Dentists, General
SOC 29-1021 · 2024-2034
Examine, diagnose, and treat diseases, injuries, and malformations of teeth and gums. May treat diseases of nerve, pulp, and other dental tissues affecting oral hygiene and retention of teeth. May fit dental appliances or provide preventive care.
How the U.S. Department of Labor describes this work. Published in English only.
What California expects of this job
- Typical pay in California
- $170,595per year
- Projected openings
- 6,280
- Projected change
- +6.9%
- Usually needs
- Doctoral or professional degree
Skills this work uses most
O*NET, the U.S. Department of Labor's occupation database, rates how important each of these is to this work, and they are listed in that order, most important first. The ratings themselves are not shown, because the data carries the number without the scale it was measured on. The names are as published, in English.
- Critical Thinking
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Speaking
- Active Listening
- Reading Comprehension
- Monitoring
Pay by region
| Region | Typical pay in California | Projected openings |
|---|---|---|
| Hanford-Corcoran MSA (Kings County) | $234,915 | 10 |
| Eastern Sierra-Mother Lode Region (Alpine, Amador, Calaveras, Inyo, Mariposa, Mono, and Tuolumne Counties) | $227,078 | 10 |
| North Valley-Northern Mountains Region (Colusa, Glenn, Lassen, Modoc, Nevada, Plumas, Sierra, Siskiyou, Tehama, and Trinity Counties) | $222,723 | 10 |
| San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles MSA (San Luis Obispo County) | $215,851 | 50 |
| San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City MD (San Francisco and San Mateo Counties) | $211,135 | 150 |
| San Rafael MD (Marin County) | $211,135 | 50 |
| Oakland-Fremont-Berkeley MD (Alameda and Contra Costa Counties) | $210,424 | 410 |
| Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom MSA (El Dorado, Placer, Sacramento, and Yolo Counties) | $209,873 | 320 |
| Visalia MSA (Tulare County) | $209,534 | 50 |
| Vallejo MSA (Solano County) | $201,245 | 60 |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara MSA (San Benito and Santa Clara Counties) | $186,155 | 580 |
| Yuba City MSA (Sutter and Yuba Counties) | $183,495 | 10 |
| North Coast Region (Del Norte, Humboldt, Lake, and Mendocino Counties) | $182,663 | 20 |
| San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad MSA (San Diego County) | $181,780 | 710 |
| Redding MSA (Shasta County) | $181,697 | 10 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale MD (Los Angeles County) | $180,988 | 1,010 |
| Anaheim-Santa Ana-Irvine MD (Orange County) | $180,780 | 440 |
| Salinas MSA (Monterey County) | $180,680 | 60 |
| Fresno MSA (Fresno and Madera Counties) | $178,380 | 130 |
| Santa Rosa-Petaluma MSA (Sonoma County) | $178,082 | 40 |
| Napa MSA (Napa County) | $177,250 | 10 |
| Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura MSA (Ventura County) | $173,593 | 190 |
| Chico MSA (Butte County) | $171,385 | 10 |
| Merced MSA (Merced County) | $168,395 | 30 |
| Modesto MSA (Stanislaus County) | $168,395 | 80 |
| Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario MSA (Riverside and San Bernardino Counties) | $166,187 | 460 |
| Stockton-Lodi MSA (San Joaquin County) | $143,096 | 90 |
| Bakersfield-Delano MSA (Kern County) | $136,810 | 110 |
| Santa Maria-Santa Barbara MSA (Santa Barbara County) | $127,832 | 80 |
What the pay actually ranges across
- The lowest-paid tenth earn under
- $76,596
- A quarter earn under
- $127,954
- Half earn under
- $170,595
- Three quarters earn under
- $219,230
- The highest-paid tenth earn over
- $280,364
A median is one point. These are the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics' 2026 figures for California, and they say how far apart the people doing this job actually are. Read them as the spread across everyone already in the work — not as a starting wage and not as a promise about where anyone lands.
Similar work
O*NET, the U.S. Department of Labor's occupation database, names these as occupations involving work similar to this one — its own reading of the job, not a grouping by code. They keep O*NET's order, and only those California publishes a projection for are shown.
| Occupation | Typical pay in California | Projected openings | Projected change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Emergency Medicine Physicians | Not reported | 1,730 | +10.9% |