The annual salary statistics of dental assistants in Santa Cruz-Watsonville, California is shown in Table 1. The wage statistics of dental assistants in Santa Cruz-Watsonville is based on the national compensation survey conducted by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics in 2022 and published in April 2023 [1].
| Percentile Bracket | Average Annual Salary |
|---|---|
| 10th Percentile Wage | $37,920 |
| 25th Percentile Wage | $42,760 |
| 50th Percentile Wage | $44,630 |
| 75th Percentile Wage | $48,080 |
| 90th Percentile Wage | $63,600 |
Table 1 shows the average annual salary for dental assistants in Santa Cruz-Watsonville, California in 5 percentile scales. The average annual salary for the 90th percentile (the top 10 percent of the highest paid) is $63,600. The median (50th percentile) annual salary is $44,630. The average annual salary for the bottom 10 percent earners is $37,920.
The table and chart below show the trend of the median salary of dental assistants from 2012 to 2022.
| Year | Median Salary | Yearly Growth | 10-Year Growth |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | $44,630 | -6.48% | 17.93% |
| 2021 | $47,520 | -7.49% | - |
| 2020 | $51,080 | 0.18% | - |
| 2019 | $50,990 | 19.42% | - |
| 2018 | $41,090 | -0.10% | - |
| 2017 | $41,130 | 9.85% | - |
| 2016 | $37,080 | -3.02% | - |
| 2015 | $38,200 | -2.23% | - |
| 2014 | $39,050 | 0.00% | - |
| 2013 | $39,050 | 6.20% | - |
| 2012 | $36,630 | - | - |
From Table 3 we note that the median annual salary of $44,630 in Santa Cruz-Watsonville is in the middle of salary range for dental assistants in state of California. In comparison, the annual salary of dental assistants in Santa Cruz-Watsonville is 29.0 percent (29.0%) lower than that in the highest paying San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont and 24.1 percent (24.1%) higher than that in the lowest paying Santa Ana-Anaheim-Irvine.