Minnesota Dental Assistant Salary

The number of dental assistant jobs in Minnesota is expected to increase by 4.7% between 2012 and 2022 according to the state’s Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED).

The average Minnesota dental assistant salary in 2013 was the third highest in the country according to the Bureau of Labor of Statistics (BLS). Salaries were particularly high in the Rochester and Minneapolis-St. Paul areas, representing the sixth and ninth highest paying metropolitan areas in the country for dental assistants as of 2013.

The median 2014 dental assistant salary in Minnesota was $43,014 according to Minnesota’s DEED. Experienced professionals in the 90^th percentile earned $56,368 a year on average, while those in the 10^th percentile averaged $32,573.

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The median salaries in Minnesota’s metropolitan areas varied substantially. DEED salary information showed that 2013 salary trends reported by the BLS continued to hold true in 2014. Dental assistants in Rochester had the highest median salary among the major metropolitan areas in Minnesota, while those in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area are a close second:

• Duluth – $36,587
• Minneapolis-St. Paul – $44,013
• Rochester – $46,093
• Cloud – $40,768

Regional Job Growth for Minnesota Dental Assistants

Dental assistant job growth is expected to be especially high in central Minnesota. DEED projections suggest that the growth rate will be 23.5% there in the current decade. The number of jobs is also expected to increase significantly in the Seven County Minneapolis-St. Paul area. The growth rate in this area is projected to be 19.4%.

As of 2013, there were 5,210 dental assistants employed in Minnesota. The majority of them were located in the Seven County Minneapolis-St. Paul area. The remaining 43% were dispersed throughout the state. Fourteen percent were located in the central Minnesota area.

Regional Salary Data for Dental Assistants in Minnesota

The Bureau of Labor Statistics also provides a detailed analysis of 2013 dental assisting salary percentiles in metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas of Minnesota: