South Carolina / Department of Mental Health / Dental Hygienist
Job-title file
Diagnose and treat patients, direct clinical care, and supervise other medical staff.
1 employees hold this title in Department of Mental Health. Median total compensation for the role is $71,690, above the department median of $65,856.
Compared with the local labor market
Across all employers in South Carolina, the median wage for Dental Hygienists — about 3,160 people — is $84,340. Department of Mental Health pays a median base salary of $71,690 for this role, 15% below that figure — about the 17th percentile of local pay for the occupation.
The bar is the range of annual wages for Dental Hygienists across every employer in South Carolina, from the 10th to the 90th percentile, with the middle 50% highlighted. The marker shows Department of Mental Health’s median base salary for this role. Both figures are base pay only.
And across the country
Nationwide, the median wage for Dental Hygienists — about 222,740 people — is $98,100. Department of Mental Health’s median base salary is 27% below that national figure, below the 10th percentile of pay for the occupation nationally.
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 South Carolina range relative to the national one.
Median total compensation for this role at Department of Mental Health is $71,690, 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
Dental Hygienist is held in 3 South Carolina departments. In Department of Mental Health, the median of $71,690 ranks #2 of 3.
Median total compensation for the Dental Hygienist role in other South Carolinadepartments (highest first). Each bar links to that department’s page for this role.
Compare jurisdictions
This role is reported in 10 jurisdictions. In South Carolina, the median of $71,690 ranks #5 of 10. See Dental Hygienist across all of South Carolina →
Median total compensation for comparable Dental Hygienistroles 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.
Record list
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Dental Hygienist/Department of Mental Health
Kimberly Greene is a Dental Hygienist at Department of Mental Health. 2026 total compensation came to $71,690.