Dental Assistant Salary in North Carolina: What Dental Assistants Earn in 2026
25th percentile
$47,680
Median (50th)
$50,380
75th percentile
$57,720
National median
$48,070
BLS OEWS (SOC 31-9091), May 2025
What does a dental assistant make in North Carolina?
The median dental assistant in North Carolina earns $50,380 a year ($24.22 an hour), which is $2,310 above the national median of $48,070, and more than in nearby South Carolina ($47,320), Georgia ($46,840) and Tennessee ($46,720). The mean is $51,510.
That ranks 12th of the 49 states plus DC where BLS publishes a dental assistant median.
Entry-level vs top earners in North Carolina
The middle half of North Carolina dental assistants earn $47,680 to $57,720. The lowest-paid tenth earn under $38,240, $1,110 above the national 10th percentile. The top tenth earn over $60,200, $2,050 below the national 90th percentile.
How far the pay goes in North Carolina
The Bureau of Economic Analysis puts North Carolina's 2024 price level at 94.3 (U.S. = 100): prices overall run 5.7% below the national average, and housing (index 81.4) runs 18.6% below.
Converted to national average prices, the $50,380 median is worth about $53,410 — $5,340 above the national median of $48,070.
How many dental assistants work in North Carolina
BLS counts about 11,450 dental assistant jobs in North Carolina, 3.0% of the 387,790 nationwide, or 2.317 per 1,000 jobs in the state. Dental assistants hold a 7% smaller share of local jobs than nationally (location quotient 0.93).
Dental Assistant Salary by City in North Carolina
Across the 14 North Carolina metro areas where BLS publishes a dental assistant median, pay runs from $47,970 in Jacksonville to $58,750 in Raleigh, a spread of $10,780.
All dental roles by metro: Asheville · Burlington · Charlotte · Durham · Fayetteville · Greensboro · Greenville · Hickory · Raleigh · Rocky Mount · Winston
Who's hiring dental assistants in North Carolina now
DentistryHires has 116 open dental assistant listings in North Carolina from 46 employers, the most of them in Charlotte (16).
42 post hourly pay, from $15 to $35 an hour; 2 post a salary from $45,258 to $61,643 a year. These are employers' posted ranges, not survey figures.
Dental Assistant Regulatory Context in North Carolina
Dental assistant practice in North Carolina is regulated by the North Carolina State Board of Dental Examiners.
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 North Carolina Compares
Other dental salaries in North Carolina
- Dentist salary in North Carolina: median $207,000, $156,620 above the dental assistant median
- Dental Hygienist salary in North Carolina: median $97,850, $47,470 above the dental assistant median
- Dental Lab Technician salary in North Carolina: median $49,700, $680 below the dental assistant median
- Orthodontist salary in North Carolina: median $224,990
- Oral Surgeon salary in North Carolina: median $224,040
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.