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.
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Spokane-Spokane Valley, Wash., is the top paying metropolitan area for general dentists, with an annual mean wage of $290,860, according to compensation data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Offices of physicians are the top-paying practice setting for orthodontists in the U.S., according to salary data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Dentists have an average salary of $145,300 in West Virginia, the lowest-ranked state for dentists to live and work in.
Dentists have an average salary of $118,030 in Alaska, the top-ranked state for dentists to live and work in.
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West Virginia was ranked as the worst state for dentists to live and work in by career website Zippia.
Alaska was ranked as the best state for dentists to live and work in for the second year in a row by career website Zippia.
The average amount of dental education debt is less than the average amount of education debt, according to data from the American Dental Education Association.
Texas A&M University School of Dentistry in Dallas has a first-year tuition of $23,112 for residents, the lowest of any U.S. dental school, and has a 7.2 percent acceptance rate.
Most dental professionals earn less than the average amount of dental education debt in the U.S., according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the American Dental Education Association.