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Best Dental Services Schools by Graduate Salary & ROI (2026)

74 schools ranked by DegreeOutlook Score · Updated 2026

These are the top schools offering Dental Services, ranked by DegreeOutlook Score. The score combines graduate earnings, AI automation resilience, job market demand, and return on tuition investment. The average Dental Services graduate earns $60,938/yr across 74 schools.

What do Dental Services graduates do? See career paths and salaries →

#1 Clark College: The Power of Local Pipelines

Clark College's top ranking isn't just about quality; it's about strategic location and value. As a public college in Vancouver, it feeds graduates directly into the robust Portland-Vancouver metro healthcare market. Its intense focus on career readiness and affordable tuition ($18,528) translates into a powerful 43.3x ROI and strong starting salaries ($64,500/yr), proving that a direct, affordable path into a high-demand regional job market is a winning formula.

The Outlier: How a Community College Out-Earns a University

Foothill College's #9 rank hides a stunning reality: its graduates report the highest earnings in our top 20 ($81,255/yr), leading to an astronomical 128.8x ROI. The secret is geographic arbitrage. Located in Silicon Valley, Foothill offers a low-cost community college education ($6,260 tuition) while placing graduates into one of the highest-paying regions in the country, where even essential service salaries are inflated. It's a prime example of how a local college can provide more financial upside than a prestigious university.

AI-Proofing Your Career: Why Dental Support Is a Safe Bet

The moderate 31% AI risk score for this field is actually a sign of stability. AI is not coming for the core clinical tasks; you can't automate cleaning a patient's teeth or assisting in a root canal. Instead, automation will handle administrative burdens like scheduling and billing, freeing up professionals to focus on patient care. This means your hands-on skills will remain in high demand, making this degree a resilient choice in an increasingly automated world.

The Public School Lockout: Your Best Bet for Value

Notice a pattern? All of our top 20 schools are public institutions. This is because dental support programs thrive on a model of affordable, state-supported tuition combined with deep regional partnerships for clinical training. States like Washington (3 schools in the top 20) excel by investing in workforce development, creating a clear and valuable path from classroom to clinic that private colleges, with their higher price tags, simply can't compete with on a value basis.

Programs Ranked

Avg Earnings

$60,938/yr

Avg DW Score

57/100

AI Risk

Moderate

31% task exposure

All Dental Services Programs Ranked

Click any row for full AI scenario analysis, earnings projections, and career path breakdown.

