Dental Assistants in Missouri
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$37,894
after federal, FICA and Missouri tax
Tax takes
$8,076
17.6% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$41,296
Missouri costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Missouri — roughly, since only five points along the band are published.
One filer, standard deduction, no dependants and nothing paid in before tax — the same household the rest of this page uses, so the comparison holds. City and school-district income taxes are not included.
Median here
$45,970
Kept after tax
$37,894
Worth in national money
$41,296
State rank
38
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Missouri is among the lower-paying states for dental assistants. The middle earner takes $45,970, ranking 38 of 50 states — about 4.37% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Against other work in Missouri, this sits in the middle: 344 of 488 occupations with published pay. Solidly ordinary for the state, which is not the same as ordinary nationally.
- Missouri is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $45,970 the take-home is $37,894; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $41,296 would nationally. The average comes to $46,790, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Missouri ranks 38 of 50 for dental assistants, with a median of $45,970 — about 4.37% below the national figure. A nominal shortfall is not by itself a real one: lower-paying states frequently carry lower tax and lower price levels, and the adjusted figures below are where that is settled rather than assumed.
- Dental assistants ranks 344 of 488 occupations in Missouri by median pay, in the middle bands. Within-state and national positions are separate measurements and a job commonly sits in different quartiles on each.
- Post-tax income for dental assistants in Missouri, on $45,970, is $37,894 — equivalent to $41,296 once regional price parity is applied. ⚠️ The adjustment uses a statewide index that describes no particular address; within-state price variation, concentrated in housing, routinely exceeds the difference between two states. At $46,790 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Dental Assistants
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $36,580 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $45,970 |
| Top tenth earn over | $59,410 |
| This salary | $45,970 |
Positions between the published tenth, quarter, half, three-quarter and ninetieth points are estimated by straight line.
The same pay, somewhere else
The state median for this job
| Take-home in Missouri | $37,894 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $39,117 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,041 |
The raise and the real gain point in opposite directions here.
State income tax and state price levels only. No city income tax, and no housing market.
What you would need there
The state median for this job
| To match take-home only | $44,448 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,260 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 92 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Missouri earn less than $45,970. The published range is $36,580 up to $59,410, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Missouri's $37,894, worked from $45,970. That is on purpose. It lets states be compared with each other, not with each other's family circumstances. Local city taxes are left out. Locally this work ranks 344 of 488.
- One number stands for prices across all of Missouri, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $41,296, the adjusted value of that $45,970 median, as a way to compare states fairly, not as a quote for any particular place. The two datasets are also from different years. This job sits at 344 of 488 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for dental assistants in Missouri the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $36,580 to $59,410. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The Missouri take-home of $37,894, on $45,970 for work ranking 344 of 488 locally, models the simplest household deliberately: holding it constant is what makes the interstate comparison meaningful. It also means the absolute figure overstates liability for most real filers, and municipal income taxes are outside the model entirely. The occupation ranks 344 of 488 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Missouri, so $41,296 — the adjusted value of that $45,970 median — establishes comparability between states rather than accuracy within one. The wage and parity series are dated independently, each following its own publication cycle, and neither is projected forward. This occupation sits at 344 of 488 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $36,580 and the top tenth $59,410, so most people doing this work in Missouri sit within a fairly tight band.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
A smaller wage in a cheaper place is not automatically less. Adjusted for local prices, this is worth $41,296.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Four deductions, stacked. The federal layer and the two payroll taxes apply wherever you work; Missouri then takes its own share, leaving $37,894.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 50 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($36,580 to $59,410) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Missouri rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Missouri's regional price parity is at or below the national average, so nominal wages understate purchasing power. Take-home deflated by the state price level is $41,296 in national-average terms. The adjustment uses an all-items index and does not isolate housing.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $37,894 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Missouri income tax for a single filer with no adjustments. The state layer is levied in addition to the federal one; only its rate and base differ between states.
Why does this occupation lack published estimates in every state?
BLS suppresses estimates failing disclosure or reliability criteria. This occupation has published state-level estimates in 50 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.