Washington is home to nearly 6,000 dental hygienists, as of 2012. There is expected to be a 23% increase in the number of dental hygienists by 2022, expanding the number to 7,270 total positions and 310 jobs opening every year. The large number of dental hygienists in the state brings up the employment density to 2.00 per 1,000 residents.
Percentile Breakdown of Hourly Wage and Salary Statistics
Washington is consistently above average concerning annual earnings for dental hygienists; the state ranks third behind only California and Washington D.C. Washington is also home to four of the top 10 highest paying metropolitan areas in the country.
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This table shows the comparison between the average annual wage and hourly wage for Washington and the rest of the country:
- 10th percentile (wage/salary higher than 10% of dental hygienists)
- Washington – $76,900 per year ($36.95 per hour)
- United States – $47,900 per year ($23.02 per hour)
- 25th percentile (wage/salary higher than 25% of dental hygienists)
- Washington – $82,800 per year ($39.79 per hour)
- United States – $59,600 per year ($28.66 per hour)
- 50th percentile (wage/salary higher than 50% of dental hygienists)
- Washington – $92,000 per year ($44.21 per hour)
- United States – $71,100 per year ($34.19 per hour)
- 75th percentile (wage/salary higher than 75% of dental hygienists)
- Washington – $105,700 per year ($50.84 per hour)
- United States – $85,300 per year ($41.02 per hour)
- 90th percentile (wage/salary higher than 90% of dental hygienists)
- Washington – $116,500 per year ($55.99 per hour)
- United States – $96,700 per year ($46.49 p4r hour)
The following metropolitan regions are ranked from 6-9, respectively, on the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ table of top paying metropolitan areas:
- Olympia
- Mount Vernon-Anacortes
- Seattle-Bellevue-Everett
- Longview
A more complete look at the salary and employment statistics for dental hygienists in Washington are provided by data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics: