Dental Assistants Salary in San Diego, CA (2024)
Dental Assistants in the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA metro area earn a median of $46,420 per year ($22.32 per hour) based on 4,230 jobs counted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in 2024. That is -1.9% against the national median of $47,300 for this occupation.
Pay distribution
The median is a single point on a wide curve. The table below shows where dental assistants actually sit across the pay range in San Diego, CA, from the bottom decile to the top.
| Percentile | Hourly | Annual | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $18.01 | $37,460 | |
| 25th percentile | $18.88 | $39,270 | |
| Median | $22.32 | $46,420 | half earn more, half earn less |
| 75th percentile | $27.06 | $56,280 | |
| 90th percentile | $29.60 | $61,570 | |
| Average (mean) | $23.70 | $49,290 |
How San Diego, CA compares
The local median of $46,420 runs -1.9% below the US median of $47,300 for this occupation; it pays 18.0% less than the metro-wide median across all jobs ($56,580); within the metro it ranks 508th of 653 detailed occupations by median pay.
| Benchmark | Median annual | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| San Diego, CA — this occupation | $46,420 | — |
| US median, same occupation (all areas) | $47,300 | -1.9% |
| San Diego, CA — all occupations | $56,580 | -18.0% |
| Highest metro in the US for this job | $65,360 | -29.0% |
The location quotient of 1.13 is close to 1.0: the occupation's share of local employment tracks the national average.
High confidence The relative standard error on this estimate is 2.1%, which is a tight margin — the figure is stable enough to plan around.
Ranked 508th of 653 detailed occupations in the metro by median annual wage.
Highest-paying jobs in San Diego, CA
To put $46,420 in context, these are the best-paid detailed occupations in the same metro area. This occupation sits 508th.
| Occupation | Median annual | Employment |
|---|---|---|
| Dentists, All Other Specialists | $220,840 | 50 |
| Orthopedic Surgeons, Except Pediatric | $215,010 | 170 |
| Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers | $205,650 | 180 |
| Natural Sciences Managers | $199,590 | 2,630 |
| Computer and Information Systems Managers | $193,370 | 7,620 |
| Podiatrists | $187,010 | 60 |
| Architectural and Engineering Managers | $185,550 | 3,690 |
| Dentists, General | $176,970 | 1,950 |
| Marketing Managers | $171,590 | 4,390 |
| Computer Hardware Engineers | $169,230 | 3,200 |
Where dental assistants earn the most
Across the 25 metro areas with released data for this occupation, medians run from $36,580 to $65,360. These are the top markets.
| Metro area | Median annual | Employment |
|---|---|---|
| Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI | $65,360 | 3,640 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | $62,700 | 7,100 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | $60,890 | 7,490 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH | $58,560 | 6,820 |
| Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA | $58,380 | 3,720 |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD | $50,200 | 6,790 |
| Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ | $49,530 | 5,260 |
| Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC | $49,140 | 3,440 |
| Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA | $49,030 | 6,210 |
| Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO | $48,680 | 3,760 |
See the full national picture on the Dental Assistants salary by metro page.
Frequently asked questions
What is the median salary for dental assistants in San Diego, CA?
The median annual wage is $46,420, or $22 per hour. That means half of the dental assistants working in the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA metro area earn more than this figure and half earn less. The average is $49,290.
What do the highest and lowest paid dental assistants in San Diego, CA earn?
The bottom 10% earn $37,460 or less, while the top 10% earn $61,570 or more — a spread of $24,110 between the two ends of the distribution. The middle half of workers sit between $39,270 and $56,280.
Is dental assistants pay in San Diego, CA above the local average?
Yes, it is 18.0% below the all-occupation median for the metro, which is $56,580. That comparison is the fairer one for judging local purchasing power, because it holds the metro's overall cost and wage level constant.
How does San Diego, CA pay compare with the rest of the US for this job?
At $46,420 the metro median is 1.9% lower than the US median of $47,300 for dental assistants. Across the 25 metro areas covered here, this occupation ranges from $36,580 to $65,360.
How many dental assistants work in San Diego, CA?
BLS counts about 4,230 people in this occupation in the metro area, or 2.76 jobs per 1,000 total jobs. The location quotient of 1.13 is close to 1.0: the occupation's share of local employment tracks the national average.
About these figures
Figures come from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey for 2024 (employment relative standard error 11.6%). OEWS measures what employers pay, not what any individual earns; it excludes self-employed workers, and it does not adjust for local cost of living.
Read the full methodology, or the original data at bls.gov/oes.