Dental Assistant Salary in Washington: What Dental Assistants Earn in 2026
25th percentile
$48,780
Median (50th)
$58,090
75th percentile
$62,340
National median
$48,070
BLS OEWS (SOC 31-9091), May 2025
What does a dental assistant make in Washington?
The median dental assistant in Washington earns $58,090 a year ($27.93 an hour), which is $10,020 above the national median of $48,070, and more than in nearby Idaho ($45,880) but less than in Oregon ($59,490). The mean is $56,680.
That ranks 6th of the 49 states plus DC where BLS publishes a dental assistant median.
Entry-level vs top earners in Washington
The middle half of Washington dental assistants earn $48,780 to $62,340. The lowest-paid tenth earn under $46,280, $9,150 above the national 10th percentile. The top tenth earn over $68,230, $5,980 above the national 90th percentile.
How far the pay goes in Washington
The Bureau of Economic Analysis puts Washington's 2024 price level at 107.0 (U.S. = 100): prices overall run 7.0% above the national average, and housing (index 126.0) runs 26.0% above.
Converted to national average prices, the $58,090 median is worth about $54,280 — $6,210 above the national median of $48,070.
How many dental assistants work in Washington
BLS counts about 13,050 dental assistant jobs in Washington, 3.4% of the 387,790 nationwide, or 3.676 per 1,000 jobs in the state. Dental assistants hold a 47% larger share of local jobs than nationally (location quotient 1.47).
Dental Assistant Salary by City in Washington
Across the 11 Washington metro areas where BLS publishes a dental assistant median, pay runs from $46,670 in Yakima to $62,040 in Seattle, a spread of $15,370.
All dental roles by metro: Bremerton · Kennewick · Longview · Mount Vernon · Olympia · Seattle · Spokane
Who's hiring dental assistants in Washington now
DentistryHires has 128 open dental assistant listings in Washington from 58 employers, the most of them in Seattle (23).
91 post hourly pay, from $16 to $45 an hour; 1 posts a salary from $54,940 to $71,421 a year. These are employers' posted ranges, not survey figures.
Dental Assistant Regulatory Context in Washington
Dental assistant practice in Washington is regulated by the Dental Quality Assurance Commission.
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 Washington Compares
Other dental salaries in Washington
- Dentist salary in Washington: median $169,730, $111,640 above the dental assistant median
- Dental Hygienist salary in Washington: median $131,160, $73,070 above the dental assistant median
- Dental Lab Technician salary in Washington: median $56,400, $1,690 below the dental assistant median
- Orthodontist salary in Washington: median $290,430
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.