Updated May 2026 · BLS OEWS 2025
Dentist Salary in Chicago, IL
Healthcare · SOC 29-1021 · COL Index 107.3
Dentists in Chicago, IL earn a median salary of $156,100 as of 2025, with a 10th-to-90th percentile range of $123,920 to $290,850. The mean is $192,460 across approximately 5,910 workers. Adjusted for Chicago, IL's cost-of-living index of 107.3, the median equates to $145,480 of purchasing power in an average-cost U.S. metro.
Dentist in Chicago, IL pays below the national median: $156,100 locally versus $175,578. The discount usually reflects either lower cost-of-living, smaller local industry concentration, or weaker labor demand.
Cost-of-living in Chicago, IL sits near the national baseline (index 107.3), so the unadjusted $156,100 median is reasonably comparable to wages in other near-baseline cities. Wage distribution at the 25th, 50th, 75th, and 90th percentiles: $136,792, $156,100, $223,475, $290,850. 5,910 Dentist workers are documented in Chicago, IL per the BLS OEWS survey. The percentile spread is the most useful framing — entry-level pay clusters near p25, mid-career near p50, senior-level near p75-p90.
Salary Distribution
Percentile Breakdown
| Percentile | Salary | COL-Adjusted |
|---|---|---|
| 10th Percentile (Entry Level) | $123,920 | $115,489 |
| 25th Percentile | $136,792 | $127,486 |
| 50th Percentile (Median) | $156,100 | $145,480 |
| 75th Percentile | $223,475 | $208,271 |
| 90th Percentile (Top Earners) | $290,850 | $271,062 |
What These Numbers Tell You
The 10th-to-90th percentile band for Dentists in Chicago, IL is moderately wide — the 90th-percentile worker earns about 2.3× the 10th-percentile worker. That is typical for a professional role with standard career progression: experience, scope, and employer size all matter, but the spread is not so extreme that the role bifurcates into separate sub-markets.
Chicago, IL's cost-of-living index of 107.3 sits close to the U.S. average — $156,100 here has roughly the same purchasing power as the same salary in the typical U.S. metro. That makes this market a clean baseline for comparing offers across cities.
Chicago, IL ranks #56 of 68 BLS-tracked metros for Dentist pay — in the lower half nationally (82th percentile). Lower nominal pay here is often offset by a lower cost of living; check the COL-adjusted figure on this page for an apples-to-apples comparison.
How to Use This in Negotiation
The classic negotiation move is to anchor your ask on the 75th percentile of the BLS band — $223,475 for Dentists in Chicago, IL — when you have meaningful experience, then bring evidence (years on the job, scope of past work, relevant certifications, comparable offers) to justify why you sit at that point in the distribution. Anchoring on the median when you have 5+ years of experience leaves money on the table; anchoring on the 90th percentile ($290,850) without strong evidence undercuts credibility.
For new entrants, the 25th-to-50th percentile band ($136,792–$156,100) is the realistic target. For mid-career workers, the median-to-75th band ($156,100–$223,475) is the right anchor. Senior specialists and managers should be benchmarking against the 75th-to-90th band ($223,475–$290,850).
For specific scripts and a full negotiation framework, see the data-driven salary negotiation guide. To benchmark your current pay, the salary percentile calculator places any number into the BLS distribution for this role and metro.
How This Salary Is Calculated
Wage figures come from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) program — a federal survey of about 1.2 million U.S. establishments, published once per year by Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) and Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) code. The Chicago, IL percentile bands above (10th, 25th, 50th, 75th, 90th) and the mean are pulled directly from the BLS data file for SOC code 29-1021 in this MSA. The COL-adjusted figure rebases salary to a U.S. national average COL of 100, using a composite index derived from public housing, food, and transportation data. Read the full methodology for details.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the average Dentist salary in Chicago, IL?
Dentists in Chicago, IL earn a median salary of $156,100 as of 2025, based on Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS data. The mean (employment-weighted average) is $192,460 across roughly 5,910 workers in this metro.
What is the salary range for Dentists in Chicago, IL?
Pay ranges from $123,920 at the 10th percentile to $290,850 at the 90th percentile — a $166,930 spread. The 25th-to-75th percentile band ($136,792 to $223,475) is the typical anchor for salary negotiation.
Is $156,100 a good Dentist salary in Chicago, IL?
$156,100 is the BLS median — half of Dentists in Chicago, IL earn more, half earn less. Whether it is "good" depends on your experience: new entrants typically land near the 25th percentile ($136,792), mid-career workers near the median, and senior specialists near or above the 75th percentile ($223,475). Cost-of-living-adjusted to a national average baseline, the median equates to $145,480.
How does Dentist pay in Chicago, IL compare to other metros?
Chicago, IL ranks #56 of 68 BLS-tracked metros for Dentist median pay. Nominal pay is in the lower half of U.S. metros, though the cost of living usually offsets at least part of that gap.
Where does this Dentist salary data come from?
Every wage figure comes from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) program at bls.gov/oes — public domain federal data covering 1.2 million U.S. employers. The same data feeds the U.S. Department of Labor's prevailing wage system used for H-1B and federal contracting wage determinations.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, Chicago, IL MSA, SOC 29-1021, 2025 release. Public domain. See bls.gov/oes. Cite as: "SalaryTruth, BLS OEWS 2025."
Last refreshed 2026-05-21 · 5,910 Dentists tracked in Chicago, IL.