The average annual salary for orthodontists has fluctuated over the past five years, rising from $230,830 in 2019 to $243,620 in 2023, a total increase of nearly $13,000, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Orthodontists earned the most in Washington in 2019, Oklahoma in 2020, Massachusetts in 2021, Wisconsin in 2022 and Connecticut in 2023.
Pay over the five-year period peaked in 2021, when orthodontists made an average of $267,280.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics released updated compensation data April 3 to reflect May 2023 information, the latest available.
Here is the average annual salary and mean hourly wage for orthodontists, along with the average earnings in the highest-paying state in each year since 2019:
Mean annual wage: $230,830
Mean hourly wage: $110.98
Highest-paying state: Washington, annual wage of $285,780
Mean annual wage: $237,990; year-over-year increase of $7,160
Mean hourly wage: $114.42
Highest-paying state: Oklahoma, annual wage of $286,050
Mean annual wage: $267,280; year-over-year increase of $29,290
Mean hourly wage: $128.50
Highest-paying state: Massachusetts, annual wage of $344,120
Mean annual wage: $216,320; year-over-year decrease of $50,960
Mean hourly wage: $104
Highest-paying state: Wisconsin, annual wage of $277,730
Mean annual wage: $243,620; year-over-year increase of $27,300
Mean hourly wage: $117.13
Highest-paying state: Michigan, annual wage of $329,620