Insights / Hardest metros by occupation / Minnesota
10 metros where Dental Assistants are hardest to fill
Minneapolis dental assistants score 8.6 because the wage is already high, not because the bench is empty.
A recruiter read the top score and told the clinic the metro had no dental assistants left.
Minneapolis scores 8.6.
The local median is $72,370, which is 1.51 times the national median.
The local share of these jobs is 0.80, close to a typical metro, at 2.005 jobs per 1,000.
You are competing on pay with clinics that already cleared a high wage.
You are not fishing in an empty pond.
San Jose is next at 7.9, with a median of $74,600 and 1.55 times the country.
New Haven, at 7.6, is the thinner share on the top of the page, 0.75.
Portland is the opposite shape, a share of 1.37 and a median of $59,890.
Same occupation, three different reasons a search drags.
Each metro
1Minneapolis, MN
- Score
- 8.6
- Band
- Hard
- Location quotient
- 0.80
- Jobs per 1,000
- 2.005
- Metro median
- $72,370
- Pay ratio
- 1.51
2San Jose, CA
- Score
- 7.9
- Band
- Hard
- Location quotient
- 1.01
- Jobs per 1,000
- 2.526
- Metro median
- $74,600
- Pay ratio
- 1.55
3Raleigh, NC
- Score
- 7.8
- Band
- Hard
- Location quotient
- 1.00
- Jobs per 1,000
- 2.492
- Metro median
- $58,750
- Pay ratio
- 1.22
4New Haven, CT
- Score
- 7.6
- Band
- Hard
- Location quotient
- 0.75
- Jobs per 1,000
- 1.873
- Metro median
- $56,650
- Pay ratio
- 1.18
5Portland, OR
- Score
- 7.6
- Band
- Hard
- Location quotient
- 1.37
- Jobs per 1,000
- 3.407
- Metro median
- $59,890
- Pay ratio
- 1.25
6Seattle, WA
- Score
- 7.5
- Band
- Hard
- Location quotient
- 1.37
- Jobs per 1,000
- 3.405
- Metro median
- $62,040
- Pay ratio
- 1.29
7San Francisco, CA
- Score
- 7.5
- Band
- Hard
- Location quotient
- 1.27
- Jobs per 1,000
- 3.172
- Metro median
- $64,390
- Pay ratio
- 1.34
8Bridgeport, CT
- Score
- 7.4
- Band
- Hard
- Location quotient
- 0.96
- Jobs per 1,000
- 2.401
- Metro median
- $57,770
- Pay ratio
- 1.20
9Sacramento, CA
- Score
- 7.4
- Band
- Hard
- Location quotient
- 1.15
- Jobs per 1,000
- 2.867
- Metro median
- $58,580
- Pay ratio
- 1.22
10San Diego, CA
- Score
- 7.4
- Band
- Hard
- Location quotient
- 1.11
- Jobs per 1,000
- 2.772
- Metro median
- $58,120
- Pay ratio
- 1.21
Ranked table
Swipe the table sideways. The same figures are in the blocks above.
| Rank | Metro | Score | Band | Location quotient | Jobs per 1,000 | Metro median | Pay ratio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Minneapolis, MN | 8.6 | Hard | 0.80 | 2.005 | $72,370 | 1.51 |
| 2 | San Jose, CA | 7.9 | Hard | 1.01 | 2.526 | $74,600 | 1.55 |
| 3 | Raleigh, NC | 7.8 | Hard | 1.00 | 2.492 | $58,750 | 1.22 |
| 4 | New Haven, CT | 7.6 | Hard | 0.75 | 1.873 | $56,650 | 1.18 |
| 5 | Portland, OR | 7.6 | Hard | 1.37 | 3.407 | $59,890 | 1.25 |
| 6 | Seattle, WA | 7.5 | Hard | 1.37 | 3.405 | $62,040 | 1.29 |
| 7 | San Francisco, CA | 7.5 | Hard | 1.27 | 3.172 | $64,390 | 1.34 |
| 8 | Bridgeport, CT | 7.4 | Hard | 0.96 | 2.401 | $57,770 | 1.20 |
| 9 | Sacramento, CA | 7.4 | Hard | 1.15 | 2.867 | $58,580 | 1.22 |
| 10 | San Diego, CA | 7.4 | Hard | 1.11 | 2.772 | $58,120 | 1.21 |
Takeaways
- Seattle scores 7.5 with a median of $62,040 and a share of 1.37.
- San Francisco scores 7.5 at $64,390. Sacramento and San Diego both score 7.4.
- Minnesota's all-industry openings rate in December 2025 was 4.3. The U.S. rate was 4.0. That statewide gap is small next to the Minneapolis wage.
- Metros under 500 workers are not scored. A missing metro is not a zero.
For recruiters
- In Minneapolis, budget from $72,370 before you add a sourcing channel.
- Do not export that wage story to a metro whose share is the actual problem.
FAQ
- Are these posted wages or open jobs?
- No. The table is a government survey or a designation file.
- What should a recruiter do first?
- Follow the recruiter note on this page.
Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025.
Related hiring pages
Methodology
Rows are the scored metro pages for Dental Assistants (31-9091) with the highest public market difficulty score, up to 10. Metros under 500 workers are not scored. A metro page is scored only when OEWS employment for that occupation is at least 500. Below that, the page stays up and is left off this ranking. Postsecondary teaching occupations and medical scientists are left off even when they are scored. Nominal weights, before a missing shortage match is rescaled, are projected openings divided by 2025 employment 18%, projected growth 22%, the metro median divided by the U.S. median 40%, how common the occupation is locally compared with the country 8% (the location-quotient column; a lower figure means a thinner local bench), a matching HRSA shortage designation 8%, and statewide all-industry JOLTS for December 2025 4%. Bands are Standard under 4, Elevated from 4 up to 7, and Hard at 7 and above. The Minnesota total-nonfarm job openings rate for December 2025 is 4.3. The U.S. rate is 4.0. Both are all-industry JOLTS rates. The article is tagged to Minnesota because that state holds the leading metro, so the publishing calendar does not stack it with another Minnesota article the same day. Rounded figures in the prose: $72,370 is stated as about $72.4K. a comparison of 1.51 is stated as 51 percent. $48,070 is stated as about $48.1K.
Sources
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics · May 2025
- BLS Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, total nonfarm · December 2025
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