physician · SOC 29-1021
Dentists, General
National median $170,950 / yr · 124,390 jobs nationally. Same job, very different outcomes by state — see the WageBench Score below.
National median
$170,950
BLS OEWS
Top state by Score
ND
Score 78 · North Dakota
Top-paying metro
North Port
$241,850 median
Top WageBench Score
78
North Dakota
Top 10 destinations
Same job. Wildly different outcomes by metro. Click any column to re-sort.
| Rank | Area | Annual Median | Take-Home | State Tax | COL Index | NLC | WageBench Score ↓ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | North Dakota | $220,660 | $216,247 | 2.0% | 89 | ✓ | 78 |
| #2 | Memphis, TN-MS-AR | $238,040 | $238,040 | 0.0% | — | ✓ | 76 |
| #3 | Tennessee | $215,290 | $215,290 | 0.0% | 92 | ✓ | 76 |
| #4 | North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota, FL | $241,850 | $241,850 | 0.0% | — | ✓ | 75 |
| #5 | Missouri | $204,960 | $195,737 | 4.5% | 91 | ✓ | 75 |
| #6 | Raleigh-Cary, NC | $207,380 | $198,566 | 4.3% | — | ✓ | 74 |
| #7 | Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN | $215,290 | $215,290 | 0.0% | — | ✓ | 74 |
| #8 | Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL | $212,300 | $212,300 | 0.0% | — | ✓ | 74 |
| #9 | Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA | $222,690 | $210,665 | 5.4% | — | ✓ | 74 |
| #10 | North Carolina | $207,000 | $198,203 | 4.3% | 94 | ✓ | 74 |
National wage distribution
How pay spreads across the workforce — from the 10th percentile (entry / low-COL settings) to the 90th (highest-paying environments).
P10
$86,250
P25
$125,710
MEDIAN
$170,950
P75
$224,040
P90
$319,630
Hourly mean
$92
Hourly median
$82
Annual mean
$191,350
Total US jobs
124,390
Every state & metro, ranked
Filter by state, set a minimum WageBench Score, or restrict to Nurse Licensure Compact members. 473 scored areas total.
473 areas · page 1 of 19
| Area | State | Median | Take-Home | State Tax | COL Index | NLC | HPSA | WageBench Score ↓ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Dakota | ND | $220,660 | $216,247 | 2.0% | 89 | ✓ | 23 | 78 |
| Memphis, TN-MS-AR | TN | $238,040 | $238,040 | 0.0% | — | ✓ | 23 | 76 |
| Tennessee | TN | $215,290 | $215,290 | 0.0% | 92 | ✓ | 23 | 76 |
| North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota, FL | FL | $241,850 | $241,850 | 0.0% | — | ✓ | 24 | 75 |
| Missouri | MO | $204,960 | $195,737 | 4.5% | 91 | ✓ | 24 | 75 |
| Raleigh-Cary, NC | NC | $207,380 | $198,566 | 4.3% | — | ✓ | 24 | 74 |
| Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN | TN | $215,290 | $215,290 | 0.0% | — | ✓ | 23 | 74 |
| Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL | FL | $212,300 | $212,300 | 0.0% | — | ✓ | 24 | 74 |
| Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA | GA | $222,690 | $210,665 | 5.4% | — | ✓ | 24 | 74 |
| North Carolina | NC | $207,000 | $198,203 | 4.3% | 94 | ✓ | 24 | 74 |
| St. Louis, MO-IL | MO | $210,430 | $200,961 | 4.5% | — | ✓ | 24 | 73 |
| Georgia | GA | $206,760 | $195,595 | 5.4% | 96 | ✓ | 24 | 73 |
| Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN | OH | $206,100 | $199,917 | 3.0% | — | ✓ | 23 | 73 |
| Arkansas | AR | $178,930 | $172,667 | 3.5% | 87 | ✓ | 24 | 72 |
| Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX | TX | $188,190 | $188,190 | 0.0% | — | ✓ | 23 | 72 |
| Wisconsin | WI | $193,690 | $183,424 | 5.3% | 94 | ✓ | 21 | 71 |
| Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC | NC | $189,220 | $181,178 | 4.3% | — | ✓ | 24 | 71 |
| Maine | ME | $209,200 | $197,066 | 5.8% | 97 | ✓ | 19 | 71 |
| Iowa | IA | $181,520 | $174,622 | 3.8% | 88 | ✓ | 21 | 71 |
| Arizona | AZ | $194,180 | $189,326 | 2.5% | 101 | ✓ | 21 | 70 |
| Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL | FL | $172,210 | $172,210 | 0.0% | — | ✓ | 24 | 70 |
| Nebraska | NE | $179,750 | $171,122 | 4.8% | 90 | ✓ | 20 | 70 |
| Ohio | OH | $167,410 | $162,388 | 3.0% | 93 | ✓ | 23 | 70 |
| Virginia | VA | $197,110 | $186,860 | 5.2% | 101 | ✓ | 21 | 70 |
| Louisiana | LA | $170,750 | $165,628 | 3.0% | 88 | ✓ | 23 | 70 |
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Not published by BLS (4) — BLS suppresses wage estimates where employment is too low to disclose. These states likely still employ this occupation; there's just no public wage to rank: Alabama, Delaware, Kansas, District of Columbia.
Employer benchmark
Download the full national benchmark (PDF)
National percentile wages, 51-state ranking by WageBench Score, top-25 metros, and methodology footer — formatted for HR / compensation review.
WageBench Score blends pay, taxes, COL, demand, license access and livability into one 0-100 number.
How we calculate it →