Dental Assistant Salary in New York: What Dental Assistants Earn in 2026
25th percentile
$44,730
Median (50th)
$48,110
75th percentile
$58,630
National median
$48,070
BLS OEWS (SOC 31-9091), May 2025
What does a dental assistant make in New York?
The median dental assistant in New York earns $48,110 a year ($23.13 an hour), which is $40 above the national median of $48,070, but less than in nearby Massachusetts ($57,980), Connecticut ($56,850) and Vermont ($52,760). The mean is $49,820.
That ranks 23rd of the 49 states plus DC where BLS publishes a dental assistant median.
Entry-level vs top earners in New York
The middle half of New York dental assistants earn $44,730 to $58,630. The lowest-paid tenth earn under $36,410, $720 below the national 10th percentile. The top tenth earn over $60,490, $1,760 below the national 90th percentile.
How far the pay goes in New York
The Bureau of Economic Analysis puts New York's 2024 price level at 107.9 (U.S. = 100): prices overall run 7.9% above the national average, and housing (index 122.2) runs 22.2% above.
Converted to national average prices, the $48,110 median is worth about $44,580 — $3,490 below the national median of $48,070.
How many dental assistants work in New York
BLS counts about 19,800 dental assistant jobs in New York, 5.1% of the 387,790 nationwide, or 2.043 per 1,000 jobs in the state. Dental assistants hold an 18% smaller share of local jobs than nationally (location quotient 0.82).
Dental Assistant Salary by City in New York
Across the 13 New York metro areas where BLS publishes a dental assistant median, pay runs from $43,010 in Watertown to $49,450 in Elmira, a spread of $6,440.
All dental roles by metro: Albany · Buffalo · Glens Falls · Kingston · Kiryas Joel · New York · Rochester · Syracuse
Who's hiring dental assistants in New York now
DentistryHires has 116 open dental assistant listings in New York from 79 employers, the most of them in New York City (11).
74 post hourly pay, from $16 to $35 an hour; 1 posts a salary from $42,000 to $46,000 a year. These are employers' posted ranges, not survey figures.
Dental Assistant Regulatory Context in New York
Dental assistant practice in New York is regulated by the New York State Board for 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 New York Compares
Other dental salaries in New York
- Dentist salary in New York: median $183,060, $134,950 above the dental assistant median
- Dental Hygienist salary in New York: median $106,130, $58,020 above the dental assistant median
- Dental Lab Technician salary in New York: median $52,460, $4,350 above the dental assistant median
- Orthodontist salary in New York: median $172,980
- Oral Surgeon salary in New York: median $342,710
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.