physician · SOC 29-1023
Orthodontists
National median $289,140 / yr · 6,210 jobs nationally. Same job, very different outcomes by state — see the WageBench Score below.
National median
$289,140
BLS OEWS
Top state by Score
CT
Score 77 · Connecticut
Top-paying metro
Nashville
$361,650 median
Top WageBench Score
77
Connecticut
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 | Connecticut | $478,680 | $454,746 | 5.0% | 104 | ✓ | 77 |
| #2 | Colorado | $416,000 | $397,696 | 4.4% | 103 | ✓ | 76 |
| #3 | Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN | $361,650 | $361,650 | 0.0% | — | ✓ | 74 |
| #4 | Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD | $361,040 | $342,988 | 5.0% | — | ✓ | 74 |
| #5 | Missouri | $332,630 | $317,662 | 4.5% | 91 | ✓ | 74 |
| #6 | Tennessee | $339,610 | $339,610 | 0.0% | 92 | ✓ | 74 |
| #7 | Maryland | $361,030 | $342,979 | 5.0% | 105 | ✓ | 72 |
| #8 | South Carolina | $311,450 | $294,320 | 5.5% | 94 | ✓ | 71 |
| #9 | Pennsylvania | $311,180 | $301,627 | 3.1% | 98 | ✓ | 70 |
| #10 | Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD | $311,180 | $301,627 | 3.1% | — | ✓ | 70 |
National wage distribution
How pay spreads across the workforce — from the 10th percentile (entry / low-COL settings) to the 90th (highest-paying environments).
P10
$99,850
P25
$146,580
MEDIAN
$289,140
P75
$342,300
P90
$416,000
Hourly mean
$125
Hourly median
$139
Annual mean
$259,400
Total US jobs
6,210
Every state & metro, ranked
Filter by state, set a minimum WageBench Score, or restrict to Nurse Licensure Compact members. 30 scored areas total.
30 areas · page 1 of 2
| Area | State | Median | Take-Home | State Tax | COL Index | NLC | HPSA | WageBench Score ↓ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Connecticut | CT | $478,680 | $454,746 | 5.0% | 104 | ✓ | 21 | 77 |
| Colorado | CO | $416,000 | $397,696 | 4.4% | 103 | ✓ | 22 | 76 |
| Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN | TN | $361,650 | $361,650 | 0.0% | — | ✓ | 23 | 74 |
| Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD | MD | $361,040 | $342,988 | 5.0% | — | ✓ | 24 | 74 |
| Missouri | MO | $332,630 | $317,662 | 4.5% | 91 | ✓ | 24 | 74 |
| Tennessee | TN | $339,610 | $339,610 | 0.0% | 92 | ✓ | 23 | 74 |
| Maryland | MD | $361,030 | $342,979 | 5.0% | 105 | ✓ | 24 | 72 |
| South Carolina | SC | $311,450 | $294,320 | 5.5% | 94 | ✓ | 24 | 71 |
| Pennsylvania | PA | $311,180 | $301,627 | 3.1% | 98 | ✓ | 21 | 70 |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD | PA | $311,180 | $301,627 | 3.1% | — | ✓ | 21 | 70 |
| Montana | MT | $312,840 | $296,572 | 5.2% | 95 | ✓ | 22 | 70 |
| Maine | ME | $301,250 | $283,778 | 5.8% | 97 | ✓ | 19 | 68 |
| Washington | WA | $290,430 | $290,430 | 0.0% | 107 | ✓ | 21 | 68 |
| Alabama | AL | $253,670 | $243,523 | 4.0% | 89 | ✓ | 24 | 68 |
| Michigan | MI | $357,090 | $341,914 | 4.3% | 96 | — | 24 | 67 |
| Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ | AZ | $272,330 | $265,522 | 2.5% | — | ✓ | 21 | 66 |
| Arizona | AZ | $272,330 | $265,522 | 2.5% | 101 | ✓ | 21 | 66 |
| Ohio | OH | $219,300 | $212,721 | 3.0% | 93 | ✓ | 23 | 65 |
| Illinois | IL | $343,100 | $326,117 | 5.0% | 100 | — | 23 | 65 |
| North Carolina | NC | $224,990 | $215,428 | 4.3% | 94 | ✓ | 24 | 65 |
| Wisconsin | WI | $212,860 | $201,578 | 5.3% | 94 | ✓ | 21 | 63 |
| Georgia | GA | $159,230 | $150,632 | 5.4% | 96 | ✓ | 24 | 60 |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ | NY | $281,850 | $264,375 | 6.2% | — | — | 22 | 60 |
| Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA | GA | $159,230 | $150,632 | 5.4% | — | ✓ | 24 | 60 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | DC | $248,110 | $231,983 | 6.5% | — | — | 22 | 59 |
1 / 2
Not published by BLS (32) — 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: Alaska, Arkansas, California, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, Wyoming, 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 →