Dental hygienists can expect bright futures in California. According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Golden State is rated among the top states for employment opportunities and high paying jobs for this growing occupation.
As of May 2013:
- California employed the highest number of dental hygienists in the US (21,930)
- California was the second highest paying state for dental hygienists ($93,920 annually)
- The Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale area district employed the most dental hygienists of all metropolitan divisions in the nation (5,340)
- The San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City area district was the highest paying metropolitan division in the nation ($112,970 annually)
- The Northern Mountains Region held the highest concentration of dental hygienist jobs among all nonmetropolitan divisions in the nation (270)
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Dental Hygienist Wages and Salaries by County in California
In the 1st Quarter of 2014, the California Employment Development Department reported that dental hygienists were earning an average annual salary of $100,312 and an average hourly wage of $48.23. During this period, the top paying counties for dental hygienists included:
- Solano County: $108,152/yr.
- Sonoma County: $106,959/yr.
- Santa Cruz County: $106,453/yr.
- Los Angeles County: $105,239/yr.
- San Benito/Santa Clara Counties: $103,053/yr.
In 2013, the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics determined the wage and salary percentiles for dental hygienists employed in California were as follows:
- 10th Percentile: $62,300/yr. or $29.94/hr.
- 25th Percentile: $82,800/yr. or $39.80/hr.
- Median Percentile: $99,200/yr. or $47.67/hr.
- 75th Percentile: $111,500/yr. or $53.62/hr.
- 90th Percentile: $119,000/yr. or $57.20/hr.
Dental Hygienist Wages and Salaries by Regional District in California
A dental hygienist’s regional district of employment often impacts their salary and wage. The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics has compiled the following table to outline pay differentiations for dental hygienists according to geographic placement (2013):
Area name
Employment
Hourly mean wage
Annual mean wage
Hourly median wage
Hourly 75th percentile wage
Hourly 90th percentile wage
Annual median wage
Annual 75th percentile wage
Annual 90th percentile wage
Bakersfield-Delano CA
340
34.07
70870
35.03
45.16
52.26
72860
93920
108690
Chico CA
180
44.46
92480
42.51
45.59
60.55
88430
94830
125950
Fresno CA
430
38.09
79230
37.32
42.52
45.77
77630
88450
95210
Hanford-Corcoran CA
30
40.43
84090
47.33
52.99
56.39
98440
110210
117280
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale CA Metropolitan Division
5340
47.60
99010
50.01
54.85
57.96
104020
114100
120560
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana CA
7580
46.43
96580
49.51
54.41
57.39
102980
113180
119370
Madera-Chowchilla CA
40
40.15
83520
40.76
48.02
54.54
84790
99880
113440
Merced CA
90
36.93
76820
35.55
45.17
51.39
73950
93960
106890
Modesto CA
320
40.72
84690
40.78
47.01
65.58
84830
97790
136410
Oakland-Fremont-Hayward CA Metropolitan Division
1620
46.20
96090
48.60
53.67
56.71
101080
111620
117950
Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura CA
680
39.82
82810
47.07
53.10
56.65
97910
110450
117830
Redding CA
90
39.89
82970
40.96
44.33
48.50
85190
92200
100880
Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario CA
1570
42.92
89270
43.51
48.30
54.17
90490
100470
112670
Sacramento--Arden-Arcade--Roseville CA
2160
45.52
94670
48.03
53.15
56.22
99900
110550
116950
Salinas CA
Estimate not released
41.65
86620
46.84
54.52
61.15
97420
113390
127190
San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos CA
1550
42.97
89380
44.30
51.73
55.83
92150
107600
116140
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont CA
2940
49.83
103650
51.14
56.65
63.84
106370
117830
132790
San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City CA Metropolitan Division
1310
54.31
112970
54.96
62.09
68.15
114320
129140
141750
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara CA
1340
45.97
95630
48.97
54.07
57.13
101860
112470
118840
San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles CA
180
43.19
89840
43.06
47.53
53.59
89560
98850
111460
Santa Ana-Anaheim-Irvine CA Metropolitan Division
2240
43.65
90780
48.27
53.32
56.35
100390
110900
117200
Santa Barbara-Santa Maria-Goleta CA
140
43.12
89690
42.48
51.57
58.49
88360
107260
121660
Santa Cruz-Watsonville CA
300
49.06
102050
50.59
54.51
56.86
105220
113380
118270
Santa Rosa-Petaluma CA
300
49.13
102200
50.83
55.13
58.17
105720
114680
120990
Stockton CA
340
40.47
84180
41.40
45.12
51.99
86110
93860
108140
Vallejo-Fairfield CA
270
50.06
104130
51.40
55.39
57.82
106900
115210
120270
Visalia-Porterville CA
140
44
91510
44.31
50.94
55.66
92160
105950
115780
Yuba City CA
60
37.42
77830
40.26
47.97
53.97
83750
99780
112250
Mother Lode Region of California nonmetropolitan area
120
46.05
95790
46.29
51.95
55.52
96290
108060
115490
North Coast Region of California nonmetropolitan area
110
40.11
83430
40.30
45.49
59.67
83830
94610
124120
North Valley Region of California nonmetropolitan area
80
41.92
87190
42.41
48.86
54.34
88210
101620
113020
Northern Mountains Region of California nonmetropolitan area
270
34.71
72190
38.59
43.78
50.42
80270
91050
104870
