The average annual salary of dentists in the states where dentists earn the most has decreased, even as the average salary for the profession across the U.S. has increased.
In 2019, the average salary for general dentists in the U.S. was $178,260, with dentists earning the most in Rhode Island with an annual salary of $262,900. The mean annual wage increased to $191,750 in 2023, but dentists earned $260,380 in Vermont, the state with the highest annual wage.
Dentists earned the most in Rhode Island in 2019 and 2020, Delaware in 2021 and 2022 and Vermont in 2023.
The top five states where dentists have had the highest salary has changed over the past five years, with no state ranking in the top five every year, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Here are the five states where dentists earned the most each year from 2019 to 2023:
1. Rhode Island: $262,900
2. Vermont: $261,790
3. Alaska: $239,930
4. North Dakota: $225,770
5. Maine: $220,400
1. Rhode Island: $258,920
2. Vermont: $254,190
3. Alaska: $242,850
4. Maine: $236,060
5. New Hampshire: $222,430
1. Delaware: $233,860
2. New Hampshire: $225,140
3. Oregon: $207,370
4. Rhode Island: $206,600
5. Connecticut: $197,910
1. Delaware: $206,270
2. Rhode Island: $204,770
3. North Carolina: $202,550
4. New Hampshire: $200,970
5. Arkansas: $192,400
1. Vermont: $260,380
2. Maryland: $234,670
3. Arizona: $231,890
4. Delaware: $227,200
5. Texas: $220,000