Dental Assistant Salary in Minnesota: What Dental Assistants Earn in 2026
25th percentile
$59,940
Median (50th)
$65,270
75th percentile
$74,410
National median
$48,070
BLS OEWS (SOC 31-9091), May 2025
What does a dental assistant make in Minnesota?
The median dental assistant in Minnesota earns $65,270 a year ($31.38 an hour), which is $17,200 above the national median of $48,070, and more than in nearby North Dakota ($57,770), Iowa ($48,430) and South Dakota ($47,900). The mean is $64,740.
That ranks 1st of the 49 states plus DC where BLS publishes a dental assistant median.
Entry-level vs top earners in Minnesota
The middle half of Minnesota dental assistants earn $59,940 to $74,410. The lowest-paid tenth earn under $46,960, $9,830 above the national 10th percentile. The top tenth earn over $76,110, $13,860 above the national 90th percentile.
How far the pay goes in Minnesota
The Bureau of Economic Analysis puts Minnesota's 2024 price level at 98.6 (U.S. = 100): prices overall run 1.4% below the national average, and housing (index 91.3) runs 8.7% below.
Converted to national average prices, the $65,270 median is worth about $66,180 — $18,110 above the national median of $48,070.
How many dental assistants work in Minnesota
BLS counts about 5,980 dental assistant jobs in Minnesota, 1.5% of the 387,790 nationwide, or 2.026 per 1,000 jobs in the state. Dental assistants hold a 19% smaller share of local jobs than nationally (location quotient 0.81).
Dental Assistant Salary by City in Minnesota
Across the 5 Minnesota metro areas where BLS publishes a dental assistant median, pay runs from $59,390 in Duluth to $72,370 in Minneapolis, a spread of $12,980.
All dental roles by metro: Duluth · Mankato · Minneapolis · St. Cloud
Who's hiring dental assistants in Minnesota now
DentistryHires has 64 open dental assistant listings in Minnesota from 26 employers, the most of them in Saint Paul (5).
56 post hourly pay, from $16 to $40 an hour. These are employers' posted ranges, not survey figures.
Dental Assistant Regulatory Context in Minnesota
Dental assistant practice in Minnesota is regulated by the Minnesota 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 Minnesota Compares
Other dental salaries in Minnesota
- Dentist salary in Minnesota: median $219,200, $153,930 above the dental assistant median
- Dental Hygienist salary in Minnesota: median $103,970, $38,700 above the dental assistant median
- Dental Lab Technician salary in Minnesota: median $56,090, $9,180 below the dental assistant median
- Oral Surgeon salary in Minnesota: median $475,250
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.