Dental hygienist hourly rate by percentile
A dental hygienist’s hourly rate depends mostly on where they work: the national range from the 10th to the 90th percentile is $36.00 to $60.60.[oews_hyg] BLS reports hourly wages for hygienists and derives the annual figure by multiplying by 2,080 hours (40 hours × 52 weeks).[oews_tech] That is why a part-time hygienist’s real yearly pay is lower than the annual numbers on our dental hygienist salary page.
| Percentile | Hourly | 24 h/week | 32 h/week | 40 h/week |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10th | $36.00 | $44,928 | $59,904 | $74,880 |
| 25th | $40.18 | $50,142 | $66,856 | $83,570 |
| 50th (median) | $47.16 | $58,860 | $78,480 | $98,100 |
| 75th | $52.15 | $65,088 | $86,784 | $108,480 |
| 90th | $60.60 | $75,630 | $100,840 | $126,050 |
Part time dental hygienist pay
A part-time dental hygienist working three days a week (24 hours) at the median rate earns about $58,856 a year; at four days (32 hours) it is about $78,474. Hygiene schedules are built around patient appointments, so many hygienists work fewer than 40 hours at one office or split the week between two practices. The calculator above uses your actual hours, which gives a truer yearly and take-home number than the BLS annual figure.
- Hours per day: count paid hours only. An 8-hour day with an unpaid 30-minute lunch is 7.5 paid hours.
- Weeks per year: the calculator assumes 52 paid weeks. If your vacation is unpaid, multiply by the weeks you actually work instead.
- Two offices: add both schedules’ hours if the rate is the same, or run the calculator twice and add the results.
Dental hygienist hourly pay by state
Hourly rates track the annual figures: Washington, DC, Alaska and Washington pay the most per hour, while Alabama and Mississippi pay the least.[oews_hyg] The table converts each state’s May 2025 annual percentiles to hourly rates the same way BLS does (÷ 2,080).
| State | Median | 10th pct. | 90th pct. | Median at 32 h/week |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. District of Columbia | $65.97 | $41.40 | $74.92 | $109,776 |
| 2. Alaska | $63.79 | $29.13 | $66.75 | $106,152 |
| 3. Washington | $63.06 | $51.49 | $77.91 | $104,928 |
| 4. California | $60.06 | $49.08 | $73.04 | $99,944 |
| 5. Oregon | $58.69 | $50.25 | $64.48 | $97,664 |
| 6. Nevada | $55.43 | $47.98 | $62.24 | $92,232 |
| 7. Colorado | $52.68 | $46.00 | $61.97 | $87,664 |
| 8. Maryland | $51.84 | $41.08 | $59.01 | $86,264 |
| 9. New Jersey | $51.46 | $45.32 | $56.60 | $85,632 |
| 10. New York | $51.02 | $37.35 | $60.88 | $84,904 |
| 11. Minnesota | $49.99 | $39.48 | $57.82 | $83,176 |
| 12. Virginia | $49.50 | $41.70 | $60.37 | $82,360 |
| 13. New Hampshire | $48.68 | $41.54 | $59.13 | $81,000 |
| 14. Arizona | $48.56 | $43.98 | $58.61 | $80,808 |
| 15. Connecticut | $48.41 | $41.92 | $50.97 | $80,552 |
| 16. Massachusetts | $48.38 | $44.96 | $56.43 | $80,512 |
| 17. Texas | $47.71 | $34.39 | $56.68 | $79,392 |
| 18. Delaware | $47.55 | $44.99 | $54.30 | $79,128 |
| 19. Montana | $47.33 | $39.93 | $50.38 | $78,752 |
| 20. North Carolina | $47.04 | $37.15 | $49.93 | $78,280 |
| 21. Maine | $46.96 | $40.11 | $52.25 | $78,144 |
| 22. Oklahoma | $46.91 | $39.08 | $57.58 | $78,064 |
| 23. Hawaii | $46.91 | $37.88 | $50.00 | $78,056 |
| 24. Vermont | $46.86 | $38.95 | $52.89 | $77,976 |
| 25. Illinois | $46.48 | $35.71 | $56.93 | $77,336 |
| 26. Wisconsin | $46.41 | $38.64 | $53.00 | $77,232 |
| 27. New Mexico | $46.13 | $39.51 | $50.69 | $76,752 |
| 28. Georgia | $45.91 | $35.87 | $49.83 | $76,392 |
| 29. Idaho | $45.50 | $41.16 | $49.68 | $75,720 |
| 30. Missouri | $44.59 | $28.79 | $47.79 | $74,200 |
| 31. Nebraska | $44.51 | $32.50 | $47.15 | $74,064 |
| 32. Indiana | $44.39 | $36.04 | $49.17 | $73,864 |
| 33. South Dakota | $44.33 | $35.33 | $47.25 | $73,768 |
| 34. Florida | $44.22 | $36.52 | $47.62 | $73,584 |
| 35. Utah | $43.81 | $37.90 | $47.87 | $72,896 |
| 36. North Dakota | $43.52 | $39.85 | $47.37 | $72,424 |
| 37. Ohio | $42.78 | $36.66 | $49.50 | $71,192 |
| 38. Rhode Island | $41.78 | $40.29 | $48.33 | $69,528 |
| 39. Arkansas | $41.71 | $29.89 | $46.99 | $69,408 |
| 40. Louisiana | $40.98 | $23.99 | $47.27 | $68,192 |
| 41. Wyoming | $40.93 | $29.34 | $47.76 | $68,104 |
| 42. Tennessee | $40.69 | $36.63 | $47.26 | $67,712 |
| 43. South Carolina | $40.55 | $31.59 | $46.74 | $67,472 |
| 44. Iowa | $40.39 | $37.65 | $46.06 | $67,208 |
| 45. Michigan | $40.28 | $37.13 | $46.62 | $67,032 |
| 46. Pennsylvania | $38.75 | $30.35 | $49.78 | $64,488 |
| 47. Kentucky | $37.90 | $29.46 | $47.49 | $63,064 |
| 48. West Virginia | $35.50 | $28.82 | $40.11 | $59,072 |
| 49. Mississippi | $32.35 | $28.27 | $40.06 | $53,824 |
| 50. Alabama | $29.40 | $23.54 | $34.81 | $48,928 |
Kansas: no May 2025 estimate published.
Hourly vs salaried hygienists
Offers for hygienists come in several forms: an hourly rate, a daily rate, an annual salary, or a base plus a production bonus. To compare a daily rate with an hourly one, divide it by the paid hours in the day: $400 for an 8-hour day is $50 an hour. To compare an hourly offer with a salary, multiply the rate by your weekly hours and by 52, then check what the salary assumes about hours and paid holidays.
Benefits matter as much as the rate. A slightly lower hourly rate with paid time off, a 401(k) match and health insurance can be worth more than a higher per-diem rate with none. For the full picture of what hygienists earn and how it compares with dental assistant salary figures, see the hygienist vs assistant comparison.
Frequently asked questions
How much do dental hygienists make an hour?
$47.16 at the national median and $47.59 on average (BLS, May 2025).
How much does a dental hygienist make an hour in California?
The California median is $60.06 an hour. See the California page for percentiles and license rules.
How do I turn an hourly rate into a yearly salary?
Multiply the rate by the hours you work each week and by 52. At $45 an hour and 32 hours a week that is $74,880 a year.
Is $50 an hour good for a dental hygienist?
Nationally, $50 an hour is above the median of $47.16, about the 64th percentile. Whether it is good locally depends on your state: enter it in the calculator with your state selected to see where it falls.