The Louisiana State Board of Dentistry licenses and regulars the 1,760 dental hygienists employed in The Pelican State. The salaries of dental hygienists are quite high when compared to other professions that only require an associate’s degree. It is an ideal career for persons who are interested in dentistry, care about people and have good interpersonal skills and manual dexterity.
According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) the field of dental hygiene will see job growth of 27 percent in the years leading up to 2018.
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An Analysis of Dental Hygienist Salaries in Louisiana
Dental hygienist salaries in Louisiana range from a low of around $35,000/year to over $80,000, depending on education, performance, experience, seniority and location. The BLS lists some specific statewide dental hygienist salaries as follows:
- Annual Mean Salary – $59,930
- Hourly Mean Wage – $28.81
- 10th Percentile Annual Salary – $35,090
- 25th Percentile Annual Salary – $43,880
- 10th Percentile Hourly Wage – $16.87
- 25th Percentile Hourly Wage – $21.10
The number of dental hygienists and their mean, 10th and 25th percentile salaries and wages in three nonmetropolitan areas of Louisiana are shown here:
The Louisiana Workforce Commission divides the state into eight regional labor market areas that each includes a different number of parishes.
According to the Louisiana Workforce Commission the number of dental hygienist jobs, annual salaries and hourly wage percentiles for the regional labor markets (RLMAs) are:
It is noted that the southern RLMs of New Orleans and Houma are adjacent to each other on Louisiana’s Gulf of Mexico coastline while the northern RLMAs of Shreveport and Monroe make up the state’s northern border with Arkansas.
The following table also illustrates salary differences in various Louisiana cities (BLS 2013):