Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, Calif., is the top-paying metropolitan area for dental hygienists, with an annual mean wage of $131,200, according to compensation data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The cost of living for a single adult with no children in the area is $50,929, according to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's living wage calculator.
Here is the cost of living for a single adult with no children in the top-paying metropolitan areas for dental hygienists:
Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, Calif.
Annual mean wage: $131,200
Cost of living: $50,929
San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, Calif.
Annual mean wage: $123,330
Cost of living: $49,329
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, Calif.
Annual mean wage: $122,370
Cost of living: $54,498
Santa Rosa, Calif.
Annual mean wage: $119,730
Cost of living: $43,433
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, Wash.
Annual mean wage: $117,350
Cost of living: $44,686
Santa Cruz-Watsonville, Calif.
Annual mean wage: $116,900
Cost of living: $54,095
Napa, Calif.
Annual mean wage: $115,180
Cost of living: $44,397
Anchorage, Alaska
Annual mean wage: $114,920
Cost of living: $35,080
Vallejo-Fairfield, Calif.
Annual mean wage: $114,510
Cost of living: $41,340
Fairbanks, Alaska
Annual mean wage: $113,740
Cost of living: $35,591