Dental Assistant Salary in Montana: What Dental Assistants Earn in 2026
25th percentile
$43,820
Median (50th)
$46,680
75th percentile
$49,920
National median
$48,070
BLS OEWS (SOC 31-9091), May 2025
What does a dental assistant make in Montana?
The median dental assistant in Montana earns $46,680 a year ($22.44 an hour), which is $1,390 below the national median of $48,070, and more than in nearby Idaho ($45,880) but less than in North Dakota ($57,770) and South Dakota ($47,900). The mean is $47,180.
That ranks 35th of the 49 states plus DC where BLS publishes a dental assistant median.
Entry-level vs top earners in Montana
The middle half of Montana dental assistants earn $43,820 to $49,920. The lowest-paid tenth earn under $37,340, $210 above the national 10th percentile. The top tenth earn over $57,900, $4,350 below the national 90th percentile.
How far the pay goes in Montana
The Bureau of Economic Analysis puts Montana's 2024 price level at 94.6 (U.S. = 100): prices overall run 5.4% below the national average, and housing (index 84.6) runs 15.4% below.
Converted to national average prices, the $46,680 median is worth about $49,320 — $1,250 above the national median of $48,070.
How many dental assistants work in Montana
BLS counts about 1,450 dental assistant jobs in Montana, 0.4% of the 387,790 nationwide, or 2.839 per 1,000 jobs in the state. Dental assistants hold a 14% larger share of local jobs than nationally (location quotient 1.14).
Dental Assistant Salary by City in Montana
Across the 5 Montana metro areas where BLS publishes a dental assistant median, pay runs from $46,360 in Great Falls to $49,160 in Bozeman, a spread of $2,800.
Who's hiring dental assistants in Montana now
DentistryHires has 7 open dental assistant listings in Montana from 7 employers, led by Billings and Bozeman (2 each).
5 post hourly pay, from $16 to $29 an hour. These are employers' posted ranges, not survey figures.
Dental Assistant Regulatory Context in Montana
Dental assistant practice in Montana is regulated by the Montana 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 Montana Compares
Other dental salaries in Montana
- Dentist salary in Montana: median $167,200, $120,520 above the dental assistant median
- Dental Hygienist salary in Montana: median $98,440, $51,760 above the dental assistant median
- Dental Lab Technician salary in Montana: median $47,560, $880 above the dental assistant median
- Orthodontist salary in Montana: median $312,840
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.