Dental Assistant Salary in Indiana: What Dental Assistants Earn in 2026
25th percentile
$45,860
Median (50th)
$48,670
75th percentile
$57,720
National median
$48,070
BLS OEWS (SOC 31-9091), May 2025
What does a dental assistant make in Indiana?
The median dental assistant in Indiana earns $48,670 a year ($23.40 an hour), which is $600 above the national median of $48,070, and more than in nearby Illinois ($48,610) and Ohio ($47,970) but less than in Michigan ($48,820). The mean is $50,480.
That ranks 18th of the 49 states plus DC where BLS publishes a dental assistant median.
Entry-level vs top earners in Indiana
The middle half of Indiana dental assistants earn $45,860 to $57,720. The lowest-paid tenth earn under $36,880, $250 below the national 10th percentile. The top tenth earn over $60,590, $1,660 below the national 90th percentile.
How far the pay goes in Indiana
The Bureau of Economic Analysis puts Indiana's 2024 price level at 93.3 (U.S. = 100): prices overall run 6.7% below the national average, and housing (index 73.9) runs 26.1% below.
Converted to national average prices, the $48,670 median is worth about $52,150 — $4,080 above the national median of $48,070.
How many dental assistants work in Indiana
BLS counts about 6,690 dental assistant jobs in Indiana, 1.7% of the 387,790 nationwide, or 2.089 per 1,000 jobs in the state. Dental assistants hold a 16% smaller share of local jobs than nationally (location quotient 0.84).
Dental Assistant Salary by City in Indiana
Across the 12 Indiana metro areas where BLS publishes a dental assistant median, pay runs from $45,500 in Muncie to $52,830 in Elkhart, a spread of $7,330.
All dental roles by metro: Elkhart · Evansville · Fort Wayne · Indianapolis · Kokomo · Muncie · South Bend
Who's hiring dental assistants in Indiana now
DentistryHires has 71 open dental assistant listings in Indiana from 40 employers, the most of them in Indianapolis (17).
24 post hourly pay, from $15 to $38 an hour. These are employers' posted ranges, not survey figures.
Dental Assistant Regulatory Context in Indiana
Dental assistant practice in Indiana is regulated by the Indiana State Board of Dentistry.
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 Indiana Compares
Other dental salaries in Indiana
- Dentist salary in Indiana: median $166,650, $117,980 above the dental assistant median
- Dental Hygienist salary in Indiana: median $92,330, $43,660 above the dental assistant median
- Dental Lab Technician salary in Indiana: median $49,920, $1,250 above the dental assistant median
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.