25 Best States For Orthodontists

Open wide and get ready for the best states for orthodontists!

I never had to get braces, but my sister did, and she had hers for about four years. I think the standard length of time for braces is two years, but she consistently forgot to wear the rubber bands they give you to correct overbites, so the time just kept getting tacked on. This meant more trips to the orthodontist for dreaded cleanings and more time being forced to eat pizza with a fork and knife. I’m not kidding. There are a lot of things you can’t eat with braces, like popcorn or apples, because those things could get stuck in the brackets and break them. Broken brackets are annoying and mean, you guessed it, another trip to the orthodontist. I think they purposely design braces to have issues so you have to go to the dentist more often.

Orthodontists are a specialized form of dentist that prevent, diagnose, and treat dental irregularities “bad bites,” which can be caused by overbites, underbites, and crooked teeth. Orthodontists don’t only use braces to correct these issues, though. They may also recommend clear teeth aligners like Invisalign depending on the situation. Orthodontists can do all the things a regular dentist can do as well as the specialized services pertaining to malocclusions, which is just a fancy way of saying bad bites. While a regular dentist mostly just cleans your teeth, an orthodontist focuses on perfect teeth. If you want the best teeth cleaning of your life, check out the best states for dental hygienists.

In order to create this list, we found the average annual salary from Salary and the cost of living index from the Missouri Economic Research and Information Center. We took the average of those two criteria to rank the states. Cost of living is important to consider because if a state is ridiculously expensive to live in, it’ll take a really high salary to offset it. The states with the best combination of low cost of living and high salary are at the top of the list because they’re the best scenario.

Continue reading to learn all about the best states for orthodontists.

 

25. Pennsylvania

Cost of living index: 102.8

Average annual salary: $130,634

Hourly wage: $62.80

 

24. Minnesota

Cost of living index: 101.1

Average annual salary: $129,174

Hourly wage: $62.10

 

23. Utah

Cost of living index: 92.8

Average annual salary: $119,435

Hourly wage: $57.42

 

22. Nevada

Cost of living index: 104.5

Average annual salary: $134,586

Hourly wage: $64.70

 

21. Washington

Cost of living index: 107.1

Average annual salary: $138,713

Hourly wage: $66.68

 

20. Virginia

Cost of living index: 100.2

Average annual salary: $130,982

Hourly wage: $62.97

 

19. Alabama

Cost of living index: 91.2

Average annual salary: $119,562

Hourly wage: $57.43

 

18. Louisiana

Cost of living index: 94.4

Average annual salary: $123,917

Hourly wage: $59.57

 

17. North Carolina

Cost of living index: 94.2

Average annual salary: $124,110

Hourly wage: $59.66

 

16. Mississippi

Cost of living index: 86

Average annual salary: $113,450

Hourly wage: $54.54

 

15. Iowa

Cost of living index: 91.7

Average annual salary: $121,163

Hourly wage: $58.25

 

14. Idaho

Cost of living index: 89.6

Average annual salary: $119,158

Hourly wage: $57.28

 

13. Kansas

Cost of living index: 90.4

Average annual salary: $121,272

Hourly wage: $58.30

We’re halfway through our list of best states for orthodontists, and if you are interested in the other half, click next.

 

12. Kentucky

Cost of living index: 90.8

Average annual salary: $122,208

Hourly wage: $58.75

 

11. Texas

Cost of living index: 90.7

Average annual salary: $122,226

Hourly wage: $58.76

 

10. Tennessee

Cost of living index: 89.8

Average annual salary: $121,490

Hourly wage: $58.40

 

9. Oklahoma

Cost of living index: 88.6

Average annual salary: $120,119

Hourly wage: $57.74

 

8. Ohio

Cost of living index: 93

Average annual salary: $126,372

Hourly wage: $60.75

 

7. Missouri

Cost of living index: 90.8

Average annual salary: $124,201

Hourly wage: $59.71

 

6. Illinois

Cost of living index: 95.5

Average annual salary: $130,784

Hourly wage: $62.87

 

5. Georgia

Cost of living index: 91.4

Average annual salary: $125,193

Hourly wage: $60.18

 

4. Delaware

Cost of living index: 102.6

Average annual salary: $141,380

Hourly wage: $67.97

 

3. Arkansas

Cost of living index: 88.5

Average annual wage: $123,115

Hourly wage: $59.18

 

2. Indiana

Cost of living index: 87.9

Average annual salary: $125,626

Hourly wage: $60.39

 

1. Michigan

Cost of living index: 88.2

Average annual salary: $129,504

Hourly wage: $62.26

That concludes our list of the best states for orthodontists. If you’re looking for somewhere new to live and work, let these guide you in the right direction to find the best balance of high salary and low cost of living.