#	School	DW Score	Earnings	ROI
1	Clark College Vancouver, WA · Public	72 71–72	$64,500/yr	43.3x
2	University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus Norman, OK · Public	69 68–68	$75,367/yr	17.4x
3	Eastern Washington University Cheney, WA · Public	69 68–68	$67,984/yr	20.0x
4	University of Hawaii at Manoa Honolulu, HI · Public	66 65–66	$71,260/yr	13.7x
5	Oregon Institute of Technology Klamath Falls, OR · Public	66 65–65	$66,691/yr	13.6x
6	Clayton State University Morrow, GA · Public	65 64–65	$54,559/yr	28.9x
7	Texas Woman's University Denton, TX · Public	65 64–65	$55,694/yr	18.6x
8	West Virginia University Morgantown, WV · Public	65 64–65	$57,102/yr	17.1x
9	Foothill College Los Altos Hills, CA · Public	64 63–64	$81,255/yr	128.8x
10	University of Louisiana at Monroe Monroe, LA · Public	64 63–64	$60,188/yr	16.3x
11	Minnesota State University-Mankato Mankato, MN · Public	64 63–64	$62,496/yr	15.4x
12	University of New Mexico-Main Campus Albuquerque, NM · Public	64 63–64	$55,003/yr	18.7x
13	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Chapel Hill, NC · Public	64 63–64	$54,207/yr	17.7x
14	University of South Dakota Vermillion, SD · Public	64 63–63	$61,265/yr	15.4x
15	Virginia Commonwealth University Richmond, VA · Public	64 63–64	$72,808/yr	10.5x
16	Lake Washington Institute of Technology Kirkland, WA · Public	64 63–63	$77,431/yr	36.5x
17	College of Southern Nevada Las Vegas, NV · Public	63 63–63	$75,252/yr	44.8x
18	Midwestern State University Wichita Falls, TX · Public	63 62–63	$60,153/yr	14.5x
19	Old Dominion University Norfolk, VA · Public	63 62–62	$63,145/yr	12.5x
20	Idaho State University Pocatello, ID · Public	62 61–62	$53,877/yr	17.0x
21	University of Southern Indiana Evansville, IN · Public	62 61–62	$61,972/yr	14.0x
22	University of Missouri-Kansas City Kansas City, MO · Public	62 61–62	$60,307/yr	12.8x
23	Columbia Basin College Pasco, WA · Public	62 62–62	$70,534/yr	27.5x
24	St Petersburg College St. Petersburg, FL · Public	61 60–61	$59,295/yr	54.3x
25	Purdue University Fort Wayne Fort Wayne, IN · Public	61 60–61	$51,095/yr	15.7x
26	University of Minnesota-Twin Cities Minneapolis, MN · Public	61 60–61	$64,936/yr	9.7x
27	Farmingdale State College Farmingdale, NY · Public	61 61–61	$72,908/yr	20.3x
28	Texas A & M University-College Station College Station, TX · Public	61 60–61	$64,394/yr	11.3x
29	Yakima Valley College Yakima, WA · Public	61 60–61	$62,574/yr	29.3x
30	West Coast University-Orange County Anaheim, CA · Private for-profit	61 60–60	$73,751/yr	7.4x
31	Indiana University-Northwest Gary, IN · Public	60 59–60	$57,654/yr	15.5x
32	University of Mississippi University, MS · Public	60 59–60	$51,838/yr	14.9x
33	Ohio State University-Main Campus Columbus, OH · Public	60 60–60	$61,173/yr	11.3x
34	East Tennessee State University Johnson City, TN · Public	60 59–60	$51,316/yr	14.3x
35	University of Wyoming Laramie, WY · Public	60 59–60	$62,557/yr	21.5x
36	Augusta University Augusta, GA · Public	60 59–60	$48,992/yr	17.3x
37	Northern Arizona University Flagstaff, AZ · Public	59 59–59	$64,082/yr	10.9x
38	University of Arkansas-Fort Smith Fort Smith, AR · Public	59 58–59	$58,380/yr	20.1x
39	Indiana University-Indianapolis Indianapolis, IN · Public	58 57–57	$64,402/yr	14.4x
40	Indiana University-South Bend South Bend, IN · Public	58 57–58	$55,314/yr	14.8x
41	Wichita State University Wichita, KS · Public	58 57–58	$56,798/yr	13.4x
42	Ferris State University Big Rapids, MI · Public	58 57–58	$62,805/yr	9.9x
43	Metropolitan State University Saint Paul, MN · Public	57 56–57	$60,849/yr	14.6x
44	Pacific University Forest Grove, OR · Private nonprofit	57 56–57	$76,060/yr	3.0x
45	Utah Tech University Saint George, UT · Public	57 56–57	$51,816/yr	20.3x
46	West Coast University-Los Angeles North Hollywood, CA · Private for-profit	57 57–57	$73,751/yr	4.1x
47	University of New Haven West Haven, CT · Private nonprofit	55 54–54	$59,086/yr	3.4x
48	Southern Illinois University-Carbondale Carbondale, IL · Public	55 54–55	$53,559/yr	9.8x
49	West Liberty University West Liberty, WV · Public	55 54–55	$53,420/yr	14.3x
50	University of Louisville Louisville, KY · Public	53 51–52	$57,464/yr	8.9x
51	Herzing University-Minneapolis St. Louis Park, MN · Private nonprofit	53 52–53	$58,912/yr	10.0x
52	Youngstown State University Youngstown, OH · Public	53 52–53	$48,826/yr	11.2x
53	Utah Valley University Orem, UT · Public	53 53–53	$45,301/yr	17.1x
54	Herzing University-Madison Madison, WI · Private nonprofit	53 52–53	$58,912/yr	10.0x
55	University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA · Private nonprofit	51 51–51	$69,479/yr	2.0x
56	University of Maryland Baltimore Baltimore, MD · Public	51 50–51	$72,139/yr	—
57	MCPHS University Boston, MA · Private nonprofit	51 50–51	$61,374/yr	3.2x
58	University of Oklahoma-Health Sciences Center Oklahoma City, OK · Public	51 50–51	$75,367/yr	—
59	Loma Linda University Loma Linda, CA · Private nonprofit	50 49–50	$67,159/yr	—
60	University of Bridgeport Bridgeport, CT · Private nonprofit	50 50–50	$65,025/yr	3.3x
61	The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio San Antonio, TX · Public	50 49–49	$64,535/yr	—
62	Pennsylvania College of Technology Williamsport, PA · Public	50 49–50	$57,043/yr	6.9x
63	University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Little Rock, AR · Public	49 48–48	$58,607/yr	—
64	Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center-New Orleans New Orleans, LA · Public	49 48–49	$59,772/yr	—
65	University of Nebraska Medical Center Omaha, NE · Public	49 48–49	$59,621/yr	—
66	The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston Houston, TX · Public	49 48–49	$59,360/yr	—
67	The University of Tennessee Health Science Center Memphis, TN · Public	48 47–48	$55,109/yr	—
68	University of New England Biddeford, ME · Private nonprofit	47 46–47	$59,851/yr	2.6x
69	Careers Unlimited Orem, UT · Private for-profit	47 46–47	$52,423/yr	—
70	Western Kentucky University Bowling Green, KY · Public	46 45–46	$47,974/yr	8.4x
71	Regis College Weston, MA · Private nonprofit	46 45–46	$60,211/yr	2.2x
72	Weber State University Ogden, UT · Public	45 45–45	$45,118/yr	11.9x
73	University of Michigan-Ann Arbor Ann Arbor, MI · Public	44 45–44	$43,742/yr	6.5x
74	University of Detroit Mercy Detroit, MI · Private nonprofit	41 40–40	$50,234/yr	2.6x

Scores calculated using College Scorecard, BLS, and AI task-exposure data. See full methodology →

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best school for Dental Services?

Based on our DegreeOutlook Score, Clark College ranks #1 for Dental Services with a score of 72/100 and graduate earnings of $64,500/yr.

How much do Dental Services graduates earn?

Across 74 schools, Dental Services graduates earn an average of $60,938/yr in their first year. The highest-earning program reports $81,255/yr.

Is Dental Services a good major for AI resistance?

Dental Services has an average AI task exposure of 31%, rated "Moderate". This field has moderate AI exposure — some career paths are more resilient than others.