Dental Hygienists in Pennsylvania
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$63,064
after federal, FICA and Pennsylvania tax
Tax takes
$17,546
21.8% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$64,681
Pennsylvania costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Pennsylvania — 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
$80,610
Kept after tax
$63,064
Worth in national money
$64,681
State rank
46
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for dental hygienists is on the low side in Pennsylvania. The middle earner gets $80,610. That is 46 of 50 states, and about 17.83% under the national figure. Whether that matters depends on what things cost here.
- Within Pennsylvania this is well-paid work. Of 492 occupations with published figures in the state, dental hygienists ranks 115 — in the top quarter of everything people do there.
- Cost of living is unremarkable here. From $80,610, tax leaves $63,064, and adjusting for local prices barely moves it — about $64,681 in comparable terms. Averages run higher here, $84,260, since top earners drag the number up.
- For dental hygienists, Pennsylvania sits in the lower band at $80,610, ranking 46 of 50 and trailing the national median by about 17.83%. Nominal rankings routinely invert once tax and regional price level are applied, so this position should not be read as the conclusion.
- Ranked against every occupation Pennsylvania publishes a median for, dental hygienists sits 115 of 492 — 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.
- Because Pennsylvania sits close to the national price level, the real-terms figure for dental hygienists — median $80,610 — tracks the post-tax figure closely: $63,064 retained, $64,681 adjusted. ⚠️ Neither is a wage; the second describes what the first buys. Mean pay of $84,260 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
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Pay band: Dental Hygienists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $63,130 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $80,610 |
| Top tenth earn over | $103,540 |
| This salary | $80,610 |
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 Pennsylvania | $63,064 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $65,539 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$2,763 |
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 | $77,092 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$3,817 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 98 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Pennsylvania earn less than $80,610. The published range is $63,130 up to $103,540, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In Pennsylvania the take-home figure of $63,064, from $80,610, 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 115 of 492 occupations here.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $64,681 uses one figure for the whole of Pennsylvania. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 492 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 115.
- Reported values are medians; for dental hygienists in Pennsylvania the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $63,130 to $103,540. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Take-home for Pennsylvania is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $63,064 from $80,610. 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 115 of 492 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $64,681, worked from $80,610, 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 Pennsylvania address, on work sitting at 115 of 492 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $84,260, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $63,130 and the top tenth $103,540, so most people doing this work in Pennsylvania 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 $64,681.
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; Pennsylvania then takes its own share, leaving $63,064.
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 Pennsylvania is $84,260. 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 ($63,130 to $103,540) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Pennsylvania rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Pennsylvania'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 $64,681 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 $63,064 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Pennsylvania 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.