Dental Hygienists in Missouri

May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$70,658
after federal, FICA and Missouri tax
Tax takes
$22,092
23.8% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$77,001
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
$92,750
Kept after tax
$70,658
Worth in national money
$77,001
State rank
30
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Missouri is 30 of 50 states for dental hygienists, with a middle wage of $92,750. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- This is one of the better-paid jobs in Missouri. It ranks 78 out of 488 occupations the state publishes figures for, which puts it in the top quarter locally.
- Here is where Missouri does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $92,750 you keep $70,658, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $77,001 would elsewhere. The average is lower, $88,430, so pay clusters nearer the top than usual.
- Missouri ranks 30 of 50 for dental hygienists at $92,750. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Within Missouri, dental hygienists ranks 78 of 488 occupations by median pay, placing it in the top quartile of the local distribution. This is the comparison a resident actually makes — against neighbors rather than against the same job elsewhere.
- After federal, FICA and Missouri income tax, retained pay for dental hygienists on $92,750 is $70,658. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $77,001 in national-average terms. ⚠️ That figure is purchasing power, not a wage, and nobody is paid it; it is what the take-home buys. The mean of $88,430 falls below the median, a left skew that is uncommon in wage data.
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Pay band: Dental Hygienists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $59,880 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $92,750 |
| Top tenth earn over | $99,400 |
| This salary | $92,750 |
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 | $70,658 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $74,080 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$768 |
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 | $87,886 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,061 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 92 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $92,750 as a midpoint for Missouri, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $59,880 and the ninetieth is $99,400 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- In Missouri the take-home figure of $70,658, from $92,750, assumes one filer, no dependants, and nothing paid into a pension before tax. Each of those lowers the bill, so treat it as the plain case. City and school-district income taxes are not included either, and in a few states those are real money. It ranks 78 of 488 occupations here.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $77,001 uses one figure for the whole of Missouri. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 488 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 78.
- The Missouri median of $92,750 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $59,880 to $99,400. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Take-home for Missouri is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $70,658 from $92,750. Each omitted item reduces taxable income, so the figure is a lower bound on retained pay for this household shape. Municipal and school-district income taxes are excluded, which understates the burden materially in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Maryland. The occupation ranks 78 of 488 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $77,001, worked from $92,750, deflates by a statewide parity that conceals substantial intra-state variation, concentrated in housing — so it supports comparison between states rather than the pricing of a move to a particular Missouri address, on work sitting at 78 of 488 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $88,430, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $59,880 at the bottom tenth to $99,400 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
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 $77,001.
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 $70,658.
Why is this job missing from some states?
Because the survey suppresses a figure when too few employers report it. This occupation has published pay in 50 states — the rest are withheld to protect confidentiality, which is not the same as nobody doing the work there.
How does the published median differ from the mean for this occupation?
The median is the midpoint of the distribution; the mean for this occupation in Missouri is $88,430. Wage distributions are right-skewed, so the mean exceeds the median wherever a minority earn substantially more. BLS publishes both because substituting one for the other misstates a typical worker's pay.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($59,880 to $99,400) 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 $77,001 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 $70,658 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.