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:
Louisiana Area
Employed
Annual/Hourly Mean
10th Percentile
25th Percentile
Natchitoches
40
$47520/$22.85
$27660/$13.30
$33460/$16.09
Winnsboro
110
$55340/$26.60
$40320/$19.38
$43540/$20.93
New Iberia
110
$59760/$28.43
$27750/$13.34
$46170/$22.20
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:
Louisiana Area
Employed
Annual/Hourly Mean
25th Percentile
50th Percentile
75th Percentile
Houma
80
$60707/$29.19
$25.27
$28.63
$33.76
New Orleans
560
$67166/$32.29
$25.48
$33.29
$39.67
Lafayette
270
$52977/$25.47
$17.48
$24.72
$32.69
Baton Rouge
280
$60114/$28.90
$20.79
$30.90
$34.91
Lake Charles
NA
$66019/$31.74
$30.74
$32.84
$34.95
Shreveport
230
$55932/$26.89
$19.55
$30.34
$33.60
Alexandria
80
$52872/$25.42
$22.98
$26.14
$29.49
Monroe
110
$45275/$21.77
$16.56
$19.10
$26.37
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):
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
Alexandria LA
40
24.92
51840
25.37
27.12
28.29
52770
56400
58840
Baton Rouge LA
260
28.56
59400
30.86
34.69
38.95
64180
72150
81020
Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux LA
80
29.19
60710
28.63
33.77
38.99
59560
70230
81090
Lafayette LA
190
24.38
50710
22.51
31.73
35.53
46820
66000
73900
Lake Charles LA
Estimate not released
31.70
65930
32.82
34.88
36.12
68270
72560
75130
Monroe LA
80
21.14
43960
17.65
26.06
33.46
36710
54200
69600
New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner LA
540
32.30
67190
33.40
39.93
44.34
69460
83060
92220
Shreveport-Bossier City LA
160
27.25
56690
30.91
33.85
35.61
64290
70400
74070
Natchitoches nonmetropolitan area
40
22.85
47520
21.52
30.42
34.15
44760
63270
71030
Winnsboro nonmetropolitan area
110
26.60
55340
26.19
32.75
35.43
54470
68120
73680
New Iberia nonmetropolitan area
110
28.73
59760
28.84
38.17
43.26
59980
79390
89980
