Dental Hygienists salary in Hickory, NC

Median pay for dental hygienists in Hickory, NC: $80,270/yr

Typical range (10th–90th percentile): $62,420 – $92,420 · about 220 employed locally

Below the typical metro median ($81,085) by −$815 (-1%).

What it's really worth in Hickory

With Hickory's cost of living at 89 (US=100), that $80,270 has the buying power of about $89,814 in an average-cost US metro.

Local context: median household income $57,943 · median home $271,739 · median rent $1,496/mo.

Full Hickory cost of living & taxes →

How Hickory ranks for this job

On raw pay, Hickory, NC is 101st of the 184 metros we hold dental hygienists wages for. Once Hickory's cost of living is applied, it ranks 72nd.

Pay here goes further than the headline number suggests — Hickory is one of the places where dental hygienists gain ground in real terms, because local costs are low relative to what the job pays.

What that salary buys in Hickory

A median home in Hickory, NC costs $271,739 — about 3.4× this salary, against a typical US metro figure of 4.7×. Buying is more attainable here than in the average metro on this income.

Median rent of $1,496/mo works out at 22% of gross pay — inside the conventional 30% affordability ceiling.

Where dental hygienists earn more

Pay on its own is only half the picture, so each row shows what rent costs there relative to Hickory.

Metro	Median pay	vs Hickory	Rent vs Hickory
San Francisco, CA	$137,450	+71%	2.2×
San Jose, CA	$135,460	+69%	2.4×
Santa Maria, CA	$132,360	+65%	2.2×
Seattle, WA	$129,410	+61%	1.5×

Same job elsewhere in NC

Metro	Median pay	vs Hickory	Rent vs Hickory
Charlotte, NC	$89,200	+11%	1.2×
Greensboro, NC	$81,110	+1%	1×
Raleigh, NC	$80,530	+0%	1.1×
Winston-Salem, NC	$80,410	+0%	1×

Staying in NC keeps state income tax and licensing the same, which makes these the most directly comparable moves.

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