Dental Assistant Salary in Oregon: What Dental Assistants Earn in 2026
25th percentile
$56,600
Median (50th)
$59,490
75th percentile
$63,520
National median
$48,070
BLS OEWS (SOC 31-9091), May 2025
What does a dental assistant make in Oregon?
The median dental assistant in Oregon earns $59,490 a year ($28.60 an hour), which is $11,420 above the national median of $48,070, and more than in nearby Washington ($58,090), California ($50,110) and Nevada ($47,110). The mean is $60,110.
That ranks 5th of the 49 states plus DC where BLS publishes a dental assistant median.
Entry-level vs top earners in Oregon
The middle half of Oregon dental assistants earn $56,600 to $63,520. The lowest-paid tenth earn under $49,010, $11,880 above the national 10th percentile. The top tenth earn over $75,570, $13,320 above the national 90th percentile.
How far the pay goes in Oregon
The Bureau of Economic Analysis puts Oregon's 2024 price level at 103.4 (U.S. = 100): prices overall run 3.4% above the national average, and housing (index 108.6) runs 8.6% above.
Converted to national average prices, the $59,490 median is worth about $57,560 — $9,490 above the national median of $48,070.
How many dental assistants work in Oregon
BLS counts about 5,930 dental assistant jobs in Oregon, 1.5% of the 387,790 nationwide, or 3.012 per 1,000 jobs in the state. Dental assistants hold a 21% larger share of local jobs than nationally (location quotient 1.21).
Dental Assistant Salary by City in Oregon
Across the 8 Oregon metro areas where BLS publishes a dental assistant median, pay runs from $57,080 in Corvallis to $59,890 in Portland, a spread of $2,810.
All dental roles by metro: Corvallis · Grants Pass · Medford · Salem
Who's hiring dental assistants in Oregon now
DentistryHires has 57 open dental assistant listings in Oregon from 24 employers, the most of them in Portland (17).
35 post hourly pay, from $18 to $36 an hour. These are employers' posted ranges, not survey figures.
Dental Assistant Regulatory Context in Oregon
Dental assistant practice in Oregon is regulated by the Oregon 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 Oregon Compares
Other dental salaries in Oregon
- Dentist salary in Oregon: median $211,690, $152,200 above the dental assistant median
- Dental Hygienist salary in Oregon: median $122,080, $62,590 above the dental assistant median
- Dental Lab Technician salary in Oregon: median $48,800, $10,690 below 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.