How much does a Dentist make in Oregon?

BLS reports a median annual wage of $185,790 for Dentists in Oregon as of the latest OES release. That is the 50th-percentile figure — half earn more, half earn less. The 25th-percentile is $149,870 and the 75th-percentile is —.

How are Oregon Dentist salaries calculated on this page?

Nominal wages come from BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES) — annual employer surveys, May 2026 reference period. Real-wage figures use BEA Regional Price Parities (2023 vintage) to adjust for state-level cost of living. No self-report or jobs-board data is mixed in.

How many Dentists does Oregon employ?

BLS OES counts 1,180 Dentists employed in Oregon in the most recent release. Employment density relative to population determines whether wage tiers reflect a robust competitive market or a thinner labor pool.

Where does Oregon rank for Dentist pay?

On nominal BLS wages alone, Oregon 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.

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.

Should I negotiate based on the BLS median for Oregon?

The BLS median is a calibration anchor, not a ceiling. Use it to validate that an offer is in-band — anything well below the P25 in this state is a flag, anything above the P75 typically requires demonstrable specialty depth, niche credentials, or a high-COL metro within Oregon.

DSO chain vs solo private practice dentist pay in Oregon?

BLS does not split dental service organization (DSO: Heartland, Aspen, Pacific, Smile Brands) from solo private practice. In Oregon, DSO-employed dentists typically start at or above BLS median with production-bonus upside but cap below long-tenure solo owner total earnings. Solo private practice in Oregon pays below DSO at the associate level but compounds via ownership equity, equipment depreciation, and tax-deferred retirement contributions over a 10-20 year career. Specialist dentists (orthodontists, oral surgeons, endodontists, periodontists) in Oregon are tracked under different SOC codes (29-1022, 29-1023, 29-1024) and earn substantially above general-dentist medians.

How Much Do Dentists Make in Oregon? $186K (2026 BLS + BEA)

TL;DR

BLS reports Oregon Dentist median pay at $185,790. Adjusted for state cost of living, real purchasing power equals $177,260.
Quartile range $149,870 (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.
Cost adjustment is small — neither an arbitrage state nor a high-cost penalty.
Nominal: #14/51 · Real: #27/51 — ranking shifts by 13 positions after RPP.

Wage breakdown — Oregon

Percentile	Nominal (BLS)	Real (BEA RPP-adjusted)
P10 (entry tier)	$103,510	$98,758
P25 (lower quartile)	$149,870	$142,989
P50 (median)	$185,790	$177,260
P75 (upper quartile)
P90 (top tier)
Mean	$209,670	$200,044
Employment	1,180 Dentists in Oregon

Cost of living — BEA Regional Price Parity

Component	Oregon index (US = 100)
All-items RPP	104.8
Goods	104.8
Services	91.0
Rents	109.2

Oregon's overall RPP (104.8) is close to the national 100 baseline; nominal and real wage move roughly together.

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

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

Layer	Amount	Note
Gross BLS P50 (Dentist)	$185,790	nominal median
Federal income tax	−$33,408	18.0% effective; std deduction $15,750 applied
State income tax	−$16,383	4.75–9.9% (graduated)
FICA (SS 6.2% + Medicare 1.45%)	−$14,077	SS capped at $183,600 wage base
Take-home (after-tax)	$121,922	65.6% of gross
Real take-home (RPP-adjusted)	$116,325	÷ (104.8 / 100) BEA cost-of-living

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

Oregon carries one of the heavier state-tax loads in the country at this income tier (8.8% effective on the BLS median). Combined with federal and FICA, gross-to-take-home spread is 34.4%, leaving $121,922 pre-RPP and $116,325 after the 104.8 cost-of-living index — a $69,465 gap from the headline gross.

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. Oregon sits at #14 on nominal pay and #27 on real (cost-adjusted) pay among the 51 states and DC. After cost adjustment, Oregon falls 13 positions — the cost premium eats into the headline wage.

Frequently asked questions

How much does a Dentist make in Oregon?: BLS reports a median annual wage of $185,790 for Dentists in Oregon as of the latest OES release. That is the 50th-percentile figure — half earn more, half earn less. The 25th-percentile is $149,870 and the 75th-percentile is —.
How are Oregon Dentist salaries calculated on this page?: Nominal wages come from BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES) — annual employer surveys, May 2026 reference period. Real-wage figures use BEA Regional Price Parities (2023 vintage) to adjust for state-level cost of living. No self-report or jobs-board data is mixed in.
How many Dentists does Oregon employ?: BLS OES counts 1,180 Dentists employed in Oregon in the most recent release. Employment density relative to population determines whether wage tiers reflect a robust competitive market or a thinner labor pool.
Where does Oregon rank for Dentist pay?: On nominal BLS wages alone, Oregon 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.
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.
Should I negotiate based on the BLS median for Oregon?: The BLS median is a calibration anchor, not a ceiling. Use it to validate that an offer is in-band — anything well below the P25 in this state is a flag, anything above the P75 typically requires demonstrable specialty depth, niche credentials, or a high-COL metro within Oregon.
DSO chain vs solo private practice dentist pay in Oregon?: BLS does not split dental service organization (DSO: Heartland, Aspen, Pacific, Smile Brands) from solo private practice. In Oregon, DSO-employed dentists typically start at or above BLS median with production-bonus upside but cap below long-tenure solo owner total earnings. Solo private practice in Oregon pays below DSO at the associate level but compounds via ownership equity, equipment depreciation, and tax-deferred retirement contributions over a 10-20 year career. Specialist dentists (orthodontists, oral surgeons, endodontists, periodontists) in Oregon are tracked under different SOC codes (29-1022, 29-1023, 29-1024) and earn substantially above general-dentist medians.

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 Oregon 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.