San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, Calif., is the top paying metropolitan area for dental assistants, with an annual mean wage of $62,830, according to compensation data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The cost of living for a single adult with no children in the area is $49,329, according to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's living wage calculator.
Here is the cost of living for a single adult with no children in the top-paying metropolitan areas for dental assistants:
San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, Calif.
Annual mean wage: $62,830
Cost of living: $49,329
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, Calif.
Annual mean wage: $61,130
Cost of living: $54,498
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, Minn.-Wis.
Annual mean wage: $61,020
Cost of living: $36,798
Santa Rosa, Calif.
Annual mean wage: $56,750
Cost of living: $43,433
Rochester, Minn.
Annual mean wage: $56,510
Cost of living: $33,362
Mankato-North Mankato, Minn.
Annual mean wage: $55,470
Cost of living: $33,500
Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, Calif.
Annual mean wage: $54,850
Cost of living: $50,929
St. Cloud, Minn.
Annual mean wage: $54,710
Cost of living: $33,170
Bismarck, N.D.
Annual mean wage: $54,170
Cost of living: $33,223
Burlington-South Burlington, Vt.
Annual mean wage: $54,050
Cost of living: $37,284