Dental Lab Technician Salary in Illinois: What Dental Lab Technicians Earn in 2026
25th percentile
$48,430
Median (50th)
$51,380
75th percentile
$54,890
National median
$49,610
BLS OEWS (SOC 51-9081), May 2025
What does a dental lab technician make in Illinois?
The median dental lab technician in Illinois earns $51,380 a year ($24.70 an hour), which is $1,770 above the national median of $49,610, and more than in nearby Indiana ($49,920), Iowa ($47,520) and Wisconsin ($47,170). The mean is $53,070.
That ranks 13th of the 46 states where BLS publishes a dental lab technician median.
Entry-level vs top earners in Illinois
The middle half of Illinois dental lab technicians earn $48,430 to $54,890. The lowest-paid tenth earn under $40,120, $3,460 above the national 10th percentile. The top tenth earn over $67,150, $9,790 below the national 90th percentile.
How far the pay goes in Illinois
The Bureau of Economic Analysis puts Illinois's 2024 price level at 100.0 (U.S. = 100): prices overall run level with the national average, and housing (index 93.9) runs 6.1% below.
Converted to national average prices, the $51,380 median is worth about $51,400 — $1,790 above the national median of $49,610.
How many dental lab technicians work in Illinois
BLS counts about 2,030 dental lab technician jobs in Illinois, 5.9% of the 34,410 nationwide, or 0.333 per 1,000 jobs in the state. Dental lab technicians hold a 50% larger share of local jobs than nationally (location quotient 1.50).
Dental Lab Technician Salary by City in Illinois
Across the 3 Illinois metro areas where BLS publishes a dental lab technician median, pay runs from $48,730 in Peoria to $51,380 in Chicago, a spread of $2,650.
Who's hiring dental lab technicians in Illinois now
DentistryHires has no open dental lab technician listings in Illinois at the moment.
Dental Lab Technician Regulatory Context in Illinois
Dental lab technician practice in Illinois is regulated by the Illinois Board of Dentistry.
Scope of practice — what a dental lab technician 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 Illinois Compares
Other dental salaries in Illinois
- Dentist salary in Illinois: median $156,110, $104,730 above the dental lab technician median
- Dental Hygienist salary in Illinois: median $96,670, $45,290 above the dental lab technician median
- Dental Assistant salary in Illinois: median $48,610, $2,770 below the dental lab technician median
- Orthodontist salary in Illinois: median $343,100
- Oral Surgeon salary in Illinois: median $70,220
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.