Healthcare Practitioners

Orthodontists

SOC 29-1023

Straighten teeth and correct bites using braces, aligners, and retainers.

The job

Median pay

$289k

$147k to $342k typical range

Outlook, 2025 to 2035

Growing fast

+6.0% projected

Openings a year

200

BLS projection

Typical education

Doctoral (DDS) plus residency

Our model

AI displacement risk

Very low

How much of this job AI may do instead of the person

Works with AI

27/100

AI alongside the person rather than instead of them

AI exposure

26th pct

More exposed than 26% of occupations · modeled estimate · 63rd pct in Microsoft's data

Future-proof

82/100

At a glance

Roughly 200 positions open up annually for Orthodontists, counting growth and replacement, a thin hiring pool by comparison. Works-with-AI scores 27/100 against very low displacement risk, closer to help than to displacement, with modeled exposure at the 26th percentile. A median wage of $289,140 sits $221,950 above the typical occupation we cover, and more than double the Healthcare Practitioners median. The 2025 to 2035 outlook is +6.0%, 2.3 points above the typical occupation we cover. For Orthodontists, the typical entry route is a dental degree plus residency. On the modeled AI scale, this is 66 points lower than Psychiatrists.

Take the next step

Weigh it against DentistsPay, outlook, entry and AI exposure side by side See where it pays mostConnecticut leads at $479k; all states are listed below Find careers like itOpen the map at Orthodontists and explore its neighbours See open jobsOrthodontists roles hiring now Learn the skillsCourses for Orthodontists, who lean most on active listening Real pay & reviewsSelf-reported pay and reviews on Glassdoor

Similar pay in Healthcare Practitioners

Key skills

Active Listening
Speaking
Critical Thinking
Monitoring
Reading Comprehension
Active Learning

Pay and jobs by state

BLS OEWS May 2025, 50 states and DC. Sorted by jobs; per 1,000 is jobs per thousand workers in the state; vs national compares that rate with the country's. A tilde marks a figure estimated from the parent occupation group where BLS publishes none.

State	Jobs	Per 1,000	vs national	Median pay
Texas	1,070	0.1	1.9×	$277k (estimated)
California	626 (estimated)	0.0 (estimated)	0.9× (estimated)	$412k (estimated)
Florida	450	0.0	1.1×	$272k (estimated)
Washington	290	0.1	2.0×	$290k
Pennsylvania	277 (estimated)	0.0 (estimated)	1.1× (estimated)	$311k
Ohio	250	0.0	1.1×	$219k
Illinois	240 (estimated)	0.0 (estimated)	1.0× (estimated)	$343k
Georgia	193 (estimated)	0.0 (estimated)	1.0× (estimated)	$159k
New Jersey	180 (estimated)	0.0 (estimated)	1.1× (estimated)	$343k (estimated)
Colorado	160	0.1	1.4×	$416k

All 50 states and DC

State	Jobs	Per 1,000	vs national	Median pay
North Carolina	160	0.0	0.8×	$225k
Massachusetts	159 (estimated)	0.0 (estimated)	1.1× (estimated)	$335k (estimated)
Virginia	146 (estimated)	0.0 (estimated)	0.9× (estimated)	$292k (estimated)
Michigan	140	0.0	0.8×	$357k
Tennessee	138 (estimated)	0.0 (estimated)	1.1× (estimated)	$340k
Indiana	134 (estimated)	0.0 (estimated)	1.1× (estimated)	$270k (estimated)
Missouri	132 (estimated)	0.0 (estimated)	1.1× (estimated)	$333k
New York	130	0.0	0.3×	$173k
Minnesota	124 (estimated)	0.0 (estimated)	1.1× (estimated)	$330k (estimated)
Arizona	120	0.0	0.9×	$272k
Maryland	109 (estimated)	0.0 (estimated)	1.0× (estimated)	$361k
Louisiana	93 (estimated)	0.0 (estimated)	1.2× (estimated)	$248k (estimated)
Alabama	92 (estimated)	0.0 (estimated)	1.1× (estimated)	$254k
South Carolina	92 (estimated)	0.0 (estimated)	1.0× (estimated)	$311k
Mississippi	90	0.1	1.9×	$223k (estimated)
Wisconsin	90	0.0	0.8×	$213k
Kentucky	89 (estimated)	0.0 (estimated)	1.1× (estimated)	$262k (estimated)
Connecticut	75 (estimated)	0.0 (estimated)	1.1× (estimated)	$479k
Oregon	68 (estimated)	0.0 (estimated)	0.9× (estimated)	$394k (estimated)
Kansas	62 (estimated)	0.0 (estimated)	1.1× (estimated)	$261k (estimated)
Maine	60	0.1	2.4×	$301k
Arkansas	58 (estimated)	0.0 (estimated)	1.1× (estimated)	$251k (estimated)
Iowa	58 (estimated)	0.0 (estimated)	0.9× (estimated)	$259k (estimated)
Utah	55 (estimated)	0.0 (estimated)	0.8× (estimated)	$275k (estimated)
Nevada	48 (estimated)	0.0 (estimated)	0.8× (estimated)	$320k (estimated)
Nebraska	43 (estimated)	0.0 (estimated)	1.1× (estimated)	$274k (estimated)
West Virginia	41 (estimated)	0.1 (estimated)	1.5× (estimated)	$256k (estimated)
Idaho	40	0.0	1.2×	$282k (estimated)
New Mexico	33 (estimated)	0.0 (estimated)	0.9× (estimated)	$289k (estimated)
Oklahoma	30	0.0	0.4×	$263k (estimated)
New Hampshire	29 (estimated)	0.0 (estimated)	1.1× (estimated)	$322k (estimated)
Delaware	23 (estimated)	0.0 (estimated)	1.2× (estimated)	$325k (estimated)
Hawaii	23 (estimated)	0.0 (estimated)	0.9× (estimated)	$354k (estimated)
South Dakota	22 (estimated)	0.0 (estimated)	1.2× (estimated)	$260k (estimated)
Rhode Island	21 (estimated)	0.0 (estimated)	1.1× (estimated)	$324k (estimated)
Montana	20 (estimated)	0.0 (estimated)	1.0× (estimated)	$313k
Washington DC	19 (estimated)	0.0 (estimated)	0.7× (estimated)	$335k (estimated)
North Dakota	19 (estimated)	0.0 (estimated)	1.1× (estimated)	$267k (estimated)
Alaska	14 (estimated)	0.0 (estimated)	1.1× (estimated)	$353k (estimated)
Vermont	14 (estimated)	0.0 (estimated)	1.1× (estimated)	$292k (estimated)
Wyoming	9 (estimated)	0.0 (estimated)	0.8× (estimated)	$278k (estimated)

Top metro areas

Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA210 jobs
Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ100 jobs · $272k median

Where this ranks

Explore Orthodontists interactively →

Pay and outlook from BLS (OEWS 2025, Employment Projections 2025-2035). Skills and work activities from O*NET 30.3. AI exposure and future-proof scores are modeled estimates. How these numbers are made.