SalaryExplorer

SOC 29-1021 · May 2025 · BLS OEWS

Dentists, General — Rockford

Rockford, IL · 6 metro areas compared

$214,670 /year
$103.21per hour
130jobs in area
+25.6%vs US median

The median wage for Dentists, General in Rockford, IL is $214,670 per year, well above the national median of $170,950.

Wage distribution · annual

Shaded band holds the middle 50% of earners

US MEDIAN $170,95010TH$115,61025TH$163,160MEDIAN$214,67075TH$262,69090TH$309,100

How pay has moved

$237,070$102,6702019202020212022202320242025$214,670
$208,000 in 2019 to $214,670 in 2025, +3.2% before inflation. BLS states that OEWS estimates are not designed for comparison across years: the occupational classification, the sampling frame and the survey method have all changed inside this window. Read the direction, not the exact difference.

The next ten years

Projected to grow about as fast as average

Change in jobs, 2024 to 2034
+4.1%
Openings per year
3,900
Typical entry-level education
Doctoral or professional degree

Includes jobs opened by workers leaving the occupation, not only new positions.

11.8% of people in this occupation work for themselves.

Projections are published nationally only. This is the outlook for the occupation across the United States, not a measurement for Rockford, IL.

Projections are based on 2024 employment and run to 2034. The wages above are from the May 2025 survey, a separate BLS programme on a different release cycle, so the two are not two views of one dataset.

Salary overview

The median wage for Dentists, General in Rockford, IL is $214,670 per year, well above the national median of $170,950. The gap of 25.6% is among the widest recorded for this occupation. Pay ranges from under $115,610 at the tenth percentile to more than $309,100 at the ninetieth, with the interquartile range running from $163,160 to $262,690.

Employment stands at 130, or 1.0 jobs per thousand held locally. Springfield leads the state's metro areas for this occupation, at $209,430. Set against every other occupation measured in the same area, it ranks 4th of 329 by median pay.

Percentile breakdown

Annual wages by percentile · Rockford, IL · May 2025
PercentileAnnualvs US median
10th$115,610−32.4%
25th$163,160−4.6%
Median (50th)$214,670+25.6%
75th$262,690+53.7%
90th$309,100+80.8%
Mean$207,080+21.1%

Why the average earner is usually not a typical earner

Other metro areas in Illinois

Median annual wage for Dentists, General, by metro area
#Metro areaMedianJobsRelative
1Springfield$209,430120
2Champaign$174,01080
3Peoria$168,780110
4Bloomington$160,75060
5Chicago$156,1005,910
6Kankakee$137,39040

What the pay is worth locally

Prices in Rockford run 7.8% below the national average, so the median of $214,670 goes as far as $232,831 would elsewhere in the country. Measured that way it compares to the national median at 36.2% above the national median in real terms.

Published median

$214,670as reported by BLS

Local price level

92.2US average = 100 · BEA 2024

Adjusted for local prices

$232,831US average = 100 · BEA 2024

Why the state that pays most is usually not where pay goes furthest

Key takeaways

  • Median pay is $214,670 a year, 25.6% above the national median.
  • Published pay spans $115,610 to $309,100 between the tenth and ninetieth percentiles.
  • The area has 130 jobs in this occupation.
  • The highest-paying metro area covered is Springfield, at $209,430.

Frequently asked questions

What is the median wage for Dentists, General in Rockford, IL?

The median annual wage is $214,670, or $103.21 per hour, as of May 2025. Half of the workers in this occupation earn more than that and half earn less.

Is that higher than the national average?

The national median for this occupation is $170,950, so pay in Rockford, IL is 25.6% higher. These figures are medians, not averages: half of workers fall on each side.

What do the top earners make?

The top tenth of this occupation in Rockford, IL earns more than $309,100 per year. The ninetieth percentile is the highest figure the survey publishes.

What is the starting range?

The tenth percentile wage is $115,610 per year. The survey measures wages actually paid rather than experience level, so this reflects the lowest-paid tenth rather than entry-level pay specifically.

Which area nearby pays the most?

The highest median for this occupation among the metro areas covered is in Springfield, at $209,430 per year.

How many jobs are there in this occupation here?

The survey estimates 130 jobs in this occupation in Rockford, IL. Self-employed workers are not included.

Source and methodology

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 Wages are for wage-and-salary workers; self-employed workers are not included. Salary Explorer is an independent project. It is not affiliated with, or endorsed by, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics or any government agency. Full methodology.

Dentists, General in Rockford, IL Earn $214,670 — 25.6% Above the US Median (2025) | Salary Explorer