Dentist · Utah · SOC 29-1021
Dentists in Utah: 2026 Salary, Real Wage, and Cost-Adjusted Pay
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, 2024 reference period · BEA Regional Price Parity 2023 vintage · Last synced 2026-05-07.
TL;DR
- Dentists in Utah earn a BLS median of $132,270, with real take-home of $138,190 after BEA RPP adjustment.
- On a real-wage basis, this state sits at #43 of 51; nominal rank is #43.
- Mid-band cost of living: real and nominal wage are within a few percent of each other.
- BLS percentiles available for this state: P25 $87,380, P50 $132,270, P75 $161,250. P10 or P90 is suppressed by BLS for this occupation-state cell.
Wage breakdown — Utah
| Percentile | Nominal (BLS) | Real (BEA RPP-adjusted) |
|---|---|---|
| P10 (entry tier) | $77,220 | $80,676 |
| P25 (lower quartile) | $87,380 | $91,291 |
| P50 (median) | $132,270 | $138,190 |
| P75 (upper quartile) | $161,250 | $168,467 |
| P90 (top tier) | ||
| Mean | $148,860 | $155,523 |
| Employment | 740 Dentists in Utah | |
Cost of living — BEA Regional Price Parity
| Component | Utah index (US = 100) |
|---|---|
| All-items RPP | 95.7 |
| Goods | 94.7 |
| Services | 73.0 |
| Rents | 106.2 |
Utah's overall RPP (95.7) is close to the national 100 baseline; nominal and real wage move roughly together.
After-tax take-home — Utah (2024 BLS · 2024 tax year, single filer)
Layer-by-layer take-home math at the BLS median
| Layer | Amount | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Gross BLS P50 (Dentist) | $132,270 | nominal median |
| Federal income tax | −$20,563 | 15.5% effective; std deduction $15,750 applied |
| State income tax | −$5,243 | 4.5% flat (2026) |
| FICA (SS 6.2% + Medicare 1.45%) | −$10,119 | SS capped at $183,600 wage base |
| Take-home (after-tax) | $96,345 | 72.8% of gross |
| Real take-home (RPP-adjusted) | $100,657 | ÷ (95.7 / 100) BEA cost-of-living |
What the Utah state-tax burden means for Dentist take-home
Mid-band state-tax burden at 4.0% effective. Combined with federal and FICA, take-home is $96,345 (72.8% of gross). After the 95.7 RPP, real take-home is $100,657.
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. Utah sits at #43 on nominal pay and #43 on real (cost-adjusted) pay among the 51 states and DC. Nominal and real ranking are the same — cost of living and pay scale together.
Frequently asked questions
- What is the real (cost-adjusted) Dentist salary in Utah?
- After BEA RPP adjustment (regional price parity index 95.7 for Utah), the real-wage equivalent is $138,190 — what the $132,270 nominal salary actually buys. Quartiles in real terms: $91,291 to $168,467.
- How are Utah 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 Utah employ?
- BLS OES counts 740 Dentists employed in Utah 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 Utah 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. Utah's overall index of 95.7 reflects rents 106.2, services 73.0, and goods 94.7.
- Is Utah a 'real-wage arbitrage' state for Dentists?
- No — Utah's RPP is close to the national 100 baseline, so nominal and real wages move roughly together. Neither an arbitrage nor a penalty state.
- Does the BLS dentist median capture practice-owner income in Utah?
- Partially. BLS OEWS reports W-2 earnings, which captures dentist-owners who pay themselves a salary through the practice but excludes pass-through profit distributions (Schedule K-1 from S-corp or partnership), which can be the larger income component for established practice owners. In Utah, this typically means the BLS-reported median understates total earnings for solo or small-group practice owners by 20-50% once distributions are netted in. Associate dentists employed by DSOs or owner-dentists are accurately represented by the BLS figure.
- DSO chain vs solo private practice dentist pay in Utah?
- BLS does not split dental service organization (DSO: Heartland, Aspen, Pacific, Smile Brands) from solo private practice. In Utah, 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 Utah 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 Utah 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.
Cross-comparison: see how Utah 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.