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As with most types of jobs, dental hygienist pay rates vary based on a lot of different factors. These include location, the setting of employment, and also how much experience the dental hygienist has.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the dental hygienist salary ranges from the lowest 10% being paid less than $20.42 an hour to the highest 10% being paid more than $43.07 an hour. The median salary for a dental hygienist is $31.21 per hour, or about $64,910 per year for a full time hygienist.

One thing that can affect salaries is the location of the job. The states with the highest mean dental hygienist salary are Alaska ($91,960 per year), Washington ($86,920 per year), California ($81,730 per year), Nevada ($76,240), and Oregon ($74,470). However, make sure you also consider the cost of living when you make salary comparisons, you want to base your decision on how far your salary will go, not just how high it is. California has a higher cost of living than many other states, so it makes sense that the dental hygienist salary there would be on the higher side.

California has four out of five of the metropolitan areas with the highest dental hygienist pay. These are the Santa Rosa-Petaluma metropolitan area, Salinas, Napa, and the Oakland-Fremont-Hayward metropolitan area. The fourth highest paying metropolitan area is Mount Vernon-Anacortes, WA.

Besides location, another important factor in the determination of dental hygienist income is years of experience. According to Payscale, the median salary for a dental hygienist with less than one year of experience is $45,379, while that of a dental hygienist with 20 or more years of experience is $50,483, which shows that experience does make a difference.

The level of training that a dental hygienist has had will also affect his or her salary. Someone who has graduated from a training program offering a certificate only will most likely earn less than someone who has earned an Associate's, Bachelor's or Master's degree who is working in the same location.

Due to the nature of the employment, dental hygienist pay might be in the form of an hourly rate, a yearly salary, or even on a commission basis. Depending on the employment setting, benefits such as health insurance may or may not be available. Many times a dental hygienist needs to work full time in order to be eligible for benefits. Louis Zhang, Certdentalhygienist dot com