College Scorecard · field of study · all U.S. colleges

Is a Dentistry degree worth the debt?

The figures below lead with the Professional, aggregated across 61 colleges (61 of 61 programs report earnings). Other credential levels are in the table further down.

Median pay · 1 yr after

$105,121

Graduates only, early career.$107,089 two years out.

Median federal debt

$252,399

Federal loans only — not private or Parent PLUS.

Debt vs a year's pay

2.45×

245% of a first year's earnings.

Typical debt is well above a first year's pay. Common where the credential needs long, costly graduate training (dentistry, law, medicine) — high pay does not mean a low debt burden.

The college you pick moves this a lot

The middle 50% of Professional programs in Dentistry report early-career pay between $80,915 and $118,580 — a spread of $37,665 that depends on the program and who attends it, not the major alone.

25th pct $80,915 median $105,121 75th pct $118,580

By degree level

Each level is a separate decision — more schooling usually means more pay and more debt.

LevelPay · 1yrDebtDebt/pay

Doctoral 7 colleges $98,409 $373,155 4.13×

Professional 61 colleges $105,121 $252,399 2.45×

Where a Professional in this field reports the highest early-career pay

The 15 programs with the highest reported pay one year after completion. This reflects who enrolls and where they live as much as the program itself — it is not a causal quality ranking.

University of Nebraska Medical Center NE $138,271 $201,388 debt

Marquette University WI $133,430 $229,890 debt

Oregon Health & Science University OR $132,916 $312,308 debt

Western University of Health Sciences CA $132,022 $421,897 debt

Augusta University GA $131,165 $232,467 debt

Indiana University-Indianapolis IN $130,179 $257,402 debt

University of Detroit Mercy MI $127,238 $366,862 debt

University of Iowa IA $125,938 $241,115 debt

A T Still University of Health Sciences MO $125,712 $431,585 debt

University of Minnesota-Twin Cities MN $124,702 $272,055 debt

University of Missouri-Kansas City MO $124,107 $220,937 debt

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville IL $123,885 $252,399 debt

The University of Tennessee Health Science Center TN $122,462 $250,824 debt

University of Washington-Seattle Campus WA $121,620 $282,467 debt

Creighton University NE $121,422 $297,323 debt

What these numbers are — and are not

Every figure here is a median across college programs in Dentistry, from the U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard. It is not a prediction of what you would earn (your college, effort, and local job market vary enormously — see the spread above), not lifetime earnings (it is measured 1–2 years after completion, early career), not proof the major caused the outcome (who enters a field differs by field — selection, not causation), and not a "best majors" ranking: earnings are one dimension of worth, not the whole of it. Teaching and social work pay far less than the fields at the top of this list and matter enormously. Earnings cover federally-aided completers at programs large enough to report.

Also available: structured data (JSON-LD) · plain text · JSON. Source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard — Field of Study (2026-06-10 release). · explore this field on the official Scorecard