Dental Assistant Salary in Massachusetts: What Dental Assistants Earn in 2026
25th percentile
$48,600
Median (50th)
$57,980
75th percentile
$60,720
National median
$48,070
BLS OEWS (SOC 31-9091), May 2025
What does a dental assistant make in Massachusetts?
The median dental assistant in Massachusetts earns $57,980 a year ($27.88 an hour), which is $9,910 above the national median of $48,070, and more than in nearby Connecticut ($56,850) and Vermont ($52,760) but less than in New Hampshire ($59,530). The mean is $56,640.
That ranks 7th of the 49 states plus DC where BLS publishes a dental assistant median.
Entry-level vs top earners in Massachusetts
The middle half of Massachusetts dental assistants earn $48,600 to $60,720. The lowest-paid tenth earn under $47,270, $10,140 above the national 10th percentile. The top tenth earn over $72,790, $10,540 above the national 90th percentile.
How far the pay goes in Massachusetts
The Bureau of Economic Analysis puts Massachusetts's 2024 price level at 105.8 (U.S. = 100): prices overall run 5.8% above the national average, and housing (index 128.1) runs 28.1% above.
Converted to national average prices, the $57,980 median is worth about $54,820 — $6,750 above the national median of $48,070.
How many dental assistants work in Massachusetts
BLS counts about 9,680 dental assistant jobs in Massachusetts, 2.5% of the 387,790 nationwide, or 2.66 per 1,000 jobs in the state. Dental assistants hold a 7% larger share of local jobs than nationally (location quotient 1.07).
Dental Assistant Salary by City in Massachusetts
Across the 6 Massachusetts metro areas where BLS publishes a dental assistant median, pay runs from $49,690 in Springfield to $58,160 in Boston, a spread of $8,470.
All dental roles by metro: Amherst Town · Barnstable Town · Boston · Worcester
Who's hiring dental assistants in Massachusetts now
DentistryHires has 69 open dental assistant listings in Massachusetts from 57 employers, the most of them in Worcester (4).
54 post hourly pay, from $18 to $45 an hour. These are employers' posted ranges, not survey figures.
Dental Assistant Regulatory Context in Massachusetts
Dental assistant practice in Massachusetts is regulated by the Massachusetts Board of Registration in 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 Massachusetts Compares
Other dental salaries in Massachusetts
- Dentist salary in Massachusetts: median $181,600
- Dental Hygienist salary in Massachusetts: median $100,640, $42,660 above the dental assistant median
- Dental Lab Technician salary in Massachusetts: median $72,800, $14,820 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.