Dentist Salary in Illinois: What Dentists Earn in 2026
Posted pay in Illinois dentist listings
$287,500/yrmedian
Posted ranges run $125,000–$375,000/yr, from 3 distinct pay ranges at 2 employers (Westphalia Holdings, Heartland Dental).
From DentistryHires' live job listings as of November 13, 2026. See the listings
25th percentile
$124,800
Median (50th)
$156,110
75th percentile
$272,510
National median
$170,950
BLS OEWS (SOC 29-1021), May 2025
What does a dentist make in Illinois?
The median dentist in Illinois earns $156,110 a year ($75.06 an hour), which is $14,840 below the national median of $170,950, but less than in nearby Missouri ($204,960), Wisconsin ($193,690) and Iowa ($181,520).
The mean is $193,050.
That ranks 41st of the 47 states where BLS publishes a dentist median.
Entry-level vs top earners in Illinois
The middle half of Illinois dentists earn $124,800 to $272,510.
The lowest-paid tenth earn under $123,920, $37,670 above the national 10th percentile.
The top tenth earn over $291,530, $28,100 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 $156,110 median is worth about $156,180 — $14,770 below the national median of $170,950.
How many dentists work in Illinois
BLS counts about 6,940 dentist jobs in Illinois, 5.6% of the 124,390 nationwide, or 1.138 per 1,000 jobs in the state.
Dentists hold a 42% larger share of local jobs than nationally (location quotient 1.42).
Dentist Salary by City in Illinois
Across the 7 Illinois metro areas where BLS publishes a dentist median, pay runs from $137,390 in Kankakee to $214,670 in Rockford, a spread of $77,280.
All dental roles by metro: Bloomington · Champaign · Chicago · Kankakee · Peoria · Rockford · Springfield
What Dentist Job Listings in Illinois Show Right Now
From the 16 active dentist listings on DentistryHires as of November 13, 2026.
Employers with the most openings
- Heartland Dental5
- Elite Dental Partners4
- Smile Brands4
- Westphalia Holdings2
Pay employers post
- 44% of dentist listings in Illinois state any pay at all.
Benefits listings name
- Health insurancenamed in 81%
- Paid or provided CEnamed in 75%
- 401(k) plannamed in 56%
- Dental or vision coveragenamed in 56%
- Malpractice insurancenamed in 56%
- Advancement opportunitiesnamed in 50%
- Paid time offnamed in 44%
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 16 jobs →Dentist Regulatory Context in Illinois
Dentist practice in Illinois is regulated by the Illinois Board of Dentistry.
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 Illinois Compares
Other dental salaries in Illinois
- Dental Hygienist salary in Illinois: median $96,670, $59,440 below the dentist median
- Dental Assistant salary in Illinois: median $48,610, $107,500 below the dentist median
- Dental Lab Technician salary in Illinois: median $51,380, $104,730 below the dentist 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.