Dentist Salary in California: What Dentists Earn in 2026
Posted pay in California dentist listings
$204,000/yrmedian
The middle half of posted pay runs $202,500–$345,500/yr, from 5 distinct pay ranges at 3 employers (Western Dental / Sonrava Health, Positive Impact Dental Alliance, Westphalia Holdings).
From DentistryHires' live job listings as of November 13, 2026. See the listings
25th percentile
$124,470
Median (50th)
$165,950
75th percentile
$213,260
National median
$170,950
BLS OEWS (SOC 29-1021), May 2025
What does a dentist make in California?
The median dentist in California earns $165,950 a year ($79.79 an hour), which is $5,000 below the national median of $170,950, and more than in nearby Nevada ($162,200) but less than in Oregon ($211,690) and Arizona ($194,180).
The mean is $170,690.
That ranks 33rd of the 47 states where BLS publishes a dentist median.
Entry-level vs top earners in California
The middle half of California dentists earn $124,470 to $213,260.
The lowest-paid tenth earn under $74,510, $11,740 below the national 10th percentile.
The top tenth earn over $272,730, $46,900 below the national 90th percentile.
How far the pay goes in California
The Bureau of Economic Analysis puts California's 2024 price level at 110.7 (U.S. = 100): prices overall run 10.7% above the national average, and housing (index 154.3) runs 54.3% above.
Converted to national average prices, the $165,950 median is worth about $149,880 — $21,070 below the national median of $170,950.
How many dentists work in California
BLS counts about 16,770 dentist jobs in California, 13.5% of the 124,390 nationwide, or 0.921 per 1,000 jobs in the state.
Dentists hold a 15% larger share of local jobs than nationally (location quotient 1.15).
Dentist Salary by City in California
Across the 24 California metro areas where BLS publishes a dentist median, pay runs from $125,230 in Riverside to $222,430 in Hanford, a spread of $97,200.
All dental roles by metro: Fresno · Hanford · Los Angeles · Merced · Modesto · Oxnard · Redding · Riverside · Sacramento · San Francisco · San Jose · Santa Cruz · Stockton · Vallejo · Yuba City
What Dentist Job Listings in California Show Right Now
From the 121 active dentist listings on DentistryHires as of November 13, 2026.
Employers with the most openings
Pay employers post
- 22% of dentist listings in California state any pay at all.
Benefits listings name
- 401(k) plannamed in 94%
- Health insurancenamed in 94%
- Dental or vision coveragenamed in 94%
- Paid or provided CEnamed in 91%
- Malpractice insurancenamed in 72%
- Employee discounts or free dental carenamed in 12%
- Paid time offnamed in 7%
Source: active dentist listings on DentistryHires, updated daily. Pay figures use only listings that state pay (midpoint of each posted range) and are hidden when one employer posted most of them. Benefits count listings that name the benefit; a listing that doesn’t mention one may still offer it.
Browse 121 jobs →Dentist Regulatory Context in California
Dentist practice in California is regulated by the Dental Board of California.
Scope of practice — what a dentist 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 California Compares
Other dental salaries in California
- Dental Hygienist salary in California: median $124,930, $41,020 below the dentist median
- Dental Assistant salary in California: median $50,110, $115,840 below the dentist median
- Dental Lab Technician salary in California: median $47,410, $118,540 below the dentist 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.