Dentists, General in Arizona

May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$140,136
after federal, FICA and Arizona tax
Tax takes
$54,044
27.8% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$138,605
Arizona costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Arizona — 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
$194,180
Kept after tax
$140,136
Worth in national money
$138,605
State rank
12
of 47 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- This is a good state for the work. Arizona pays dentists, general a middle wage of $194,180, ranking 12 of 47 states and sitting about 13.59% above the national middle.
- Within Arizona this is well-paid work. Of 491 occupations with published figures in the state, dentists, general ranks 5 — in the top quarter of everything people do there.
- No great distortion either way. Arizona costs about what the country costs, so from $194,180, take-home of $140,136 is worth roughly $138,605 in national money. The average lands at $181,040, below the middle of the range.
- Arizona's median for dentists, general is $194,180, about 13.59% above the national figure and 12 of 47 states reporting. Whether that premium reaches the worker depends on the two adjustments below, which is the part a wage table cannot tell you.
- Ranked against every occupation Arizona publishes a median for, dentists, general sits 5 of 491 — 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.
- Price parity in Arizona is near the national base, so for dentists, general, whose median is $194,180, the adjusted figure of $138,605 differs little from $140,136 retained after tax. The state's position for this occupation is therefore set by wage and tax rather than by living costs. At $181,040 the mean undershoots the median, an inversion of the usual skew.
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Pay band: Dentists, General
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $62,230 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $194,180 |
| Top tenth earn over | $336,320 |
| This salary | $194,180 |
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 Arizona | $140,136 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $144,588 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$10,187 |
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 | $188,208 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$13,605 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 101 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Arizona earn less than $194,180. The published range is $62,230 up to $336,320, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In Arizona the take-home figure of $140,136, from $194,180, 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 5 of 491 occupations here.
- One number stands for prices across all of Arizona, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $138,605, the adjusted value of that $194,180 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 5 of 491 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for dentists, general in Arizona the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $62,230 to $336,320. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Take-home for Arizona is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $140,136 from $194,180. 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 5 of 491 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Arizona, so $138,605 — the adjusted value of that $194,180 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 5 of 491 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
Half earn more than this and half earn less. The average sits at $181,040 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $62,230 at the bottom tenth to $336,320 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
Not on its own. Prices in Arizona run above the national level, so the same dollars buy less here. Adjusted for that, this pay is worth $138,605 — the wage did not change, only what it covers.
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 Arizona adds its own income tax on top — which is why $140,136 of this wage survives to your account.
Why is this job missing from some states?
A blank is a suppression, not a zero. 47 states have a published figure for this work; the others had too few responses to release one.
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 Arizona is $181,040. 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 drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($62,230) and the ninetieth ($336,320) exceeds the family median dispersion. SOC codes aggregate roles differing in seniority, industry and specialisation, and BLS does not disaggregate below the detailed occupation level, so within-title variance is not separable from the published series.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
Arizona's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $138,605 in national-average terms. ⚠️ RPPs are an all-items index; housing parities vary far more widely than the headline figure.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $140,136 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Arizona 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 47 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.