Dental Assistants Salary in Denver-Aurora-Centennial
SOC 31-9091 · Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO · BLS OEWS May 2025
Median Annual Salary
$49,483
$23.79/hr
2.9% higher than the US national median ($48,069)
Verified BLS OEWS data · Updated May 18, 2026
Is this a competitive Dental Assistants salary in Denver-Aurora-Centennial in 2026?
Based on BLS OEWS wage percentiles, JOLTS August 2026 demand signals, and ECI Q2 2026 wage growth.
$Competitive · ~P50
P10$39K
P25$47K
P50$49K
P75$59K
P90$61K
Drag the dot or type an amount above.
🔥
Demand: HOT. Demand is hot -- health care job openings are running at 5.4% (JOLTS, August 2026), a tight market. Candidates have leverage, so a competitive offer sits at or above the median; below-median offers often will not close.
📈
Merit budget: Wages in health care are rising about 3.6% a year (BLS ECI, Q2 2026). Budget a 3.2-3.7% merit increase to hold this role at market.
Our read
For a competitive 2026 offer, target $49,483 to $58,989 (market median to the 75th percentile). Lean toward the top of the range for senior or hard-to-fill roles.
Figures are market benchmarks from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics; apply professional judgment before making pay decisions.
How Dental Assistants pay is moving in 2026
Trend, demand, and spread context from BLS OEWS, JOLTS, and ECI
Pay trend
Median pay for this role rose 1.6% between the May 2024 and May 2025 BLS surveys, trailing the 3.6% wage growth of Health Care & Social Assistance (BLS ECI).
Hiring demand · HOT
Health Care & Social Assistance is running a 5.4% job-openings rate with quits at 2.0% (BLS JOLTS). The openings rate has drifted down from 5.9% to 5.4% over the past quarter.
Pay spread
Top earners (P90) make about 1.7 times what entry-level (P10) workers make in this role. That spread is narrower than typical, so pay is fairly standardized; small differences move a candidate across the market.
What changed recently
Sep 29, 2026JOLTS August 2026: sector openings fell to 5.4% (down 115K; July revised up to 5.8%), still the tightest major sector. Quits held at 2.0%.
Sep 1, 2026JOLTS July 2026: sector openings rose to 5.7% (up 54K; June revised to 5.5%), retaking the tightest-market spot. Quits steady at 1.9%.
Aug 4, 2026JOLTS June 2026: sector openings fell from 5.9% to 5.3% (down 147K), the sharpest monthly cooling this year, though still the second-tightest market.
Commentary is generated from published BLS figures (OEWS May 2025 vs May 2024, JOLTS August 2026, ECI Q2 2026) and refreshed each release. It is interpretation, not a BLS product.
Source: BLS OEWS · Published May 15, 2026
Next refresh: May 2027
Get notified when this number updates
Personal or work email, both work. No account needed. Unsubscribe anytime.
The median salary for Dental Assistants in Denver-Aurora-Centennial is $49,483 per year ($23.79/hr). This is 2.9% higher than the national median of $48,069.
About This Role
BLS Standard Occupational Classification 2018
Perform limited clinical duties under the direction of a dentist. Clinical duties may include equipment preparation and sterilization, preparing patients for treatment, assisting the dentist during treatment, and providing patients with instructions for oral healthcare procedures. May perform administrative duties such as scheduling appointments, maintaining medical records, billing, and coding information for insurance purposes.
Wage Percentiles: Denver-Aurora-Centennial
Hourly & annualized (2,080 hours) · BLS metro data
Percentile
Hourly Rate
Annual Salary
vs National
P10Entry level
$18.69
$38,875
+4.7%
P25
$22.59
$46,987
+6.0%
P50MEDIAN
$23.79
$49,483
+2.9%
P75
$28.36
$58,989
+1.5%
P90Top earners
$29.22
$60,778
-2.4%
How Denver-Aurora-Centennial compares for Dental Assistants
Computed from this metro's own BLS distribution against national
Pay for Dental Assistants in Denver-Aurora-Centennial is above national (+4.7%) at entry but in line with national (-2.4%) at the top, so local pay sits relatively lower toward the senior end of the range.
An offer at the national median of $48,069 would sit at about the 35th percentile in Denver-Aurora-Centennial.
The top of the range earns 1.56 times the bottom here against 1.68 times nationally, so pay for this role is more compressed between entry and senior levels in Denver-Aurora-Centennial.
Denver-Aurora-Centennial employs 4,160 people in this role, 1.1% of the national total.
Get the full percentile report
P10–P90 breakdown, career outlook, industry wages, and JOLTS market signal for Dental Assistants
Free. No account needed. Unsubscribe anytime.
Career Outlook
BLS Employment Projections · 2024-2034
10-year growth
+6.4%
Faster than average
Annual openings
53K
per year, on avg
Workforce today
382K
as of 2024
Why those openings exist
5% from new growth95% from people leaving the role
Most openings come from replacement, not growth. Retention matters more than recruiting here.
Typical entry requirements
Education
Postsecondary nondegree award
Experience
None
On-the-job training
None
Industry Wage Breakdown
Top 2 industries by employment · median annual wage, sector-specific
Industry
Workforce
Median Pay
Offices of Dentists
NAICS 621200
355K
$48,000
Outpatient Care Centers
NAICS 621400
9K
$49,090
See the complete picture
Full percentile breakdown · JOLTS market signals · Geographic comparison · AI analyst briefs
No credit card required · 770+ occupations · 393 metros
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the median dental assistants salary in Denver-Aurora-Centennial?
The median (P50) annual salary for Dental Assistants in Denver-Aurora-Centennial is approximately $49,483, based on BLS OEWS May 2025 data. This is 2.9% higher than the national median of $48,069. For the full P10–P90 breakdown and market context, open CompSignal.
Wage figures on this page come from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, May 2025 release. OEWS surveys roughly 1.1 million establishments annually. It is the most comprehensive employer-reported wage dataset in the United States.
P10 through P90 percentiles represent the wage distribution across all surveyed employers (not self-reported by workers). Geographic adjustments use BLS-derived cost multipliers calibrated from regional wage variation.
Wages are estimates. Individual compensation depends on experience, education, employer size, industry, and negotiation. Use this as benchmark context, not absolute ground truth.
CompSignal is a free labor market intelligence tool built for HR, compensation, and talent acquisition teams. We make BLS data, the same primary source Mercer and Radford cross-reference in their paid surveys, searchable and actionable without an enterprise subscription.
Built and maintained by Falcon Incentives, a compensation strategy and incentive design consultancy.
