Dentist Salary in Colorado: What Dentists Earn in 2026
25th percentile
$103,820
Median (50th)
$166,240
75th percentile
$210,080
National median
$170,950
BLS OEWS (SOC 29-1021), May 2025
What does a dentist make in Colorado?
The median dentist in Colorado earns $166,240 a year ($79.92 an hour), which is $4,710 below the national median of $170,950, and more than in nearby Oklahoma ($166,170) but less than in Arizona ($194,180) and Nebraska ($179,750). The mean is $160,810.
That ranks 31st of the 47 states where BLS publishes a dentist median.
Entry-level vs top earners in Colorado
The middle half of Colorado dentists earn $103,820 to $210,080. The lowest-paid tenth earn under $84,590, $1,660 below the national 10th percentile. The top tenth earn over $229,070, $90,560 below 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 $166,240 median is worth about $161,320 — $9,630 below the national median of $170,950.
How many dentists work in Colorado
BLS counts about 2,940 dentist jobs in Colorado, 2.4% of the 124,390 nationwide, or 1.023 per 1,000 jobs in the state. Dentists hold a 28% larger share of local jobs than nationally (location quotient 1.28).
Dentist Salary by City in Colorado
Across the 7 Colorado metro areas where BLS publishes a dentist median, pay runs from $154,940 in Greeley to $180,440 in Boulder, a spread of $25,500.
All dental roles by metro: Boulder · Denver · Greeley · Pueblo
Who's hiring dentists in Colorado now
DentistryHires has 47 open dentist listings in Colorado from 7 employers, the most of them in Denver (7).
10 post a salary from $125,000 to $350,000 a year. These are employers' posted ranges, not survey figures.
Dentist Regulatory Context in Colorado
Dentist practice in Colorado is regulated by the Colorado Dental Board.
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 Colorado Compares
Other dental salaries in Colorado
- Dental Hygienist salary in Colorado: median $109,580, $56,660 below the dentist median
- Dental Assistant salary in Colorado: median $48,340, $117,900 below the dentist median
- Dental Lab Technician salary in Colorado: median $61,220, $105,020 below the dentist 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.