been growing at a rate of 6.8%, from 177,817 people in 2016 to 189,909 people in 2017.

This graphic shows the share of Dental hygienists employed by various industries. Offices of dentists employs the largest share of Dental hygienists at 94.9%, followed by Outpatient care centers with 0.967% and Hospitals with 0.829%.

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Diversity

Demographic information on Dental hygienists in the US. The average age of male Dental hygienists in the workforce is 42.2 and of female Dental hygienists is 42.8, and the most common race/ethnicity for Dental hygienists is White (Non-Hispanic).

Gender Composition

8.41k

MALE WORKFORCE

± 2,251

182k

FEMALE WORKFORCE

± 10,453

95.6% of Dental hygienists are Female, making them the more common gender in the occupation. This chart shows the gender breakdown of Dental hygienists.

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Race & Ethnicity

Most Common Race or Ethnicity of Dental hygienists

White (Non-Hispanic)
White (Hispanic)
Asian (Non-Hispanic)

82.2% of Dental hygienists are White (Non-Hispanic), making that the most common race or ethnicity in the occupation. Representing 6.64% of Dental hygienists, White (Hispanic) is the second most common race or ethnicity in this occupation. This chart shows the racial and ethnic breakdown of Dental hygienists.

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Age by Gender

42.2

AVERAGE MALE AGE

± 3.9

42.8

AVERAGE FEMALE AGE

± 0.703

The median age of Dental hygienists is 42.8, and Male employees are generally 0.589 years younger than than their Female counterparts.

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Education

Data on higher education choices for Dental hygienists from The Department of Education and Census Bureau. The most common major for Dental hygienists is Health but a relatively high number of Dental hygienists hold a major in Health.

Majors

ACS PUMS data only shows the major for bachelor's degrees. However, we can filter the data based on highest degree obtained.

MOST COMMON MAJORS

MOST SPECIALIZED MAJORS

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Skills

Data on the critical and distinctive skills necessary for Dental hygienists from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Dental hygienists need many skills, but most especially Active Listening, Speaking, and Critical Thinking. The revealed comparative advantage (RCA) shows that Dental hygienists need more than the average amount of Science, Operation and Control, and Persuasion.