Dental Salary Data · BLS OEWS May 2025
Dental Assistant Salary in Illinois
The median dental assistant earns $48,610 a year in Illinois, with most between $40,390 and $56,860.
25th percentile
$40,390
Entry / lower range
Median
$48,610
The typical pay
75th percentile
$56,860
Experienced / upper range
That's roughly $48,610 per year or $23.37/hr at the median. Illinois runs about 1% in line with the national median.
What drives dental assistant pay in Illinois
Pay for a dental assistantdepends on experience, setting, and metro. Group practices and dental support organizations (DSOs) often sit toward the upper end of the range, since they compete for talent across multiple locations and can offer benefits and advancement a single practice can't.
Across dentistry, hiring is hard and getting harder: staffing is consistently ranked among dentists' top challenges, and open roles routinely take well over two months to fill. For candidates, that means leverage; for employers, it means speed and fit matter more than ever.
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Dental Assistant salary in Illinois: FAQ
What is the average dental assistant salary in Illinois?
The median dental assistant salary in Illinois is about $48,610 per year ($23.37/hr), based on BLS OEWS data (May 2025). Most earn between $40,390 and $56,860.
How does Illinois compare to the national average?
At a $48,610 median, dental assistant pay in Illinois runs about 1% in line with the national median. Local cost of living and demand drive most of the difference.
Which Illinois cities pay dental assistants the most?
Among Illinois metros, Chicago-Naperville-Elgin is at the top, with a median around $48,950.
Hiring in Illinois?
Fill dental assistant roles across every location.
Other roles in Illinois
Dental Assistant salary by state