Compared with the local labor market
Dental Assistant pay vs. Minnesota
Across all employers in Minnesota, the median wage for Dental Assistants — about 5,980 people — is $65,270. Direct Care and Treatment Department pays a median base salary of $52,269 for this role, 20% below that figure — about the 16th percentile of local pay for the occupation.
Where Direct Care and Treatment Department sits in the local pay range
$46,960
$59,940
$65,270
$74,410
$76,110
Direct Care and Treatment Department median · $52,269
The bar is the range of annual wages for Dental Assistants across every employer in Minnesota, from the 10th to the 90th percentile, with the middle 50% highlighted. The marker shows Direct Care and Treatment Department’s median base salary for this role. Both figures are base pay only.
And across the country
Nationwide, the median wage for Dental Assistants — about 387,790 people — is $48,070. Direct Care and Treatment Department’s median base salary is 9% above that national figure, about the 60th percentile of pay for the occupation nationally.
$37,130
$44,340
$48,070
$58,090
$62,250
Direct Care and Treatment Department median · $52,269
Local and national wages differ for reasons beyond how well a job pays — cost of living, the mix of employers, and local demand for the occupation all move the Minnesota range relative to the national one.
Median total compensation for this role at Direct Care and Treatment Department is $52,747, which includes overtime and employer-paid benefits. The benchmark above excludes both, so total compensation is deliberately not compared against it.
Benchmark: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2025). BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) covers all employers in the area — private, non-profit, and government alike — so this is a comparison against the whole local labor market for the occupation, not against private-sector pay. OEWS wages are straight-time pay and exclude overtime, shift differentials, and employer-paid benefits, so the government figure shown here is base pay on the same basis. Total compensation is not comparable to it. Job titles are matched to the closest standard occupation, so the comparison is between similar work rather than an identical job classification.
Compare departments
This role across Minnesota
Dental Assistant is held in 4 Minnesota departments. In Direct Care and Treatment Department, the median of $52,747 ranks #2 of 4.
Highest-paying departments for this role
Median total compensation for the Dental Assistant role in other Minnesotadepartments (highest first). Each bar links to that department’s page for this role.
Compare jurisdictions
Dental Assistant beyond Minnesota
This role is reported in 12 jurisdictions. In Minnesota, the median of $51,118 ranks #6 of 12. See Dental Assistant across all of Minnesota →
Highest-paying jurisdictions for this role
Median total compensation for comparable Dental Assistantroles in other jurisdictions. Titles are matched by normalized name across sources, not identical job classification, and pay is not cost-of-living adjusted. Each bar links to that jurisdiction’s page for the role.