Dentists, General in Maryland
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$118,343
after federal, FICA and Maryland tax
Tax takes
$50,158
29.8% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$113,829
Maryland costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Maryland — 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
$168,500
Kept after tax
$118,343
Worth in national money
$113,829
State rank
26
of 47 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Maryland sits in the middle of the pack for dentists, general. The median is $168,500, ranking 26 of 47 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Within Maryland this is well-paid work. Of 489 occupations with published figures in the state, dentists, general ranks 9 — in the top quarter of everything people do there.
- The wage here flatters the reality. From $168,500 the take-home is $118,343. But Maryland costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $113,829 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is higher, $185,740, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Maryland occupies the middle band for dentists, general: a median of $168,500, ranking 26 of 47. 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 Maryland publishes a median for, dentists, general sits 9 of 489 — 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.
- Retained pay after federal, FICA and Maryland income tax is $118,343 for dentists, general, from $168,500. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $113,829. ⚠️ This is purchasing power and not a wage; cross-state offer comparisons that stop at the nominal figure systematically overvalue high-cost states. The mean of $185,740 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Dentists, General
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $107,880 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $168,500 |
| Top tenth earn over | $254,820 |
| This salary | $168,500 |
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 Maryland | $118,343 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $126,436 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$16,282 |
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 | $156,659 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$23,149 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 104 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- A median is the middle, not an offer. Half of dentists, general in Maryland earn under $168,500 and half over. The published range runs $107,880 at the tenth percentile to $254,820 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $118,343 take-home in Maryland comes from $168,500. It is the no-frills case: single filer, standard deduction, nothing set aside before tax. Real circumstances almost always reduce the tax. City and school-district taxes are not counted at all. Locally the work ranks 9 of 489.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $113,829 uses one figure for the whole of Maryland. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 489 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 9.
- Figures are distribution medians for dentists, general in Maryland, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $107,880 to $254,820; within-state dispersion of that width routinely exceeds the dispersion between states, so tenure, employer and metropolitan area predict an individual's pay better than geography does.
- Retained pay of $118,343, from $168,500, assumes a single Maryland filer with the standard deduction and no elective deferrals. Pre-tax retirement or HSA contributions, dependants and itemized deductions all reduce it further; local income taxes, excluded here, would increase it in the states that levy them. This occupation ranks 9 of 489 locally, and the state ranks 26 of 47 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $113,829, worked from $168,500, 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 Maryland address, on work sitting at 9 of 489 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 $185,740 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?
Because one job title covers very different work. The bottom tenth here earn $107,880 and the top tenth $254,820 — experience, employer and specialism separate them, and a single figure hides all three.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
Not on its own. Prices in Maryland run above the national level, so the same dollars buy less here. Adjusted for that, this pay is worth $113,829 — 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 Maryland adds its own income tax on top — which is why $118,343 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 Maryland is $185,740. 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 ($107,880) and the ninetieth ($254,820) 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?
Maryland's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $113,829 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 $118,343 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Maryland 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.