Dental Hygienist Salary in Colorado: What Dental Hygienists Earn in 2026
25th percentile
$102,580
Median (50th)
$109,580
75th percentile
$125,470
National median
$98,100
BLS OEWS (SOC 29-1292), May 2025
What does a dental hygienist make in Colorado?
The median dental hygienist in Colorado earns $109,580 a year ($52.68 an hour), which is $11,480 above the national median of $98,100, and more than in nearby Arizona ($101,010), Oklahoma ($97,580) and New Mexico ($95,940). The mean is $110,030.
That ranks 7th of the 49 states plus DC where BLS publishes a dental hygienist median.
Entry-level vs top earners in Colorado
The middle half of Colorado dental hygienists earn $102,580 to $125,470. The lowest-paid tenth earn under $95,680, $20,800 above the national 10th percentile. The top tenth earn over $128,900, $2,850 above the national 90th percentile.
How far the pay goes in Colorado
The Bureau of Economic Analysis puts Colorado's 2024 price level at 103.1 (U.S. = 100): prices overall run 3.1% above the national average, and housing (index 127.4) runs 27.4% above.
Converted to national average prices, the $109,580 median is worth about $106,330 — $8,230 above the national median of $98,100.
How many dental hygienists work in Colorado
BLS counts about 4,270 dental hygienist jobs in Colorado, 1.9% of the 222,740 nationwide, or 1.486 per 1,000 jobs in the state. Dental hygienists hold a 4% larger share of local jobs than nationally (location quotient 1.04).
Dental Hygienist Salary by City in Colorado
Across the 7 Colorado metro areas where BLS publishes a dental hygienist median, pay runs from $98,700 in Pueblo to $130,000 in Boulder, a spread of $31,300.
All dental roles by metro: Boulder · Denver · Greeley · Pueblo
Who's hiring dental hygienists in Colorado now
DentistryHires has 111 open dental hygienist listings in Colorado from 51 employers, the most of them in Denver (13).
96 post hourly pay, from $38 to $90 an hour; 7 post a salary from $40,726 to $128,000 a year. These are employers' posted ranges, not survey figures.
Dental Hygienist Regulatory Context in Colorado
Dental hygienist practice in Colorado is regulated by the Colorado Dental Board.
Scope of practice — what a dental hygienist 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 Colorado Compares
Other dental salaries in Colorado
- Dentist salary in Colorado: median $166,240, $56,660 above the dental hygienist median
- Dental Assistant salary in Colorado: median $48,340, $61,240 below the dental hygienist median
- Dental Lab Technician salary in Colorado: median $61,220, $48,360 below the dental hygienist median
- Orthodontist salary in Colorado: median $416,000
- Oral Surgeon salary in Colorado: median $360,820
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.