Dental Assistant Salary in Louisiana: What Dental Assistants Earn in 2026
25th percentile
$36,590
Median (50th)
$44,090
75th percentile
$46,630
National median
$48,070
BLS OEWS (SOC 31-9091), May 2025
What does a dental assistant make in Louisiana?
The median dental assistant in Louisiana earns $44,090 a year ($21.20 an hour), which is $3,980 below the national median of $48,070, and more than in nearby Arkansas ($42,830) and Mississippi ($39,160) but less than in Texas ($45,430). The mean is $42,540.
That ranks 45th of the 49 states plus DC where BLS publishes a dental assistant median.
Entry-level vs top earners in Louisiana
The middle half of Louisiana dental assistants earn $36,590 to $46,630. The lowest-paid tenth earn under $31,050, $6,080 below the national 10th percentile. The top tenth earn over $49,640, $12,610 below the national 90th percentile.
How far the pay goes in Louisiana
The Bureau of Economic Analysis puts Louisiana's 2024 price level at 88.2 (U.S. = 100): prices overall run 11.8% below the national average, and housing (index 63.1) runs 36.9% below.
Converted to national average prices, the $44,090 median is worth about $49,980 — $1,910 above the national median of $48,070.
How many dental assistants work in Louisiana
BLS counts about 4,540 dental assistant jobs in Louisiana, 1.2% of the 387,790 nationwide, or 2.347 per 1,000 jobs in the state. Dental assistants hold a 6% smaller share of local jobs than nationally (location quotient 0.94).
Dental Assistant Salary by City in Louisiana
Across the 10 Louisiana metro areas where BLS publishes a dental assistant median, pay runs from $37,020 in Monroe to $45,950 in Hammond, a spread of $8,930.
All dental roles by metro: Baton Rouge · Lafayette · Lake Charles · Monroe · New Orleans · Shreveport · Slidell
Who's hiring dental assistants in Louisiana now
DentistryHires has 27 open dental assistant listings in Louisiana from 15 employers, the most of them in Baton Rouge (8).
15 post hourly pay, from $15 to $30 an hour. These are employers' posted ranges, not survey figures.
Dental Assistant Regulatory Context in Louisiana
Dental assistant practice in Louisiana is regulated by the Louisiana 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 Louisiana Compares
Other dental salaries in Louisiana
- Dentist salary in Louisiana: median $170,750, $126,660 above the dental assistant median
- Dental Hygienist salary in Louisiana: median $85,240, $41,150 above the dental assistant median
- Dental Lab Technician salary in Louisiana: median $38,490, $5,600 below 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.