What is the real (cost-adjusted) Dentist salary in Alaska?

After BEA RPP adjustment (regional price parity index 103.3 for Alaska), the real-wage equivalent is $223,462 — what the $230,830 nominal salary actually buys. Quartiles in real terms: $126,780 to —.

How many Dentists does Alaska employ?

BLS OES counts 260 Dentists employed in Alaska in the most recent release. Employment density relative to population determines whether wage tiers reflect a robust competitive market or a thinner labor pool.

Why is the BEA RPP for Alaska different from a single CPI number?

BEA splits regional price parity into three components — goods, services, and rents — reweighted to the BEA's national consumption basket. Alaska's overall index of 103.3 reflects rents 96.7, services 113.3, and goods 103.7.

Where does Alaska rank for Dentist pay?

On nominal BLS wages alone, Alaska ranks among the 51 states and DC by median pay. After the BEA cost-of-living adjustment the ordering changes — high-cost states fall, low-cost states rise. Both rankings are shown in the data table on this page.

Is Alaska a 'real-wage arbitrage' state for Dentists?

No — Alaska's RPP is close to the national 100 baseline, so nominal and real wages move roughly together. Neither an arbitrage nor a penalty state.

What are the limits of these Dentist salary numbers?

BLS OES is an employer survey of W-2 wages — it excludes contractor pay, bonuses outside the base wage definition, equity compensation, and tip income. Self-employed practitioners and gig workers are not represented. For occupations with significant non-W-2 income, the BLS figure is a floor, not a complete picture.

When does this data update?

BLS OES releases a new May reference set roughly each spring; we re-run the ETL pipeline within two weeks of release. BEA RPP refreshes annually. The last-synced timestamp at the top of this page reflects the most recent build.

2026 Dentist Salary — Alaska ($231K BLS, RPP-Adjusted Real Wage)

TL;DR

Headline Dentist pay in Alaska is $230,830. Real take-home, after the state's cost-of-living index, lands at $223,462.
Mid-band cost of living: real and nominal wage are within a few percent of each other.
Quartile range $130,960 (bottom 25%) to — (top 25%). BLS suppresses the P10 or P90 tail for this state, typically because the top tier exceeds the OES wage cap.
State ranks #2 nationally on nominal wage, #4 on real (RPP-adjusted) wage.

Wage breakdown — Alaska

Percentile	Nominal (BLS)	Real (BEA RPP-adjusted)
P10 (entry tier)	$107,530	$104,098
P25 (lower quartile)	$130,960	$126,780
P50 (median)	$230,830	$223,462
P75 (upper quartile)
P90 (top tier)
Mean	$202,250	$195,795
Employment	260 Dentists in Alaska

Cost of living — BEA Regional Price Parity

Component	Alaska index (US = 100)
All-items RPP	103.3
Goods	103.7
Services	113.3
Rents	96.7

Alaska's overall RPP (103.3) is close to the national 100 baseline; nominal and real wage move roughly together.

After-tax take-home — Alaska (2024 BLS · 2024 tax year, single filer)

Layer-by-layer take-home math at the BLS median

Layer	Amount	Note
Gross BLS P50 (Dentist)	$230,830	nominal median
Federal income tax	−$45,282	19.6% effective; std deduction $15,750 applied
State income tax	$0	no state income tax
FICA (SS 6.2% + Medicare 1.45%)	−$15,008	SS capped at $183,600 wage base
Take-home (after-tax)	$170,541	73.9% of gross
Real take-home (RPP-adjusted)	$165,097	÷ (103.3 / 100) BEA cost-of-living

What the Alaska state-tax burden means for Dentist take-home

Alaska levies no state income tax on wages, which is worth roughly $11,542 a year for a Dentist at the BLS median compared with the national-average state burden (≈5%). After cost of living, real take-home is $165,097 — lower than the nominal after-tax figure because RPP exceeds 100.

Computed from 2026 IRS federal brackets (Rev. Proc. 2025-32), 2026 state DOR brackets, and 2026 FICA rates. Single filer, standard deduction, no other adjustments. See methodology · tax for limitations (married filers, ITM/SALT itemizers, retirement deferrals, HSA, dependent credits, etc.).

National context

Across the United States, BLS reports a national median of $172,790 for Dentists with mean pay of $196,100 and total employment of 113,490. Alaska sits at #2 on nominal pay and #4 on real (cost-adjusted) pay among the 51 states and DC. After cost adjustment, Alaska falls 2 positions — the cost premium eats into the headline wage.

Frequently asked questions

What is the real (cost-adjusted) Dentist salary in Alaska?: After BEA RPP adjustment (regional price parity index 103.3 for Alaska), the real-wage equivalent is $223,462 — what the $230,830 nominal salary actually buys. Quartiles in real terms: $126,780 to —.
How many Dentists does Alaska employ?: BLS OES counts 260 Dentists employed in Alaska in the most recent release. Employment density relative to population determines whether wage tiers reflect a robust competitive market or a thinner labor pool.
Why is the BEA RPP for Alaska different from a single CPI number?: BEA splits regional price parity into three components — goods, services, and rents — reweighted to the BEA's national consumption basket. Alaska's overall index of 103.3 reflects rents 96.7, services 113.3, and goods 103.7.
Where does Alaska rank for Dentist pay?: On nominal BLS wages alone, Alaska ranks among the 51 states and DC by median pay. After the BEA cost-of-living adjustment the ordering changes — high-cost states fall, low-cost states rise. Both rankings are shown in the data table on this page.
Is Alaska a 'real-wage arbitrage' state for Dentists?: No — Alaska's RPP is close to the national 100 baseline, so nominal and real wages move roughly together. Neither an arbitrage nor a penalty state.
What are the limits of these Dentist salary numbers?: BLS OES is an employer survey of W-2 wages — it excludes contractor pay, bonuses outside the base wage definition, equity compensation, and tip income. Self-employed practitioners and gig workers are not represented. For occupations with significant non-W-2 income, the BLS figure is a floor, not a complete picture.
When does this data update?: BLS OES releases a new May reference set roughly each spring; we re-run the ETL pipeline within two weeks of release. BEA RPP refreshes annually. The last-synced timestamp at the top of this page reflects the most recent build.

Sources & methodology

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES), SOC 29-1021, 2024 reference period.
U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis — Regional Price Parities, 2023 vintage (all-items, goods, services, rents).
Real-wage figures = nominal BLS wage ÷ (state RPP / 100).
See the methodology page for full computation details and limitations.

By Marcus Liang · Founder & Editor · Last synced 2026-05-07.

Cross-comparison: see how Alaska Dentist pay ranks against the other 254 state × occupation pages on the Real Wage Atlas → — four-way ranking by real wage, after-tax take-home, state-tax savings, and cost-of-living arbitrage.