Dentist Salary in Washington: What Dentists Earn in 2026
25th percentile
$119,250
Median (50th)
$169,730
75th percentile
$235,180
National median
$170,950
BLS OEWS (SOC 29-1021), May 2025
What does a dentist make in Washington?
The median dentist in Washington earns $169,730 a year ($81.60 an hour), which is $1,220 below the national median of $170,950, and more than in nearby Idaho ($124,190) but less than in Oregon ($211,690). The mean is $195,810.
That ranks 25th of the 47 states where BLS publishes a dentist median.
Entry-level vs top earners in Washington
The middle half of Washington dentists earn $119,250 to $235,180. The lowest-paid tenth earn under $85,240, $1,010 below the national 10th percentile. The top tenth earn over $346,840, $27,210 above the national 90th percentile.
How far the pay goes in Washington
The Bureau of Economic Analysis puts Washington's 2024 price level at 107.0 (U.S. = 100): prices overall run 7.0% above the national average, and housing (index 126.0) runs 26.0% above.
Converted to national average prices, the $169,730 median is worth about $158,610 — $12,340 below the national median of $170,950.
How many dentists work in Washington
BLS counts about 3,240 dentist jobs in Washington, 2.6% of the 124,390 nationwide, or 0.912 per 1,000 jobs in the state. Dentists hold a 14% larger share of local jobs than nationally (location quotient 1.14).
Dentist Salary by City in Washington
Across the 10 Washington metro areas where BLS publishes a dentist median, pay runs from $123,460 in Olympia to $212,000 in Mount Vernon, a spread of $88,540.
All dental roles by metro: Bremerton · Kennewick · Longview · Mount Vernon · Olympia · Seattle · Spokane
Who's hiring dentists in Washington now
DentistryHires has 33 open dentist listings in Washington from 7 employers, the most of them in Seattle (4).
4 post a salary from $125,000 to $200,000 a year. These are employers' posted ranges, not survey figures.
Dentist Regulatory Context in Washington
Dentist practice in Washington is regulated by the Dental Quality Assurance Commission.
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 Washington Compares
Other dental salaries in Washington
- Dental Hygienist salary in Washington: median $131,160, $38,570 below the dentist median
- Dental Assistant salary in Washington: median $58,090, $111,640 below the dentist median
- Dental Lab Technician salary in Washington: median $56,400, $113,330 below the dentist median
- Orthodontist salary in Washington: median $290,430
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.