Dental Hygienists in Maine
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$72,206
after federal, FICA and Maine tax
Tax takes
$25,474
26.1% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$74,365
Maine costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Maine — 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
$97,680
Kept after tax
$72,206
Worth in national money
$74,365
State rank
21
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Maine sits in the middle of the pack for dental hygienists. The median is $97,680, ranking 21 of 50 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Within Maine this is well-paid work. Of 484 occupations with published figures in the state, dental hygienists ranks 65 — in the top quarter of everything people do there.
- Prices here sit close to the national average, so the adjustment changes little. From $97,680 the take-home is $72,206, which is worth about $74,365 in comparable money. Tax does most of the work here, not cost of living. The average is lower, $96,440, so pay clusters nearer the top than usual.
- Maine occupies the middle band for dental hygienists: a median of $97,680, ranking 21 of 50. Where nominal pay is close to the national figure, the tax and price adjustments below carry proportionally more weight in determining the real outcome.
- Ranked against every occupation Maine publishes a median for, dental hygienists sits 65 of 484 — the upper quartile of the state's wage distribution. National standing and within-state standing are separate questions, and a job can occupy very different positions on each.
- Maine's price level is near the national average, so price deflation is close to neutral for dental hygienists on its $97,680 median: $72,206 retained after tax becomes $74,365 in national-average terms. Where the price adjustment is small, the tax stack is the dominant determinant of the real outcome. The mean of $96,440 falls below the median, a left skew that is uncommon in wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Dental Hygienists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $83,420 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $97,680 |
| Top tenth earn over | $108,680 |
| This salary | $97,680 |
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 Maine | $72,206 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $77,548 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$5,437 |
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 | $90,087 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$7,511 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 97 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Maine earn less than $97,680. The published range is $83,420 up to $108,680, 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 Maine's $72,206, worked from $97,680. 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 65 of 484.
- Two cautions on $74,365, the adjusted value of that $97,680 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of Maine. No actual address matches that. The wage figures and price figures are also from different years. Each is published on its own timetable. This work sits at 65 of 484 locally.
- Reported values are medians; for dental hygienists in Maine the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $83,420 to $108,680. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The Maine take-home of $72,206, on $97,680 for work ranking 65 of 484 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 65 of 484 in the state.
- This $74,365 adjusted figure, worked from $97,680, rests on a state-level price parity averaging over within-state dispersion larger than much of the between-state dispersion. Wage and price vintages differ by publication schedule. The result is directionally sound and not address-specific, for work at 65 of 484 in the state. The occupation ranks 65 of 484 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $83,420 at the tenth percentile, $108,680 at the ninetieth.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. Maine is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $74,365 in national terms.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Into four separate taxes, not one. Federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare apply everywhere, and Maine adds its own income tax on top — which is why $72,206 of this wage survives to your account.
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 ($83,420 to $108,680) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Maine rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Maine'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 $74,365 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 $72,206 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Maine 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.