The field of dental assisting is growing throughout the country, and in Kentucky. The state’s Office of Employment and Training projects the number of dental assistant jobs will increase by 2.5% a year in the ten-year period ending 2020. This is more than twice as fast as the growth for all occupations in Kentucky.
More than half of the 190 dental assistant job openings each year will come from growth, while the rest will come from the replacement of dental assistants leaving the field.
The 2013 average dental assistant salary in Kentucky was $31,869. Entry-level professionals earned $24,796 a year on average while those with experience averaged $35,140.
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The average Kentucky dental assistant salary varied a great deal throughout the state’s workforce regions. The difference between the highest and lowest average salary was more than $10,000. The average salary and those for experienced dental assistants was highest in the Kentuckiana Works workforce region:
Kentucky Area
Entry-level
Average
Experienced
Barren River
$27855
$34230
$37417
Bluegrass
$26282
$31911
$34726
Cumberland
$18481
$25746
$29377
Green River
$24370
$27942
$29727
Kentuckiana Works
$27511
$35087
$38876
Lincoln Trail
$24514
$30905
$34100
Northern Kentucky
$24363
$30758
$33957
Western Kentucky
$24769
$31174
$34377
Dental assistant salaries did not vary a great deal between industries, although the average salary was highest for those who worked in public administration:
- Public administration (Code 92) – $33,773
- Health care and social assistance – $31,729
- Administrative and waste services – $29,877
- Educational services – $28,247
The US Department of Labor also provides a detailed analysis of 2013 dental assisting salary by percentile in metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas of Kentucky:
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
Bowling Green KY
110
14.46
30080
14.78
16.71
17.86
30750
34750
37150
Cincinnati-Middletown OH-KY-IN
1870
16.08
33440
15.81
18.36
21.56
32880
38190
44850
Clarksville TN-KY
360
15.45
32130
14.35
17.57
22.33
29860
36540
46450
Elizabethtown KY
140
14.17
29480
13.93
16.11
18.56
28980
33510
38610
Evansville IN-KY
290
17.22
35810
16.92
19.54
22.75
35180
40640
47310
Huntington-Ashland WV-KY-OH
170
14.45
30050
14.78
16.82
18.09
30740
34980
37630
Lexington-Fayette KY
770
15.76
32780
15.50
17.69
20.64
32230
36800
42930
Louisville-Jefferson County KY-IN
1400
16.76
34860
17.01
19.65
21.90
35390
40870
45550
Owensboro KY
90
14.30
29740
14.02
15.74
17.52
29170
32750
36440
West Kentucky nonmetropolitan area
300
14.73
30650
14.27
17.12
19.56
29680
35620
40690
South Central Kentucky nonmetropolitan area
390
12.71
26440
12.30
15.79
17.46
25590
32840
36330
West Central Kentucky nonmetropolitan area
330
13.73
28560
13.12
14.60
19.56
27290
30370
40680
East Kentucky nonmetropolitan area
180
12.62
26260
11.75
14.06
19.33
24440
29240
40210
