Dental Assistant Salary in Delaware: What Dental Assistants Earn in 2026
25th percentile
$43,480
Median (50th)
$47,600
75th percentile
$55,650
National median
$48,070
BLS OEWS (SOC 31-9091), May 2025
What does a dental assistant make in Delaware?
The median dental assistant in Delaware earns $47,600 a year ($22.89 an hour), which is $470 below the national median of $48,070, but less than in nearby New Jersey ($49,390), Maryland ($48,620) and Pennsylvania ($47,930). The mean is $47,520.
That ranks 29th of the 49 states plus DC where BLS publishes a dental assistant median.
Entry-level vs top earners in Delaware
The middle half of Delaware dental assistants earn $43,480 to $55,650. The lowest-paid tenth earn under $36,410, $720 below the national 10th percentile. The top tenth earn over $56,840, $5,410 below the national 90th percentile.
How far the pay goes in Delaware
The Bureau of Economic Analysis puts Delaware's 2024 price level at 99.8 (U.S. = 100): prices overall run 0.2% below the national average, and housing (index 102.0) runs 2.0% above.
Converted to national average prices, the $47,600 median is worth about $47,690 — $380 below the national median of $48,070.
How many dental assistants work in Delaware
BLS counts about 990 dental assistant jobs in Delaware, 0.3% of the 387,790 nationwide, or 2.037 per 1,000 jobs in the state. Dental assistants hold an 18% smaller share of local jobs than nationally (location quotient 0.82).
Dental Assistant Salary by City in Delaware
Who's hiring dental assistants in Delaware now
DentistryHires has 8 open dental assistant listings in Delaware from 7 employers, the most of them in Wilmington (5).
4 post hourly pay, from $15 to $33 an hour. These are employers' posted ranges, not survey figures.
Dental Assistant Regulatory Context in Delaware
Dental assistant practice in Delaware is regulated by the Board of Dentistry and Dental Hygiene.
Scope of practice — what a dental assistant may do, and under what level of supervision — is set by state law and changes over time, so verify current rules with the board before relying on them.
How Delaware Compares
Other dental salaries in Delaware
- Dental Hygienist salary in Delaware: median $98,910, $51,310 above the dental assistant median
- Dental Lab Technician salary in Delaware: median $38,500
Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 (state and national estimates, all industries); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024. Price-adjusted pay divides the median by the price level. Listing counts and posted pay are live DentistryHires listings, refreshed hourly. A dash means BLS did not publish that figure; nothing is estimated.